Masonry is estimated by wall area. Each brick or block, together with its share of the mortar joint, covers a fixed patch of wall face. Count the area, multiply by the units per area, add waste, and you have the core of the estimate. The rest of the job is everything that turns a pile of bricks into a finished wall: mortar, ties, lintels, damp protection, footings and access.
Measure the wall
Measure each wall's length and height and multiply. Measure the length along the centre of the wall for thick walls, so corners aren't counted twice. Subtract windows and doors larger than about 10 sq ft; smaller openings take nearly as many cut bricks as they save. Gable ends are triangles: ½ × width × height.
Counts per area
| Unit | Face size with joint | Per area |
|---|---|---|
| Modular brick 7⅝ × 2¼ | 8 × 2⅝" | 6.86 per sq ft |
| Standard brick 8 × 2¼ | 8⅜ × 2⅝" | 6.55 per sq ft |
| Queen brick 7⅝ × 2¾ | 8 × 3⅛" | 5.76 per sq ft |
| King brick 9⅝ × 2⅝ | 10 × 3" | 4.8 per sq ft |
| CMU 8×8×16 | 16 × 8" | 1.125 per sq ft |
A double-thickness wall doubles the brick count. A cavity wall with brick outside and block inside needs both counts on the same area.
Waste
Add 5% for new bricks and blocks on straightforward walls, and up to 10% for reclaimed bricks, lots of cutting, piers, arches or decorative bonds. Buy all the bricks for one job at the same time. Batches vary in colour, and a patch of slightly different bricks halfway up a wall stands out for good.
Mortar
Pre-mixed Type N or S mortar is quoted as units laid per bag: in practice roughly 30 bricks or 10 blocks per 30 kg bag. Mixing your own from masonry cement and mason sand takes about 7 bags of masonry cement and roughly a tonne of sand per 1,000 bricks. Real use is higher than geometry suggests, because of droppings, full beds and the mortar left on the board at the end of the day.
Choose the mix for the job: Type S for below grade and structural work, Type N for general above-grade walls.
Don't forget
- Wall ties and horizontal joint reinforcement
- Lintels over every opening, with the right bearing at each end
- Flashing, weep holes and drainage mat
- Movement joints and fillers on long walls
- Grout and rebar for reinforced block cores
- Scaffolding or staging above about 5 ft
- Footings, from the footing calculator
- Cleaning: brick cleaner and the labour to wash down
Productivity and labour
A mason on plain face brick lays roughly 300–500 bricks a day depending on the wall, with fewer on detailed work, piers and openings. Block goes faster in units but slower in weight, so price it separately. A labourer supporting each mason is normal. The best rates are your own. Track bricks laid per day on every job and use the average.
A worked example
A backyard wall 30 ft long and 4 ft high in modular brick, single wythe: 120 sq ft × 6.86 = 823 bricks, plus 5% = 864. Mortar at about 30 bricks per 30 kg bag: 29 bags. Add a footing below the frost line, cap bricks and a day of cleaning.
The brick and block calculators work out counts and mortar together, and the mortar calculator handles any number of units you already know.
Measuring from drawings
When you're pricing from plans, take wall lengths from the dimensions, not by scaling the drawing. Note the wall type for each run (single skin, cavity, block, feature brick), because each has a different count and labour rate. Work through openings systematically: list every door and window with its size, then total the deductions per wall. Use the same order every time so nothing gets skipped.
Pricing the work
Once you have quantities, a masonry price has four parts: the materials at your cost, the labour at a realistic rate per thousand bricks or per hundred blocks, plant and access (mixer, scaffold, lifting), and the extras listed above. Keep cleaning and protection as separate lines. They're easy to forget, and clients understand them when they see them written down.
Checklist before you send the price
- Every wall measured and every opening deducted
- Waste added, and the brick type and colour confirmed with the client
- Mortar, ties, lintels and damp protection listed
- Footings priced or excluded in writing
- Scaffold, skip and clean-down included
This guide is general information for estimating. It is not engineering, legal or tax advice. Check local codes and your inspector for your project.