🧱 Construction
How Many Bricks per Square Foot?
Bricks per square foot depends on the brick plus its mortar joint. Enter both, plus the wall area, to get the exact count and the quantity to order.
How many bricks are in a square foot?
A standard US modular brick is 7⅝ × 2¼ inches, and with a ⅜ inch mortar joint it occupies an 8 × 2⅝ inch module. One square foot is 144 square inches, and 8 × 2.625 = 21 square inches, so the answer is 144 ÷ 21 = 6.86 bricks per square foot. Round to 6.9 for estimating, or 7.4 once you allow 7 percent for cuts and breakage.
That single number is only correct for that one brick. Change the brick and the count changes with it: a queen brick gives 5.8 per square foot, an engineer modular 5.3, and a UK 215 × 65 mm brick about 5.5. This is the most common estimating error in brickwork — taking a figure off a website that was calculated for a different module.
Bricks per square foot for common brick types
| Brick | Size (in) | Joint | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| US modular | 7⅝ × 2¼ | ⅜ in | 6.9 |
| US queen | 7⅝ × 2¾ | ⅜ in | 5.8 |
| Engineer modular | 7⅝ × 3⅝ | ⅜ in | 5.3 |
| Roman | 11⅝ × 1⅝ | ⅜ in | 8.6 |
| UK metric | 8½ × 2⅝ | ⅜ in | 5.5 |
| Clay paver (flat) | 8 × 4 | ⅛ in | 4.3 |
Why the joint matters as much as the brick
The mortar joint is part of the wall's module, so it is counted in the coverage. Widening a ⅜ inch joint to ½ inch on a modular brick drops the count from 6.86 to 6.49 per square foot — about 5 percent fewer bricks, but noticeably more mortar and a visibly different wall. Joint width is usually specified by the designer for appearance and weather tightness, so do not widen it to save bricks.
Conversely, a thin ¼ inch joint raises the count to 7.2 per square foot. On a 2,000 sq ft veneer that is a difference of roughly 700 bricks, which is why the joint dimension belongs in the estimate rather than being assumed.
From square feet to a real order
- A 100 sq ft wall of modular brick needs 686 bricks, so order 735.
- A 1,000 sq ft wall needs 6,860, so order 7,340 — usually 7 packs of 1,000 plus a part pack.
- A 10 ft × 8 ft wall is 80 sq ft, so 549 bricks, or 590 with waste.
Deduct openings only if they are large. A window or door under about 10 sq ft is usually left in the count, because the cut bricks around the opening and the soldier course above it consume roughly what the opening saves. For a garage door or a full-height glazed panel, subtract the area and add 10 percent back for the reveals.
Bricks are sold in packs of 500 or 1,000 in the US and 390 or 500 in the UK, so round up to the pack and keep a spare bundle. Matching a colour six months later is rarely possible, and a half-finished wall waiting on bricks is the expensive part of the job.