Measure the wall, then subtract openings
Use finished wall length and height. Deduct door and window area that will not be masonry. Unusual returns, soldier courses and custom units need their own count.
- Confirm the actual unit: 8×16 CMU and modular brick do not share a face size.
- Use nominal face dimensions that include the mortar joint unless the manufacturer publishes a different coverage.
- Count corners, lintels and cut units as estimate extras rather than burying them in waste alone.
Block first, brick second, mortar last
Open the concrete-block calculator for CMU walls and the brick calculator for brick veneer or brick walls. Mortar bags come from the stated units-per-bag yield after the masonry count exists. Do not use a concrete-volume tool as a block count.
Whole units and whole bags
Blocks, brick and mortar are purchased whole. Leave the waste allowance visible so a later takeoff can raise it for cuts, bond pattern and breakage.
- Replace the default units-per-bag figure with the selected mortar product yield.
- Add lintels, rebar, grout fill and ties as separate lines when the wall needs them.
- Confirm colour, texture and cube quantities with the supplier before treating a count as an order.
Planning boundary
These calculators count units. They do not design the wall, select seismic or wind ties, size grout cells or guarantee a mason’s production rate.