How many bricks do I need?
Multiply the wall area in square feet by the bricks-per-square-foot figure for your size. Modular brick — the most common in North America — takes **6.86 per square foot** with standard ⅜ in joints, so most people round to 7.
A 30 × 8 ft wall is 240 square feet, which is 1,646 modular bricks before waste, or about 1,760 with a 7% allowance. That is roughly three and a half cubes.
Bigger units drop the count fast. Queen size is 5.76 per square foot, king 4.61, and utility only 3 — which is why utility brick is popular on large commercial elevations where labour dominates the cost.
How the calculation works
The figure is the reciprocal of the brick face area including its joints. A modular brick is 7⅝ × 2¼ in; add a ⅜ in joint to each dimension and the module is 8 × 2⅝ in = 21 square inches. 144 ÷ 21 = 6.86 bricks per square foot.
That is why the number changes with joint thickness as well as brick size. A ½ in joint on modular brick drops the count to about 6.4 per square foot — a 7% difference, which on a 5,000-brick job is 350 bricks.
Mortar runs about 7 bags of 80 lb per 1,000 brick for standard ⅜ in joints. Thicker joints, or brick with deep frogs and cores, push it toward 8 or 9.
Deduct openings at full area. Unlike block work, brick around an opening rarely needs extra units — the jambs are cut brick from the same count, and any soldier course or arch is the reason to carry a higher waste percentage rather than a separate line item.
Typical brick cost, mid-2026
| Material | Unit | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Modular face brick | each | $0.50 – $1.10 |
| Queen sizeCheaper per sq ft than modular | each | $0.45 – $1.00 |
| Utility / oversizeOnly 3 per sq ft | each | $0.90 – $1.90 |
| Reclaimed brick | each | $1.20 – $4.00 |
| Mortar mix, 80 lb7 bags per 1,000 brick | per bag | $8.00 – $14.00 |
| Wall ties | per 100 | $15.00 – $35.00 |
| Bricklaying labour | per brick | $1.20 – $3.00 |
| Delivery | per load | $100 – $250 |
Labour is usually more than the brick. A bricklayer lays roughly 400–600 face brick a day, which is what makes larger units economic on big walls.
What goes wrong on this job
- Order the entire job at once and confirm it is one production run. Colour varies between batches, and a patch of slightly different brick is permanent and always ends up beside the front door.
- Blend from three or four cubes at a time as you lay, not one cube at a time. Even within a single run there is variation, and pulling from multiple pallets distributes it invisibly instead of banding the wall.
- Do not wet modular clay brick unless the manufacturer says to. Some high-absorption brick wants dampening in hot weather; most modern brick does not, and soaking it weakens the bond.
- Set out the first course dry along the whole wall before mixing mortar. It is the only cheap moment to discover the wall wants 22 brick and a 3 in sliver, and to move a jamb rather than cut every course.
- Keep the joints consistent. A ⅜ in joint that drifts to ½ in over a few courses changes your brick count and, more visibly, throws the coursing out against the window heads.
Frequently asked questions
How many bricks are in a square foot?
6.86 modular bricks with standard ⅜ in joints — most people use 7. Queen size is 5.76, king 4.61 and utility 3.
How many bricks do I need for a 10x10 wall?
100 square feet takes 686 modular bricks before waste, or about 735 with a 7% allowance.
How many bags of mortar per 1,000 bricks?
About 7 bags of 80 lb pre-blended mortar for standard ⅜ in joints. Allow more for thicker joints or heavily cored brick.
How many bricks are on a pallet?
A strapped cube is commonly around 500 modular brick, though it varies by manufacturer — some run 480 and some 525. Confirm before converting your count into pallets.
Does joint thickness change how many bricks I need?
Yes, noticeably. Going from ⅜ to ½ in joints drops modular brick from 6.86 to about 6.4 per square foot — a 7% difference.