How Many Bricks Does It Take To Build A House?
Bricks are known for creating sturdy, insulated homes. If you are building a brick home, you’ll want to have a rough idea of how many you need. The old joke says that you only need one brick to complete a house no matter the size. Once you fit that last one in, the house is done. However, if we want to know how many bricks it takes to build a house that will require a few facts about bricks and some math.
When you are calculating how many bricks you need to build a house, you will want to know the area of the brick walls (L X W), the size of your bricks, and what percentage of the house you want to cover in brick. On average, you will use 5-8 bricks per square foot of bricked area to create a brick façade for your house.
We’ll explain more in-depth the factors that influence how many bricks you need, and we’ll walk you through the step-by-step calculations as well.
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The Factors that Influence How Many Bricks You Will Need
If you search the internet to find how many bricks you will need to build your home, you may come back scratching your head at the different answers you find. This is because there are many variables in brick sizes as well as home designs.
To determine how many bricks you will need, you will want to ask the following questions:
What is the size of the brick?
While you may think that your brick choices are mostly based on color, bricks will vary in size as well. In fact, there are at least 10 different sizes of bricks. According to the Brick Industry Association, the bricks which are the most widely distributed are king-size bricks. These bricks have a bed size of 3 by 9-5/8 in. and a height of 2-5/8 inches.
You will need about 4.5 bricks per square foot with king-size bricks. Modular bricks are also fairly common in the construction world. With these bricks, you will need about 7 bricks per square foot. As you can see, the size of your brick can make a significant difference in how many bricks you will need to build your house. Usually, larger bricks will be a more economical choice.
Are you building a brick veneer or a solid brick home?
While many old brick homes were made of solid bricks, these days, most brick homes use a single layer of bricks called a brick veneer. A solid brick home is constructed using 2 layers of bricks with header rows. Header rows are a perpendicular layer of bricks that are used to attach these 2 separate walls together.
If a house is solid brick, you will usually see a header row every six rows. If you choose to make a house out of solid bricks, you will need to use at least twice as many bricks as you need for a brick veneer.
Will the entire exterior be brick, or will you also use other materials?
While some home exteriors are entirely brick, other homes will combine brick with other materials such as siding or stone. When you are calculating how many bricks you need, you will need to be certain of the exterior design.
Calculating How Many Bricks You Need Step-by-Step
Once you have chosen your brick size and have the plan for your house, it is time to calculate how many bricks you will need to build your home.
Step 1: Find the Area of your brick walls
Multiply the length times the width of your exterior walls and then add the sums together. This will give you the total square feet of area you want to brick.
Step 2: Find out how many bricks are in one square foot.
Next, determine how many bricks are in a square foot of your brick size. For example, there are approximately 4.5 king-size bricks in a square foot and approximately 7 bricks in a square foot of modular bricks. If you choose a different brick size, multiply the length times width of each brick face. Divide 144 (the number of inches in a square foot) by this number.
For a more exact number, make sure to add the mortar measurement (approx 3/8 of an inch) to your brick face size.
Step 3: Multiply your totals together.
Multiply a square foot of bricks by the total area of your exterior walls.
Step 4: Add in 10% on top.
Finally, add in an extra 10% to your total to account for cut bricks and loss.
This should give you a rough estimate of how many bricks you will need for your home’s brick veneer.
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Related Questions
Why do bricks have holes?
The holes in house bricks serve a few different purposes. They can help bricks fire evenly in a kiln and the holes also allow the mortar to fall through to make solid connections between bricks. For an even stronger bond, you can place rebar in the holes.
Why do some people soak bricks in water before use?
If bricks are well-made, you shouldn’t need to soak them in water. However, for more porous bricks, you can consider soaking them for a few hours before you lay your bricks. Not only does water clean your bricks and remove dust and sand, but it also prevents your bricks from sucking water out of your mortar.If your bricks are porous, they can soak up the water from your mortar. This may cause the mortar to crumble when it is dry which means the bricks won’t form a secure bond.
How much do bricks cost?
Bricks vary in size, quality, color, and age. Reclaimed bricks are often the most expensive bricks on the market. This is because of the labor required to salvage them and because they are a limited stock item.If you are trying to gauge how much it will cost to brick your house, the average cost range will be 50 cents to 60 cents per brick. Multiply this by how many bricks you will need and you can get a relative idea for your brick budget.
Alex Praytor is a native Texan who got her degree in English Literature and decided to travel the globe. She finds the architecture and design of homes across cultures fascinating. In her spare time, she visits coffee shops with her family and creates projects for their own home. Alex enjoys sharing tips on how to keep repairs up to date while turning a house into a home.
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