How to Order Brick Veneer: Net Area, Waste, and Pack Rounding

Ordering brick veneer means turning a measured net wall area into a purchase order that states the product, the quantity in the supplier's selling unit, and the waste basis. A count that mixes full-brick units, thin-brick flats and corners, or an unstated waste percentage cannot be checked at delivery.

How do you order brick veneer?

Start from the measured net area, apply a verified coverage rate, keep corners on a separate line from flats, apply a stated waste basis, round up to the supplier's packs, and order one lot. Check the delivery against the same record. Use the Brick Calculator to run the count, and use the brick veneer measurement guide when the net area is not yet measured.

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.

How do you calculate a full-brick veneer order?

Multiply the net area by a verified bricks-per-area rate to get the installed count, then apply the waste basis, then round up to whole bricks, then round up to whole packs. Apply any bond correction before the waste step, so waste covers the corrected installed count.

Installed bricks = net area × bricks per square foot

Order bricks = installed bricks × (1 + waste % ÷ 100)

Packs = order bricks ÷ bricks per pack, rounded up

The Brick Industry Association Technical Note 10 gives 675 modular bricks per 100 square feet, or 6.75 per square foot, on its running or stack bond table basis. That table rate excludes waste, so the waste step is still needed. If the takeoff is in square metres, use the same table's metric rate of 727 per 10 square metres, or 72.7 per square metre, instead of converting the imperial count.

Worked full-brick example

A wall measures 30 ft by 8 ft, which is 240 sq ft. Openings deduct 30 sq ft, leaving a net area of 210 sq ft. The selected product is a modular brick on the BIA table basis.

1. Installed count: 210 × 6.75 = 1417.5 bricks.
2. Waste basis for this example: 10%. Order count: 1417.5 × 1.10 = 1559.25, rounded up to 1560 bricks.
3. Pack rounding for this example: the supplier states 500 bricks per cube. 1560 ÷ 500 = 3.12, rounded up to 4 cubes.

Result: the order is 4 cubes, or 2000 bricks, for a 1560-brick need. The 10% waste figure and the 500-brick cube are example values for this calculation only. They are not standards. The product sheet and the supplier quote set the real figures for a real order.

How do you order thin brick veneer flats and corners?

Thin brick veneer uses two selling units. Flats are ordered in square feet and corners are ordered in linear feet. Never add the two together. Convert the corner length to an area using the ordered product's own label, subtract that area from the net area to get the flats area, apply waste to each line separately, and round each line up to whole boxes separately.

Corner area = corner length × corner coverage per linear foot

Flats area = net area - corner area

Corner conversion varies by product. One vendor's models cover about 1 square foot per linear foot, while another vendor's slips deduct 1 square metre per 4 linear metres. Copying a conversion from another product gives a wrong flats quantity. Internal corners need no corner pieces in the usual thin-brick method, because flats run into the corner. Count only external corners in the corner length.

Worked thin-brick example

A thin-brick veneer job has a net area of 400 sq ft and 60 linear ft of external corners. The example product label states 1 sq ft of coverage per linear ft of corner.

1. Corner area: 60 × 1 = 60 sq ft.
2. Flats area: 400 - 60 = 340 sq ft.
3. Waste basis for this example: 10%. Flats to order: 340 × 1.10 = 374 sq ft. Corners to order: 60 × 1.10 = 66 linear ft.
4. Box rounding for this example: flat boxes cover 7 sq ft each, so 374 ÷ 7 = 53.43, rounded up to 54 boxes. Corner boxes cover 5 linear ft each, so 66 ÷ 5 = 13.2, rounded up to 14 boxes.

Result: the order is 54 flat boxes and 14 corner boxes. The label conversion, the box sizes, and the 10% waste figure are example values. The ordered product's label sets the real figures.

How do you round to packs without losing the check?

Round up at each stage and keep the exact figure beside the rounded figure. The gap between the two is the surplus created by rounding, and it must stay visible so the buyer can decide whether to accept it.

In the full-brick example, pack rounding alone adds 440 bricks: 4 cubes hold 2000 bricks against a 1560-brick need. That surplus is separate from the 10% waste allowance. If the supplier allows split packs, ask for the split before accepting 4 full cubes. If split packs are refused, record the 440-brick surplus on the order so it is not mistaken for a counting error at delivery.

What should you check at delivery?

1. Match the product name, colour, and lot on the delivery note to the order record.
2. Count flats and corners separately, in their own units.
3. Count damaged and broken units separately from the waste allowance, and record them.
4. Compare the delivered pack count to the ordered pack count, including the rounding surplus.
5. Keep the delivery note with the order record. A shortage found after installation starts is harder to prove and harder to match in colour.

Common brick veneer ordering mistakes

• Ordering from gross wall area without deducting openings.
• Adding corner linear feet to flat square feet in one total.
• Copying a corner conversion from another product's label.
• Using a coverage rate without its size, joint, and bond basis.
• Applying waste to the gross area instead of the corrected net count.
• Recording a waste percentage without stating what it covers.
• Treating a vendor's example waste figure or cube size as a standard.
• Ordering in two lots and mixing colours across the wall.
• Accepting full-pack surplus without asking about split packs.
• Counting broken units as part of the waste allowance without recording them.

Limits and professional scope

This guide covers the brick quantity order only. Mortar, wall ties, flashing, lintels, cavity details, and the veneer support system need their own project records and are ordered on separate lines. The brick veneer selection guide covers grade, appearance type, and mortar type choices that must be settled before ordering.

Colour, texture, and size vary between production lots and between manufacturers. A sample panel check before ordering reduces the risk of a visible mismatch. Structural design, veneer support, and code compliance follow the project documents and the responsible qualified people, not this quantity guide.