Brick Calculator

Written byOleh Soloninupdated 25 September 2026

Calculate from

Wall area, m²

Brick

Wall thickness

Allowance for breakage and cutting, %

Advanced options

Bed joint, mm

12 mm under the Russian code SP 70.13330.2012.

Head joint, mm

10 mm under the Russian code SP 70.13330.2012.

Bricks per pallet

The brickworks gives this on the delivery note or its website; 0 skips the pallet count.

Result

Bricks with allowance5,245
Per m² of wall99.9
Wall thickness250 mm
Mortar, m³2.76
Mortar per m²55 L per m²

From the wall area, or straight from the size of the house

Work out how many bricks a wall or house needs, from the wall area or from the perimeter and wall height less windows and doors, with gables and mortar volume. Built on Russian brick sizes (GOST 530-2012) and joints (SP 70.13330).

Bricks are counted through their face plus the joints. A 250 × 65 mm brick with a 10 mm head joint and a 12 mm bed joint takes up 260 × 77 mm of wall, and it is that module, not the brick itself, that sets the count per square metre: about 50 for a half-brick wall and 100 for a one-brick wall.

You do not have to work out the wall area first. In house mode the calculator takes the outside perimeter and wall height, subtracts windows and doors, adds gables and avoids counting the corners twice. It then adds an allowance for breakage and gives the mortar volume.

The brick sizes and joint widths follow Russian standards. Bricks made to other national standards come in other sizes, so for those the per-square-metre figures here will not apply.

How to use

Choose whether to calculate from a known wall area or from the perimeter and height of a house.
For a house, enter the outside perimeter, the wall height and the number and size of windows and doors; brick gables are in the extra fields.
Pick the brick and wall thickness and check the breakage allowance. If you know how many bricks come on a pallet from your supplier, enter it to get the pallet count.

Bricks per square metre

The count per square metre is the number of brick widths across the wall divided by the area of one module with its joints. A 250 mm one-brick wall is two 120 mm bricks with a 10 mm joint between them, which is why it takes twice as many bricks as a half-brick wall.

With 10 mm joints both ways a one-brick wall takes 102.6 standard bricks per square metre rather than 99.9, which is where the often-quoted figure of 102 comes from. Joint widths can be changed in the extra fields.

Bricks per m² with no allowance, 12 mm bed joints and 10 mm head joints. Worked out with this calculator.
Brick	Half brick	One brick (250 mm)	1.5 bricks (380 mm)	Two bricks (510 mm)
Standard 250×120×65	50	99.9	149.9	199.8
Euro 250×85×65	50	136.7	205.1	273.4
One-and-a-half 250×120×88	38.5	76.9	115.4	153.8
Double (block) 250×120×140	25.3	50.6	75.9	101.2

Brick sizes in GOST 530-2012

Russian brick sizes are given in fractions of the "normal format", NF, which is the 250 × 120 × 65 mm standard brick. All the bricks below are 250 mm long, so they differ only in width and course height.

GOST 530-2012, tables 2 and 3.
Brick	Designation	Length × width × height, mm
Standard	1 NF	250 × 120 × 65
Euro	0.7 NF	250 × 85 × 65
One-and-a-half	1.4 NF	250 × 120 × 88
Double, a ceramic block	2.1 NF	250 × 120 × 140

Working out bricks for a house by hand

1. Wall length along the axis: the outside perimeter less four wall thicknesses. For a 10 × 10 m house with one-brick walls that is 40 − 4 × 0.25 = 39 m. Using the full outside perimeter would count each corner twice.

2. Wall area: axis length × wall height + gable area (base × height ÷ 2) − windows and doors. With 3 m walls, six 1.2 × 1.4 m windows and a 0.9 × 2.1 m door that is 39 × 3 − 10.08 − 1.89 = 105.03 m².

3. Count: area × bricks per m², plus the allowance. 105.03 × 99.9 = 10,493 bricks, or 11,018 with 5% extra.

A 10 × 10 m house, 3 m walls, six 1.2 × 1.4 m windows, one 0.9 × 2.1 m door, standard brick. Worked out with this calculator.
Wall thickness	Wall area	Bricks with 5% extra	Mortar
Half brick (120 mm)	106.59 m²	5,591	2.41 m³
One brick (250 mm)	105.03 m²	11,018	5.8 m³
One and a half (380 mm)	103.47 m²	16,281	9.08 m³

Mortar and joints

The Russian code of practice SP 70.13330.2012, clause 9.2.4, sets brickwork bed joints at 12 mm and head joints at 10 mm, and those are the defaults here.

Mortar volume is the wall volume minus the volume of the bricks: about 55 litres per square metre of one-brick wall and about 23 litres for half brick. That is the joints alone, without mortar lost into the cores of perforated bricks or wasted on site.

What this calculator shows

The number of bricks with allowance and the count per m²
The wall area from perimeter and height, less windows and doors, plus gables
The number of courses up the wall and the wall thickness
Total mortar and mortar per m², and pallets if you know how many bricks come on one

What to keep in mind

Brick sizes follow GOST 530-2012; joints default to 12 mm bed and 10 mm head (SP 70.13330.2012, clause 9.2.4).
House mode assumes a rectangular outline with four outside corners; count partitions and internal walls separately by area.
Mortar is the joint volume, with no waste and no filling of brick cores.
Bricks per pallet vary between brickworks, so the calculator does not assume a figure.

Where the numbers come from

Checked against GOST 530-2012 (ceramic brick and block), tables 2 and 3 for sizes; SP 70.13330.2012 (load-bearing and enclosing structures), clause 9.2.4 for joint widths · verified September 2026.

FAQs

How many bricks per square metre?

For standard 250 × 120 × 65 mm bricks with 12 mm bed and 10 mm head joints: 50 for half brick, 99.9 for one brick, 149.9 for one and a half and 199.8 for two. With 10 mm joints both ways a one-brick wall takes 102.6.

How many bricks do I need for a house?

It depends on the perimeter, wall height and thickness. A 10 × 10 m house with 3 m one-brick walls, six windows and a door needs about 11,000 standard bricks with 5% extra, or about 16,300 at one and a half bricks thick. Choose the perimeter and height mode and enter your own sizes.

How do I allow for windows and doors?

Subtract their area from the wall area: a 1.2 × 1.4 m window is 1.68 m², so six of them are 10.08 m². In house mode the calculator does this from the number and size of the openings.

How many bricks are on a pallet?

The brickworks decides, and it varies by maker and brick size, so check the delivery note or the supplier's website. Enter the figure in Bricks per pallet and the calculator counts the pallets.

How much mortar does brickwork need?

About 55 litres per square metre of one-brick wall and about 23 litres for half brick, which is the volume of the joints. Perforated bricks and site waste take more.

Does it work for UK or US bricks?

Not directly: the brick types here are Russian sizes, and bricks in other countries are made to other dimensions. Use the wall area from house mode, then divide it by the face of your own brick plus its joints.

Worked example

A 10 × 10 m house in one-brick walls

Input: 40 m perimeter, 3 m walls, six 1.2 × 1.4 m windows, a 0.9 × 2.1 m door, standard brick, 5% extra

Output: 11,018 bricks, 105.03 m² of wall, 5.8 m³ of mortar

Note: The axis length is 39 m, the outside perimeter less four wall thicknesses. A 3 m wall takes 39 courses of standard brick.

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