How Many Bricks for 800 Square Feet?
Brick to buy
5,760 brick
800 square feet of wall face in modular brick, 3/8 in joints, five percent waste.
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How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Wall length100 ft
- Wall height8 ft
- Openings to deduct0 sq ft
- Brick sizeModular, 7 5/8 x 2 1/4
- Mortar joint0.375 in
- Waste allowance5 %
Brick to buy5,760 brick
| Net wall area | 800 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Brick per sq ft | 6.86 |
| Brick before waste | 5,486 |
| Courses | 37at 2.625 in per course |
| Mortar in the joints | 44.2 cu ft |
| Mortar to buy | 88.5 cu ftjoint volume doubled, see the assumptions |
| Mortar mix, 80 lb bags | 14837 brick per bag |
| Wall ties | 300 |
| Weep holes | 37 |
The material list this produces
| Brick | 5,760 |
|---|---|
| Mortar mix, 80 lb bags | 148 |
| Wall ties | 300 |
| Weep vents | 37 |
| Flashing, ft | 100 |
Brick size compared
The same wall in every brick size the calculator carries, at this page's area. Modular is the default because it is what most of the country builds with, but a wall specified in king or utility brick needs far fewer units and far less mortar, and the labor drops with the unit count.
| Brick size | Brick to buy | Brick per sq ft | Mortar mix, 80 lb bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modular | 5,760 brick | 6.86 | 148 |
| Standard | 5,503 brick | 6.55 | 146 |
| Queen | 4,839 brick | 5.76 | 99 |
| Engineer | 4,744 brick | 5.65 | 129 |
| King | 4,032 brick | 4.8 | 97 |
| Utility | 2,520 brick | 3 | 99 |
What else matters here
Eight hundred square feet at 6.86 brick a square foot is 5,486 laid and 5,760 ordered, and all of it rests on a 3/8 in joint that nobody measures.
That figure is not a convention, it is what makes modular brick modular. Seven and five eighths plus three eighths is eight inches, and two and a quarter plus three eighths is two and five eighths, so three courses make exactly eight inches of height. That is why a modular brick lines up with a block course, with a window head, and with the next bit of the building. Change the joint and the arithmetic stops closing.
Practically it means the joint is not where to absorb a setting out error. A joint run at half an inch over 37 courses puts the top of the wall more than four inches high, which is a window head that no longer lines up and a soldier course that no longer fits. Fix the error in the setting out, or in a purpose made course, and leave the joint alone.
What this calculator assumes
- Sizes are actual face dimensions, not nominal. A modular brick is 7 5/8 by 2 1/4, and it is the 3/8 joint around it that makes up the nominal 8 by 2 2/3 the coursing is laid out from.
- This is a single wythe, which is what a veneer is. A solid two wythe wall is twice the brick and twice the mortar.
- Mortar is the volume of the bed and head joints across the bed depth of the brick, doubled. The doubling is not a fudge, it lands the bag count on the figure printed on the bag: an 80 pound bag of mortar mix yields about 0.6 cubic feet and lays roughly 37 modular brick.
- Wall ties are one per 2.67 square feet, which is 16 inches horizontally by 24 vertically, the spacing in TMS 402 for anchored veneer.
- Weep holes are one every 33 inches along the base course, which is the usual reading of the 33 inch maximum.
Questions people ask
How many bricks do I need for 800 square feet?
5,760 modular brick, which is 5,486 for the wall plus five percent waste.
Why is a brick mortar joint 3/8 of an inch?
Because it is what makes the brick modular. A 7 5/8 brick with a 3/8 joint occupies exactly 8 inches, and three courses of 2 1/4 brick with 3/8 joints make exactly 8 inches of height, so the brick lines up with block, with openings and with the rest of the building.
Can I use a thicker joint to make up height?
Not over a wall. An extra eighth of an inch across 37 courses is more than four inches at the top, which moves every head and sill you were meant to meet.
The brick calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.