Knowing the bricks required can help in precise planning in budget allocation, smooth construction progression and avoiding delays. This blog will guide you through the step-by-step process of determining the brick quantity, with an example of a 10×10 wall. Whether you are a homeowner or a budding constructor, understanding this can help save costs and plan your progress accordingly.
Importance of Knowing the Brick Quantity
- Helps to give the material cost estimates so that it will make budgeting more effective.
- Strategic estimation of the amount of brick required enables effective planning for purchases and prevention of shortage and also over-buying.
- It helps control the wastage that bricks suffer due to breakage or cutting because such wastage is inevitable during work with bricks.
- It will let you know how much time you can schedule for completing the entire project.
Factors Affecting Brick Quantity Calculation
Size of the Brick
It is a primary factor in quantity calculation because it provides the exact idea of how much area will be covered by a single brick. As bricks are of various sizes, knowing the size of the brick would help one understand the total number of bricks required.
Large-size bricks cover a larger area; therefore, they need fewer bricks. In contrast, smaller bricks cover a small area, which requires more bricks to cover the total area of the wall. The Standard Brick Size is 190 x 90 x 90 mm.
Thickness of Mortar
Mortar is the binding material used to bind bricks into a wall. Mortar joint thickness is an important determinant in evaluating the number of bricks for any work. If mortar joint thickness is defined, then one can evaluate how many bricks it will take. The mortar thickness varies across sites, but the standard thickness of a mortar is recorded as 9mm.
Wall Thickness
The thickness of the wall is crucial in identifying the number of bricks needed. Single-thick walls are usually 10 to 15 centimetres thick, which requires fewer bricks. On the other hand, double-thick walls are 20 centimetres thick, requiring more bricks to fill the same height and length.
Opening for Doors and Windows
It is essential to know how many openings will be made for doors and windows. By taking away their openings, the volume will reduce the walls. Doors and windows create huge holes in the walls, and well measuring their sizes will help in a precise plan for the required number of bricks.
Brick Wastage
Bricks are subject to breaks, cuts and damages, no matter how precise the bricks are transported and handled. To avoid scarcity of bricks due to wastage, 5% to 10% extra bricks should be bought to cover wastage. Large-scale construction causes high wastage, thus requiring more bricks to cover wastage.
Step-by-Step Calculation To Determine Brick Quantity
Measure the Area
Measuring the area is the first step in determining quantities of bricks. The measurement of the area will be done by multiplying the height with the width of the wall.
Area of Wall = Height x Width
Calculate the Size of the Brick
The next step would be to understand the size of the brick, that needs to fill all the above area. Bricks are of different sizes and shapes. If the brick size is big, fewer bricks are needed; but if the brick size is small, then it requires more bricks. The standard size of the brick is 19 x 9 x 9. The area of a brick can be measured by multiplying the Length and Width of the brick.
Area of One Brick = Length x Width
Calculate the Number of Bricks
After measuring the area of the wall and the brick, the number of bricks needed to cover the total wall area can be determined. This can be done by dividing the area of the wall by the area of one brick.
Number of Bricks = Area of Wall / Area of One Brick
Consider the Openings
Openings will take an area within the total walls of the opened doors and windows when determining the number of bricks necessary to cover the entire area. Measure the total area of the openings of doors and windows and subtract the opening area from the total area of the wall.
Adjusted Wall Area = Area of Wall – Area of Openings
Now, the adjusted wall area is divided by the area of one brick. This gives the exact number of bricks required.
Number of Bricks = Adjusted Area / Area of One Brick
Calculate the Number of Courses
To determine the number of courses for the brick wall, the total height of the wall is calculated and divided by the total height of a brick (including the mortar thickness).
Number of Courses = Height of the Wall / Height of Brick (with Mortar)
How Many Bricks Are Required for a 10×10 Wall?
Based on the above step-by-step measurement, the number of bricks required for a 10×10 wall.
Area of Wall = 10 x 10 = 100 sq.ft.
The area of a Standard Brick = 0.625 ft x 0.2917 ft = 0.182 sq.ft.
Number of Bricks = 100 / 0.182 ≅ 550 bricks.
Number of Courses = 10 / 0.625 = 16 courses.
Based on these, approximately 550 bricks are required for building a 10 x 10 wall.
Alternative Methods to Estimate Brick Quantity
- Online Calculators can be the fastest and most convenient method to determine the number of bricks. By entering the wall dimensions and brick size, the portal will automatically calculate the number of bricks required.
- Volume-based estimation can be done by dividing the total volume of the wall by the volume of the bricks to identify the brick quantity.
- The thumb formula can be used to estimate the number of bricks, based on the standard brick size and wall area.
Conclusion
In summary, measuring the number of bricks is essential for various construction benefits from saving money, precise planning, reducing wastage, and more. Considering the factors such as wall size, brick size, mortar thickness, and openings, can make sure the right brick quantity. Calculations can be done manually or using online tools to build your wall precisely with confidence, and without unexpected shortages.