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Mortar Calculator

Find how much mortar you need.

How it is calculated

The tool estimates how many bags of mortar a wall needs from the number of bricks: bags = ⌈bricks ÷ bricks per bag⌉. bricks is the total count you will lay (zero or more); bricks per bag is how many bricks one bag of mortar covers, taken from the manufacturer or from your own experience. If you leave that empty or enter zero or less, it falls back to 37 bricks per bag, the yield of one 80 lb bag of QUIKRETE Mortar Mix. The result is always rounded up to a whole bag, because you cannot buy a fraction. The coverage per bag varies with brick size, joint thickness, mix and waste, so treat the number as an estimate and check the figure on the bag.

Worked example

A wall needs 1,000 bricks and one bag of mortar is rated for about 35 bricks. 1,000 ÷ 35 = 28.57 bags. Because partial bags cannot be bought, round up to the next whole number. The tool shows 29 bags. Using the default of 37 bricks per bag instead would give 28 bags, which shows how much the coverage assumption matters.

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Common mistakes

  • Counting mortar by wall area but entering that number in the bricks field. The input is a number of bricks, not square metres.
  • Using someone else's bricks-per-bag figure. Larger bricks and thicker joints use more mortar, so the same bag covers fewer bricks.
  • Rounding down. 28.57 bags means 29; buying 28 leaves the last part of the wall unfinished.
  • Forgetting waste and extra mixing. Spillage and hardening in the bucket mean a small margin is usually wise.
  • Leaving the coverage field blank without noticing. The default of 37 bricks per bag (one 80 lb bag) may not match your product.

Sources

About this calculator

This calculator works out how many bags of mortar a bricklaying job needs from two numbers: how many bricks (or blocks) you will lay and how many of them one bag covers. It divides the first by the second and rounds up to a whole bag.

The bricks-per-bag figure is printed on the bag or the manufacturer's data sheet; QUIKRETE, for example, rates one 80 lb bag of Mortar Mix at up to 37 standard bricks, and the form starts at that value. Masons and contractors use it to order the right amount of material and avoid a mid-job run to the supplier, and DIY builders use it to budget a wall, patio or garden project before buying. Enter the brick count and your product's bricks per bag to get the bag estimate.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    If you only know the wall area, estimate the bricks first. A common figure for standard modular brick with ordinary joints is about 6.75 bricks per square foot, so a 100 square foot wall needs roughly 675 bricks, which comes to 19 bags at the default 37 per bag. Check the coverage printed on your bag and keep a spare bag for waste. What brick size and joint thickness are you working with?

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