Brick Wall Calculator — Bricks, Cement & Sand
Planning a brick wall? Enter its length, height and thickness to estimate the bricks, cement bags and sand for mortar — the three things you order from the supplier.
Bricks required
–
standard modular bricks, rounded up
Cement for mortar
–
50 kg bags, 1:6 mortar, rounded up
Sand for mortar
–
cubic feet
Wall volume
–
cubic metres of brickwork
How to use it
- Measure your wall: its length and its height, in feet or metres.
- Enter the length and height above, set the measurement unit, and choose the wall thickness — 9 inch for external and load-bearing walls, 4.5 inch for internal partitions.
- Click Calculate.
- Read off the bricks required (rounded up), the 50 kg cement bags for the 1:6 mortar, and the sand in cubic feet — the wall volume they came from is shown too.
- Before ordering, add 5–10% extra bricks for breakage in transport and cutting on site.
How this brick wall calculator works
Estimating brickwork means counting two things: the bricks, and the mortar that binds them. This calculator starts with your wall's volume in cubic metres, then applies two standard thumb rules — 500 bricks per cubic metre of brickwork, and 0.30 m³ of wet mortar per cubic metre — to give you both figures in one go.
The formula
- Wall volume (m³) = length × height × thickness
- Bricks = wall volume × 500, rounded up
- Wet mortar = wall volume × 0.30 m³; dry mortar = wet × 1.33
- Cement bags = (dry mortar × 1/7) ÷ 0.0347, rounded up — for 1:6 mortar
- Sand (cft) = dry mortar × 6/7 × 35.3147
Worked example
Say your wall is 10 ft × 10 ft, 9 inches (0.2286 m) thick. That’s 3.048 × 3.048 × 0.2286 = 2.12 m³ of brickwork — multiply by 500 and you get 1,062 bricks. For mortar: 2.12 × 0.30 × 1.33 = 0.85 m³ dry. Cement = 0.85 × 1/7 ÷ 0.0347 = 3.5 → round up to 4 bags. Sand = 0.85 × 6/7 × 35.31 = 26 cft.
Notes for Indian sites
Go with 9-inch (230 mm) walls wherever the wall is external or carries load above it — and keep 4.5-inch (115 mm) walls for internal partitions only. Many regions still use traditional 230 × 110 × 70 mm bricks, which drink a little more mortar: if yours are non-modular, add about 10% to the mortar figures. On big walls, subtract door and window openings from the wall area; for a single small room it barely matters. Add 5–10% wastage to the brick count for breakage in transport and cutting. Buy sand from a supplier you trust — sand with too much silt makes weak mortar. And cure the wall with water for at least 7 days after building so the mortar reaches full strength.
Common brick sizes in India
The 500-bricks-per-m³ rule is not magic: a modular brick plus its 10 mm mortar joint measures 200 × 100 × 100 mm, which is exactly 0.002 m³ — and 1 ÷ 0.002 = 500. If your bricks are a different size, the count per cubic metre changes with the size including the joint:
| Brick | Actual size | Size with 10 mm joint | Bricks per m³ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard modular brick | 190 × 90 × 90 mm | 200 × 100 × 100 mm | 500 |
| Traditional red brick | 230 × 110 × 70 mm | 240 × 120 × 80 mm | about 434 |
| Fly ash brick (common size) | 230 × 110 × 70 mm | 240 × 120 × 80 mm | about 434 |
Building with traditional-size bricks? Estimate the count as wall volume × 434 instead of × 500, and keep the note above in mind: non-modular bricks also take roughly 10% more mortar than this calculator shows.
Frequently asked questions
How many bricks are needed for 1 cubic metre of brickwork?
About 500 standard modular bricks (190 × 90 × 90 mm), laid with 10 mm mortar joints, fill one cubic metre of brickwork. That’s the thumb rule builders use all over India.
Should I build a 4.5 inch or 9 inch wall?
Make external and load-bearing walls 9 inches (230 mm) thick — they need the strength and weather protection. 4.5-inch (115 mm) walls are fine for internal partitions that carry no load above them.
What cement-sand ratio is used for brickwork mortar?
Use 1:6 — one part cement to six parts sand. That’s the standard mortar ratio for home brickwork in India. Richer mixes like 1:4 go on exposed walls or walls carrying heavy loads.
How many bricks are needed for a 100 sq ft, 9 inch wall?
A 100 sq ft wall, 9 inches thick, holds about 2.12 m³ of brickwork. That needs roughly 1,062 bricks, plus about 4 bags of cement and 26 cft of sand for 1:6 mortar.
How much cement is needed for 1,000 bricks?
1,000 bricks stack up to about 2 m³ of brickwork. With 1:6 cement mortar, that needs roughly 4 bags of 50 kg cement and about 24 cft of sand — before you add anything for wastage.
Does the calculator subtract doors and windows?
No — it works on the full length × height × thickness you enter. For a wall with a standard door opening of about 7 ft × 3 ft, the opening in a 9-inch wall is roughly 0.45 m³ of brickwork, or about 223 bricks — deduct that from the result. Alternatively, split the wall into sections around the openings, calculate each part, and add the results together.