Ordering brick for brick steps means turning a measured net count into whole packs a supplier can deliver. The measurement guide owns the net count, and the brick steps guide owns the product choice. This page does the last step: a stated waste basis, a whole-brick order count, and a pack count that matches the delivery. The fixture flight below has 24 ft2 of brick face, which counts as 162 modular bricks net, 171 bricks at the Association waste rule, and 1 pack at the example pack size.
How do you order brick for brick steps?
Start from the measured net face area, apply the coverage rate of the brick actually being used, add waste on a stated basis, round up to whole bricks, and round up to whole packs. Keep the ledger lines visible through every step, because the delivery check needs the net count, the waste basis, the order count, and the pack count as separate figures.
Net bricks = net face area x bricks per ft2
Order bricks = net bricks x (1 + waste / 100)
Packs = order bricks / bricks per pack, rounded up
The Brick Industry Association wall-area method works this way. Its Table 4 gives 675 modular bricks per 100 ft2 at a 3/8 in joint, which is 6.75 bricks per ft2, and 655 standard bricks per 100 ft2, which is 6.55 bricks per ft2. Those table values exclude waste and assume running or stack bond, so the waste step still has to follow. The Association states a general rule of at least 5 percent added to net brick quantities for breakage and waste.
Treads, risers, and cheeks stay on separate ledger lines for checking, but they form one order line when they use one product. A delivery check needs the ledger areas and the single order count, not three separate orders for one product.
What must the order record state before you buy?
Write every field below before placing the order. A missing field becomes a guess at delivery, and a guess cannot be verified.
| Field | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Manufacturer, product name, colour, and the standard and class from the selection guide | Colour alone does not tell the supplier which product to supply |
| Size, joint, and bond | Specified brick dimensions, joint width, and bond basis | These three set the coverage rate |
| Coverage basis | Bricks per ft2, with its source | A rate without a source cannot be checked |
| Net area and net count | Measured face area per ledger line, and the net brick count | Every figure below starts from these counts |
| Waste basis | Waste percentage and what it covers: cuts, breakage, or both | An unstated percentage cannot be audited later |
| Packs | Bricks per pack from the supplier, split-pack policy, and returns terms | Pack rounding creates surplus that must be accepted or refused |
| Lot | Single-lot order where the supplier can supply it | A second lot can shift colour visibly |
| Spares | Repair spares as a separate line, if any are ordered | Spares stay unused after laying, while waste is consumed by cuts and breakage |
Confirm the product before running the order math. The coverage rate belongs to one brick size, and the pack size belongs to one supplier listing. A rate or a pack size carried from another product makes the whole order wrong.
Worked example: the fixture flight at the 5 percent rule
The fixture flight from the measurement guide has 3 steps, each 4 ft wide, with a tread depth of 1 ft and a riser height of 0.5 ft. Its tread faces total 12 ft2, its riser faces total 6 ft2, and its two side cheeks add 6 ft2, for a total face area of 24 ft2. The brick is modular, at 6.75 bricks per ft2.
- Net bricks: 24 x 6.75 = 162 bricks.
- Order bricks at 5 percent: 162 x 1.05 = 170.1 bricks, rounded up to 171 bricks.
- Pack rounding: the example supplier states 500 bricks per pack. 171 / 500 = 0.342, rounded up to 1 pack.
Result: the order is 1 pack, or 500 bricks, for a 171-brick need. The surplus is 329 bricks over the order need. That surplus is the cost of whole-pack rounding on a small flight, and it belongs on the record before the order is placed, so it is not mistaken for a counting error at delivery.
| Line | Net area | Rate | Net bricks | Waste | Order bricks | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One product, modular brick: treads, risers, cheeks | 24 ft2 | 6.75 per ft2 | 162 | 5% | 171 | 1 pack |
The 500 bricks per pack figure is an example supplier figure for this calculation only. It is not a standard. The supplier quote sets the real figure for a real order. Where the supplier splits packs, the same order need buys 171 bricks exactly, with no pack surplus. Ask about the split-pack policy before rounding, because it changes the delivered quantity on a small flight more than it changes a large wall order.
The metric check matches. 24 ft2 converts to 2.2297 m2, and 6.75 bricks per ft2 converts to 72.66 bricks per m2, which returns the same 162 bricks before rounding.
Does a higher allowance change the order?
Sometimes it changes the count, and sometimes it changes nothing. Check the allowance against the pack size before buying, so a change at the supplier does not surprise you.
| Waste basis | Order bricks | Packs at 500 per pack |
|---|---|---|
| 5%, the Association general rule | 171 | 1 |
| 10%, a buyer-chosen figure | 179 | 1 |
At 10 percent, 162 x 1.10 gives 178.2 bricks, rounded up to 179 bricks. That is 8 more bricks than the 5 percent order, and still 1 pack at the example pack size. The allowance changes the count here, and the pack count stays the same. The 10 percent figure is a buyer-chosen margin for this check only. No source in this pack sets 10 percent as a steps rule, and the Association figure used for the order is at least 5 percent.
The Association figure is a minimum. A flight with many cuts, such as narrow steps, cheek ends cut to fit, or a landing edge cut on several sides, can justify a higher figure, but the higher figure needs its own reason on the record, such as the number of cut faces. A higher figure without a reason cannot be checked later, and a lower figure than 5 percent drops below the Association general rule.
The same 24 ft2 at the standard brick rate of 6.55 bricks per ft2 gives 157.2 bricks net, and 157.2 x 1.05 gives 165.06 bricks, rounded up to 166 bricks. That is still 1 pack at the example pack size. Record the brick size before applying any rate, because the rate follows the size.
What if the tread brick differs from the riser and cheek brick?
Give each product its own order line, with its own area, rate, waste, and pack count. A step flight can use a paving brick on the treads and a facing brick on the risers and cheeks, and those two products have different sizes, rates, and pack sizes. One combined count hides which product ran short.
Split the fixture ledger by product: the tread faces give 12 ft2, the riser faces give 6 ft2, and the side cheeks give 6 ft2. The tread line uses the tread product's own rate from its product sheet, and the riser and cheek line uses the facing product's own rate. Do not apply the modular rate to a product that is not modular, and do not carry a pack size from one product to the other. Apply waste to each line separately, and round each line up to whole bricks and whole packs separately. A landing joins the same way: its top, front, and side faces go on the line of the product used for the landing, with that product's rate.
Worked example: the smaller two-step flight
The smaller flight from the measurement guide has 2 steps, each 3 ft wide, with a tread depth of 1 ft and a riser height of 0.5 ft. Its tread and riser faces total 9 ft2, and its two side cheeks add 3 ft2, for a total face area of 12 ft2. The brick is modular, at 6.75 bricks per ft2.
- Net bricks: 12 x 6.75 = 81 bricks.
- Order bricks at 5 percent: 81 x 1.05 = 85.05 bricks, rounded up to 86 bricks.
- Pack rounding: 86 / 500 = 0.172, rounded up to 1 pack.
Result: the order is 1 pack, or 500 bricks, for an 86-brick need. The surplus is 414 bricks. The smaller flight rounds to the same single pack as the larger fixture flight, while the surplus grows. The pack count follows the order need and the supplier pack size, and it cannot be guessed from the step count alone.
What should you check at delivery?
- Match the product name, colour, and lot on the delivery note to the order record.
- Compare the delivered pack count to the ordered pack count, including the rounding surplus.
- Count damaged and broken units separately from the waste allowance, and record them.
- Check each product line separately when the flight uses two products, so a short tread line is not hidden inside a full riser line.
- Keep the delivery note with the order record. A shortage found after laying starts is harder to prove and harder to match in colour.
Brick steps ordering mistakes
- Ordering the net count with no waste, then running short on cuts and breakage.
- Applying waste before the net count is checked, so the waste covers a wrong figure.
- Ordering from a gross step area that counts a cheek against a wall or buried in fill.
- Using a coverage rate without its size, joint, and bond basis.
- Changing the brick size after the flight has been measured, so the rate no longer holds.
- Ordering by colour alone, with no product name, size, or standard on the order.
- Carrying a rate or a pack size from another product or supplier.
- Rounding the combined total instead of rounding each product line up separately.
- Accepting a pack surplus without recording it, then disputing it at delivery.
- Hiding repair spares inside the waste figure, then finding no spares left after laying.
- Ordering a second lot for the shortfall, and getting a visible colour shift.
- Counting mortar, the footing, or the landing structure in the brick pack count.
What this order does not cover
The brick order covers step brick only. Mortar follows its own specification and supplier quantity, the footing follows its own specification, and the step layout, riser heights, and tread depths follow the project documents and the responsible qualified people. None of those quantities appears in the brick pack count, and no mortar bag count is given here, because no source in this pack publishes one for this flight.
Ordering brick plans materials only. It does not approve a step layout, and a layout that feels unsafe underfoot needs a design check before it is built, whatever the count says.
Sources and scope
- Brick Industry Association, Technical Note 10, Dimensioning and Estimating Brick Masonry, February 2009: modular brick nominal 4 by 2-2/3 by 8 in, 3/8 in joint, 675 brick per 100 ft2; standard brick 3-5/8 by 2-1/4 by 8 in, 3/8 in joint, 655 per 100 ft2; Table 4 values exclude waste and assume running or stack bond; brick breakage and waste, as a general rule at least 5 percent added to net brick quantities. Accessed 2026-10-26.
- NIST Handbook 44, 2026, Appendix C: square-foot to square-metre relationship for the worked-example conversion. Accessed 2026-10-26.
- Manufacturer product sheet and supplier quote for the ordered product: pack size, split-pack policy, returns terms, and lot identity. These control every supplier-specific figure in a real order.
Scope: the Association record supports the stated coverage rates and the at-least-5-percent waste rule. The worked examples use calculation fixtures, not project quantities. The 500 bricks per pack figure is an example supplier figure, and the 10 percent allowance is a buyer-chosen figure for the sensitivity check; neither is a standard. No universal waste factor above the Association minimum, pack size, price, mortar quantity, footing size, riser-height limit, or tread-depth limit is given, because no source in this pack publishes one for this job. No rate or pack size is carried to another product.
Review responsibility: Saleem Sial owns the published calculation, source, and editorial checks. Waseem Sial, External Reviewer and Engineer, remains listed for ongoing external review; no completed external-review date is claimed.
Next, use the brick steps measurement guide when the flight still needs measuring, or check the brick steps selection guide when the product is not yet chosen. Run the count with the Brick Calculator.
