One front wall shows the whole brick veneer chain. The wall measures 40 ft long and 10 ft high, with one door and two windows. The chain ends at 5 cubes, or 2500 bricks, delivered in one lot. Each step below shows its arithmetic, so a reader can repeat the steps on a different wall and check a delivery against the same record.
What wall does this example follow?
The example wall is a single front wall, not a whole house. Its selection record names the products before any figure is counted. A real wall takes its grade from its own exposure check and its mortar type from its own project documents. This record is an example of a complete record, not a specification for a real wall.
| Item | Record |
|---|---|
| Brick specification | Facing brick, ASTM C216 |
| Brick grade | SW or MW, from the exposure check |
| Brick appearance type | FBS, FBX, or FBA, from the intended look |
| Brick size and joint | Modular, 3-5/8 by 2-1/4 by 7-5/8 in, 3/8 inch joint |
| Bond | Running bond |
| Mortar type | Type N, or the type the project documents name |
Grade SW suits brick exposed to freezing while saturated with water. Grade MW suits brick exposed to freezing but unlikely to be saturated. Facing brick has no Grade NW, so a grade labelled NW on a veneer order is a wrong specification. Type N is the Brick Industry Association call for normal above grade veneer where the project documents are silent. Where the documents name a different type, the documents govern.
How is the net area worked out?
Measure the wall face, then deduct every opening that will stay free of brick. The Brick Industry Association wall area method defines net wall area as gross area less the areas of openings. Keep one line per opening on the ledger, so a later check can see which openings were deducted.
| Line | Figure | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Front wall, gross | 40 ft by 10 ft | 400 sq ft |
| Door opening, deduct | 3 ft by 7 ft | 21 sq ft |
| Window 1, deduct | 3 ft by 5 ft | 15 sq ft |
| Window 2, deduct | 3 ft by 5 ft | 15 sq ft |
| Openings, total | 21 plus 15 plus 15 | 51 sq ft |
| Front wall, net | 400 less 51 | 349 sq ft |
Counting the gross area instead of the net area gives 400 times 6.75, or 2700 bricks. That figure is 344 bricks above the net count, and the surplus is an error, not a waste allowance. The net count below is the only figure the waste step may use.
How many bricks does the net area need?
Multiply the net area by the coverage rate for the named brick size at the named joint width. The Brick Industry Association Technical Note 10 gives 675 modular bricks per 100 sq ft at a 3/8 inch joint, which is 6.75 bricks per sq ft. The table values exclude waste and are based on running or stack bond.
349 sq ft times 6.75 bricks per sq ft equals 2355.75 bricks. A fractional brick cannot be ordered or laid, so the net count rounds up to 2356 bricks. Two independent checks confirm the rate. The face module check divides 144 sq in per sq ft by the modular nominal face of 8 in times 2-2/3 in, which is 21.333 sq in, giving 6.75 bricks per sq ft. The metric check converts 349 sq ft to 32.42 sq m, divides 6.75 by 0.09290304 to get 72.66 bricks per sq m, and multiplies 32.42 by 72.66 to get 2355.75 again.
Do not round the rate to 7 bricks per sq ft. At 7 bricks per sq ft the same wall gives 2443 bricks, which is 87 bricks above the table rate count before waste. That shortcut is the error the calculator results in the research note repeat.
How much waste is added?
Apply a stated waste basis to the net count, after any bond correction and before pack rounding. The Brick Industry Association Technical Note 10 gives a general rule of at least 5 percent added to net brick quantities for breakage and waste. That figure is a general rule, not a measured waste rate for this wall, and job conditions or experience may warrant a higher percentage.
2355.75 bricks times 1.05 equals 2473.5375 bricks, rounded up to 2474 bricks ordered. The waste step uses the unrounded net count. Using the rounded 2356 bricks gives 2473.8, which also rounds up to 2474, so the order figure does not depend on that rounding choice. The waste basis, what it covers, and the percentage belong on the order record. A percentage with no stated basis cannot be audited later, because no one can tell whether it was meant to cover cuts, breakage, or both.
How does the order count become packs?
Divide the order count by the supplier's bricks per pack, then round up to whole packs. The supplier's pack figure governs a real order. The cube figure below is an illustration only, using the same illustration figure the ordering guide uses, so the pack step can be shown to the end.
2474 bricks divided by 500 bricks per cube equals 4.948, rounded up to 5 cubes, or 2500 bricks. The pack surplus is 2500 less 2474, or 26 bricks. That surplus is pack rounding, not extra waste, and it belongs on the record as pack rounding. A delivery of 4 cubes would hold 2000 bricks, which is 474 bricks short of the order count, so the pack step cannot be skipped or rounded down.
What changes if the brick size changes?
Carrying the modular rate to a standard brick understates the order. The Brick Industry Association Technical Note 10 gives 655 standard non-modular bricks per 100 sq ft at a 3/8 inch joint, which is 6.55 bricks per sq ft.
349 sq ft times 6.55 bricks per sq ft equals 2285.95 bricks, rounded up to 2286 bricks net. At the same 5 percent waste basis, 2285.95 times 1.05 equals 2400.2475 bricks, rounded up to 2401 bricks ordered. The modular order exceeds the standard order by 2474 less 2401, or 73 bricks. That gap is the cost of recording the wrong brick size on the ledger, and it appears before waste or pack rounding.
How is the delivery checked?
Check the delivery against the same record the example built. Compare the product, the size, the joint width, the bond basis, the net area, the waste basis, the pack count, and the lot. For this wall the delivery check reads 5 cubes, 2500 bricks, one lot, modular facing brick at a 3/8 inch joint, from a 349 sq ft net area at 6.75 bricks per sq ft with a 5 percent waste basis. A second lot can shift colour visibly across one wall, so the lot check matters as much as the count check. Where any delivered figure differs from the record, hold the difference on the record and confirm it with the supplier before laying, because a grade, size, or lot error cannot be corrected after laying.
Safety and professional scope
Working this example plans materials and quantities only. It does not design the veneer system, select ties, flashing, drainage, or support, and it does not approve a wall for construction. Those decisions rest with the project team named in Technical Note 10, with the project documents, applicable law, site conditions, and responsible qualified people. Quantity planning does not replace structural design, specifications, permits, or codes.
Sources and scope
- Brick Industry Association, Technical Note 10, Dimensioning and Estimating Brick Masonry, February 2009: wall area method, net area as gross less openings. Modular 675 per 100 sq ft and standard 655 per 100 sq ft at a 3/8 inch joint. Table values exclude waste, based on running or stack bond. Brick breakage and waste general rule at least 5 percent. Final decisions rest with the project team. Accessed 2026-10-26.
- Brick Industry Association, Technical Note 8, Mortars for Brickwork, March 2020: Type N for normal use, including most veneer applications. Type selection follows Technical Note 8B. Accessed 2026-10-26.
- ASTM C216, Standard Specification for Facing Brick: Grade SW average 3000 psi, 17.0 percent boiling absorption, 0.78 saturation coefficient. Grade MW average 2500 psi, 22.0 percent, 0.88. There is no Grade NW. Appearance types FBS for general use, FBX for tighter tolerances, FBA for architectural variation. Accessed 2026-10-25.
- ASTM C270, Standard Specification for Mortar for Unit Masonry: property specification minimum average 28 day strengths M 2500 psi, S 1800 psi, N 750 psi, O 350 psi. Accessed 2026-10-25.
- Brick Industry Association, Technical Note 9A, Specifications for and Classification of Brick: ASTM C62 building brick carries a grade only. ASTM C216 facing brick carries a grade and a type. Accessed 2026-10-25.
Scope: the sources above support the net area method, the coverage rates at a 3/8 inch joint, the waste general rule, the grade and type tables, and the mortar strength table. The fixture wall, its openings, its selection record, and the 500 brick cube are an example and an illustration, stated as such, not a specification for a real wall and not a supplier standard. No price, brand, lifespan, tie design, flashing design, movement joint width, or regional grade assignment is given, because no source in this pack publishes one for this worked example. No mortar type is assigned to a wall whose project documents name a different type.
Review responsibility: Saleem Sial owns the published source and editorial checks. Waseem Sial, External Reviewer and Engineer, remains listed for ongoing external review. No completed external-review date is claimed.
Next, choose products with the brick veneer selection guide, measure the wall with the brick veneer measuring guide, compare sizes and rates with the brick sizes and coverage chart, build the order with the brick veneer ordering guide, check the mistake list with the brick veneer mistakes guide, check mortar yield with the mortar coverage per bag guide, or run the measured net area through the Brick Calculator in the Brick hub.
