Brick Calculator: 660 Bricks for a 10×8 ft Garden Wall

What does brick needed 660 bricks mean?

It means 660 bricks, laid single skin with mortar joints, build a 10 ft by 8 ft wall once cutting and breakage are allowed for. The wall itself is 10 times 8, or 80 square feet; at 7.5 bricks per square foot including mortar, the bare count is 600 bricks. The 10% waste allowance adds 60 bricks for the half bricks at the ends, the cuts around openings, and the few that arrive broken, taking the order to 660. Bricks are sold by the pallet or by the thousand, so the order is usually rounded to the supplier’s nearest pack — but the count to round from is 660, not a guess.

Output · formula · meaning

Three things to check before you trust the number

First, check the brick rate against your brick: 7.5 per square foot fits a standard brick single skin with 10 mm mortar joints, but a larger brick or a thicker joint changes the rate, and the rate changes the whole count. Second, judge the waste honestly: a straight wall fits 10%, but a wall with piers, openings or curves can need 15%, since every opening is cut bricks. Third, remember the count is bricks only — it does not include mortar, wall ties, lintels or the footing, which are separate lines on the same job, and it counts one skin only: a double-skin wall needs twice the bricks.

Worked example

10 ft long, 8 ft high, 7.5 bricks per sq ft, 10% waste. Wall area: 10 × 8 = 80 sq ft. Before waste: 80 × 7.5 = 600 bricks. With waste: 600 × 1.10 = 660 bricks. In practice that means ordering 660 bricks, and expecting the last course to use the half bricks cut from the ends — keep the offcuts, since they are the closers the next course needs. If the same wall used 6.5 bricks per sq ft instead, the count would fall to 572 bricks with waste, but the wall area covered would be identical.

Every branch, checked

With a 12 ft long wall instead of 10 ft, the area rises to 96 sq ft and the need to 792 bricks with waste. With a 10 ft high wall, the area rises to 100 sq ft and the need to 825 bricks with waste. With 6.5 bricks per sq ft, the area stays 80 sq ft but the need falls to 572 bricks with waste. With 0% waste, the area stays 80 sq ft and the need falls to 600 bricks. Area, rate and waste each move the count on their own, so a wrong rate is as costly as a wrong measurement.

The reverses, worked backwards

The length behind 660 bricks is 10 ft: at 8 ft the need is 528 bricks (64 sq ft, 480 before waste); at 12 ft it is 792 bricks (96 sq ft, 720 before waste). The height behind 660 bricks is 8 ft: at 6 ft the need is 495 bricks (60 sq ft, 450 before waste); at 10 ft it is 825 bricks (100 sq ft, 750 before waste). The waste behind 660 bricks is 10%: at 0% the need is 600 bricks; at 20% it is 720 bricks. Each reverse moves one input and holds the rest, so the step is exactly one dimension or one waste change.

What the defaults assume

The defaults assume a 10 ft by 8 ft single-skin wall, standard bricks at 7.5 per square foot including mortar, and 10% cutting and breakage waste. They do not assume openings subtracted, piers, a double skin, a different brick size, or mortar and ties — subtract large openings from the area before counting if they are big, and double the count for a double skin.

Who uses this

• A homeowner building a garden wall: the 660-brick order settles the merchant call before the first course is laid.
• A DIY builder repairing a wall: the same maths on the repair area alone gives the bricks, not a whole pallet.
• A contractor quoting a wall: area, rate, waste — the quote follows the same three steps, and the waste line shows the client why.
• A renovator extending a boundary wall: the extension size, measured off the existing wall, gives the new brick count directly.

Accuracy & limitations

The arithmetic is exact for the inputs entered; the judgement is the brick rate and the waste allowance. Real bricks vary in size, mortar joints vary in thickness, and a wall with openings wastes more than a straight run — so treat 660 bricks as the planning order for a straight single-skin wall at 7.5 per square foot, and re-check the rate against your brick before the delivery day. If the wall is double skin, double the count.

Cite this calculator

Bright Side Kit, “Brick Calculator: 660 Bricks for a 10×8 ft Garden Wall”, https://brightoolbox.com/brick-calculator/, accessed 2 November 2026. Students and researchers: cite the calculator name, the page URL and the date you used it, and quote the defaults (10 ft × 8 ft wall, 7.5 bricks per sq ft, 10% waste) so the 660-brick result can be checked.

Frequently asked questions