How many bricks per m²?
60 for a half-brick wall and 120 for a one-brick wall, with standard 215 × 65mm bricks and 10mm joints. Each brick and its share of mortar takes up 225 × 75mm of wall, and 1 ÷ (0.225 × 0.075) is 59.3, which the trade rounds up to 60 (Imperial Bricks). The calculator counts at 60.
| Unit | Per m² |
|---|---|
| Standard metric, 215 × 102.5 × 65mm | 60 |
| Imperial, 228 × 108 × 68mm | 54 |
| Imperial, 228 × 108 × 73mm | 51 |
| Imperial, 228 × 108 × 75mm | 50 |
| Imperial, 228 × 108 × 80mm | 47 |
| Block, 440 × 215 × 100mm | 10 |
| Block, 440 × 215 × 140mm | 10 |
| Block, 440 × 215 × 215mm (trench block) | 10 |
| Block, Large format, 620 × 215 × 100mm | 7.1 |
Imperial sizes are rounded up to the next whole brick, as Imperial Bricks lists them. Double the brick figure for a one-brick wall.
How many bricks in a square metre with mortar?
The same 60: the per m² figure already includes the mortar joints. Along a wall that is 4.4 bricks per metre run, and up it 13.3 courses per metre.
How to calculate how many bricks you need
- Measure each wall's length and height and multiply for its area.
- Take off the doors and windows.
- Multiply by bricks per m²: 60 for a half-brick wall, 120 for one-brick.
- Add 5 to 10% waste for cuts and breakages.
A garden wall 6m long and 1.2m high is 7.2m². At 60 per m² that is 432 bricks, or 454 with 5% waste. At 1:4 it takes 3 bags of cement and about 270kg of sand.
How many blocks per m²?
10 standard 440 × 215mm blocks, rounded to 10, whatever their thickness. Large format 620 × 215mm blocks are 7.1 per m². The thickness changes the mortar, not the count.
How much mortar per m² of brickwork?
About 0.022m³ per m² of half-brick wall and 0.044m³ for one-brick. A 100mm block wall takes about 0.007m³ per m², a 140mm wall 0.01m³. Per 1,000 bricks that is about 0.37m³ of mortar: at 1:4, 624kg of building sand and 6 bags of cement.
- 1:4, common brickwork and exposed walls
- 1:5, softer general bricklaying
- 1:6, soft bricks, sheltered or inside
What area will 1,000 bricks cover?
16.7m² of half-brick wall, or 8.3m² of one-brick wall. That is a garden wall about 13.9m long and 1.2m high, single skin.
Cavity walls: what else to count
A cavity wall has a brick outer skin and a block inner skin, joined by wall ties. Ancon, following Approved Document A, gives at least 2.5 ties per m², 900mm apart along the wall and 450mm up, and closer at the sides of openings. Each door and window needs a lintel, and the cavity gets insulation. The calculator counts ties, lintels, insulation area and DPC length; the lintel sizes are for your supplier or engineer.
Copings and engineering bricks below DPC
A brick on edge coping stands bricks on their side along the top of a garden wall: 13.3 bricks per metre with standard bricks. Courses below the damp proof course (DPC) are often engineering bricks, which are harder and absorb less water. Enter the number of courses and the calculator counts them separately, because they are a different brick at a different price.
How much does a brick wall cost?
BookaBuilderUK's 2026 figures: facing bricks cost £500 to £900 per 1,000 and engineering bricks £700 to £1,200; blocks £1.50 to £3.50 each. Laying runs £650 to £1,200 per 1,000 bricks, or £90 to £150 per m² labour only. A bricklayer charges £180 to £300 a day and lays 400 to 600 bricks. A garden wall comes to about £120 to £180 a metre single skin and £250 to £400 double skin. These are estimates.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate how much brick I need?
Wall area in m², less doors and windows, × 60 for a half-brick wall or 120 for one-brick, plus 5 to 10% waste.
How many m² do 1,000 bricks cover?
About 16.7m² of half-brick wall at 60 bricks per m², or 8.3m² one-brick thick.
How much area will 1000 bricks cover?
About 16.7m² of half-brick wall, or 8.3m² one-brick thick.
How many bricks do I need for a 12x12 room?
Four 12ft walls at 8ft high are about 35.7m², which is about 2,140 bricks half-brick thick before doors and windows come off.
How many bricks do I need for 1 square metre?
60 for a half-brick wall and 120 for one-brick, with standard bricks and 10mm joints.
How much brick work per m2?
60 bricks and about 0.022m³ of mortar per m² of half-brick wall.
What is the 3:4:5 rule for bricklaying?
A way to check a corner is square: measure 3 along one wall and 4 along the other, and if the diagonal between the marks is 5, the corner is a right angle. Any multiple works, such as 0.9m, 1.2m and 1.5m.
What do bricklayers charge per 1000 bricks?
£650 to £1,200 per 1,000 laid in 2026, according to BookaBuilderUK. It varies with the brick, the bond and the access.
Can a bricklayer lay 1000 bricks a day?
Not usually: BookaBuilderUK puts a skilled bricklayer at 400 to 600 bricks a day.
What area will 1000 bricks cover?
16.7m² single skin.
How many 73mm bricks per m2?
51 per m² for 228 × 108 × 73mm imperial bricks with 10mm joints.
How many UK bricks per m2?
60 standard bricks per m² of half-brick wall, 120 for one-brick.
How many bricks are in a 10x10 wall?
A 10ft × 10ft wall is 9.29m², about 557 bricks single skin. A 10m × 10m wall is 100m², 6,000 bricks.
How much mortar do I need per square metre of brickwork?
About 0.022m³ for a half-brick wall and 0.044m³ for one-brick.
Does the calculator work in feet and inches?
Yes. Switch the length or height to ft/in and type it as you measured it.
How many bricks in a pack?
It depends on the brick and the maker, so ask the merchant. Enter the pack size in the order list and the calculator rounds up to whole packs.
Do I need planning permission for a garden wall?
Usually not if it is no more than 1m high next to a road used by vehicles (or its footpath), or no more than 2m elsewhere (Planning Portal). Listed buildings and conservation areas have their own rules.
What size footing does a garden wall need?
That depends on the wall and the ground, so ask Building Control or an engineer. Once you know it, the link under the calculator opens the concrete calculator with your wall length filled in.
Sources
- Bradfords: 440 × 215 × 100mm block, 10 blocks per m² (opens in a new tab)
- Gilmore Building Supplies: how many blocks per m² (July 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Imperial Bricks: bricks per m² guide (metric and imperial sizes) (opens in a new tab)
- Build Journal: brick calculator, mortar per m² and per 1,000 bricks (2026) (opens in a new tab)
- BookaBuilderUK: brickwork cost 2026 and bricklayer rates (opens in a new tab)
- Ancon: cavity wall tie spacing (opens in a new tab)
- Planning Portal: fences, gates and garden walls (opens in a new tab)
Quantities are estimates for ordering. Lintels, wall ties and foundations are for your supplier, engineer or Building Control to specify.
By Janusz Wozniak, Founder & Lead Developer
Built so a bricklayer can price a wall on site: bricks, blocks, ties and mortar in one go, with the working shown.
Last updated .
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