Summary: Learn how many bricks required to build a wall, calculate number of bricks and calculate number of blocks.
Knowing how many bricks you will need to buy when constructing a wall can be a little tricky. You do not want to buy too many and end up wasting money, however you do not want too little as you will waste time and effort purchasing more.
Calculating the number of bricks
The size of the brick you use also needs to be taken into account. The standard sized brick in the UK is 215 x 102.5 x 65mm, with 10mm mortar joints horizontally and vertically.
- The rule for calculating the number of bricks you require is quite simple. Firstly you need to calculate the number of bricks for the main part of the wall; then the amount needed for any piers. These figures are added together and a 10% allowance for damaged or useless bricks. To calculate the number of bricks you need in your wall you must know what type of wall you want to construct.
- A single brick wall requires 60 bricks per square metre. So measure the height and length of your wall, including piers, multiply the number to get the area in square metres, and then multiply this by 60 to get the number of bricks you need.
- A double brick wall is the same principle as the single brick wall, except you multiply the area in square metres by 120; double that of the single brick wall.
- For calculating single brick piers, each pier needs an additional 14 bricks per vertical metre. So you need to multiply the number of piers by the wall height and multiply this figure by 14. One and a half brick piers are larger and require an additional 34 bricks per vertical metre.
- You may need to calculate the number of blocks for a wall. The standard sized block is 450 x 215 x 100mm. You will need 10 blocks per square metre. So multiply wall height by wall length, and multiply this total by 10.