How many bricks per m² in the UK?

About 60 standard bricks per square metre for a single-skin (half-brick) wall with 10mm joints. A double-skin (one-brick) wall is about 120 per m². Always allow waste for cuts and breakages.

How many bricks in a single skin vs double skin wall?

Single skin uses one leaf (~102.5mm) at ~60/m². Double skin is two leaves or a full 215mm wall at roughly twice that, ~120/m², before cavity insulation details on modern cavity walls.

How much mortar do I need for brickwork?

As a rule of thumb, about 0.022 m³ of mortar per m² of single-skin brickwork (and double for double skin). That works out at roughly 0.7 tonnes of building sand per 1000 bricks laid in a single skin. You will see "a tonne per 1000" quoted too: that figure suits solid one-brick walls, which carry an extra collar joint, so it over-orders for a half-brick wall.

How many concrete blocks per m²?

Standard 440×215mm blocks with joints work out at about 10 blocks per m² for a single leaf of 100mm blockwork. Confirm with the block size you are actually buying.

Should I allow for waste when ordering bricks?

Yes: 5% for simple walls, 10% as a default, and more where there are many cuts, openings or matching reclaimed stock. It is cheaper to return a few packs than to stop the job short.

Free Brick Calculator

Work out how many bricks or blocks you need for a wall: single or double skin, with waste and mortar volume.

Enter wall length and height, choose single or double skin, and get brick count, optional block count, and mortar volume. Uses the standard UK figure of about 60 bricks per m² for a half-brick (single skin) wall with 10mm joints.

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Brick Calculator results

Fill in the details and select Calculate to see your figures.

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How to use the Brick Calculator

1Measure the wall length and finished height in metres.
2Choose single skin (half brick / 102.5mm) or double skin (one brick / 215mm).
3Leave waste at 10% unless the wall is full of cuts and openings.
4Toggle blocks if you also want a 100mm blockwork count for the same area.
5Order bricks by the full pack size your merchant sells (often 400–500).

How the Brick Calculator works

Brick quantity is wall area times bricks per square metre, times a waste factor.

bricks = length × height × 60 × skinFactor × (1 + waste%) (skinFactor 1 or 2)

5m × 2.1m single-skin wall = 10.5 m².
10.5 × 60 = 630 bricks before waste.
With 10% waste: 630 × 1.10 = 693 → order 700.
Mortar ≈ 10.5 × 0.022 = 0.23 m³ for single skin.

Openings (doors, windows) reduce bricks: subtract opening area first for a tighter order. Specials, soldier courses and arches need extra.

Typical UK benchmarks

Bricks per m² (single skin)	215×102.5×65mm + 10mm joint
Bricks per m² (double skin)	One-brick wall ≈ 2 × single skin
Blocks per m²	100mm blocks 440×215mm + joint
Sand per 1000 bricks	~0.7 tonnes sand per 1000 bricks laid (single skin, 10mm joints)

Disclaimer

This tool gives an estimate for general guidance only, based on typical UK figures and the details you enter. It is not a formal quote, survey, or professional advice. Always confirm with a qualified tradesperson before relying on any figure, as regional prices, site conditions, and current standards vary.

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Your assistant sends the quotes, chases the invoices, books the work and keeps your customers updated. The first £10,000 Tradehand collects for a business carries no Tradehand fee. After that, Tradehand earns 5% of collected invoice payments. No monthly fee, setup fee, card fee or contract. One office hire costs about £25,000 a year, whether the invoices land or not.

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