Bricks, cement and sand for masonry walls — computed from actual brick + joint geometry (no rule-of-thumb counts), for clay modular, conventional or AAC blocks per IS 2212 practice.
Materials required
bricks / blocks
incl. wastage · per m³ before wastage
Every result comes from geometry, not from memorised per-m³ counts. One brick plus its mortar joints forms a module of (L+j) × (W+j) × (H+j); the wall volume divided by the module volume gives the brick count. Mortar volume = wall volume − bricks × brick volume, then converted to cement and sand with a dry factor of 1.33 (same assumption as our plaster calculator).
This is why the tool can answer for any brick or block size — and why the popular "500 bricks per m³" shortcut is only true for 190×90×90 bricks with 10 mm joints. Change the joint thickness and everything shifts, as it should.
Given: 10 m³ wall, modular 190×90×90 bricks, 10 mm joints, 1:6 mortar.
Module = 0.20 × 0.10 × 0.10 = 0.002 m³ → 10 / 0.002 = 5000 bricks
Brick volume = 0.19 × 0.09 × 0.09 = 0.001539 m³ → mortar = 10 − 5000×0.001539 = 2.305 m³ wet → 3.066 m³ dry
Cement = 3.066/7 = 0.438 m³ = 12.6 bags · Sand = 2.63 m³
For modular 190×90×90 bricks with 10 mm joints: 500. For conventional 230×110×70 with 10 mm joints: about 434. But the honest answer is "it depends on the module" — enter your actual brick size here and you get the exact number, plus the mortar that goes with it.
No. AAC blocks are dimensionally accurate, so joints are thin (2–4 mm) and thin-bed adhesive replaces cement-sand mortar. Select the AAC preset with a 3 mm joint for block counts; for adhesive consumption use the manufacturer's kg/m³ figure rather than this mortar estimate.
Joint thickness dominates. At 12–15 mm (common with irregular country bricks) mortar jumps by 30–50% versus the 10 mm ideal. Measure a few actual joints on site and set the joint input to match reality.
Often used together with this calculator — pick the next step in your design or QA loop.
Deep dive: read the full significance guide — the code clauses, assumptions and site meaning behind these numbers.