Calculate number of bricks

[Fuma]

I'm not sure if this question has been asked/answered b4.

Anyway, I am about to build a 2 bed room, kitchen, and sitting room house.
I have been to different brick makers few weeks back and everyone gave me different figures in terms of the number of bricks I need to build my house.

My house is 4.7 meters high11 meters long, and 9.5 meters wide.
I am going to use a double brick to build it.
Someone said I should use this formula:
number of bricks = wall height (metres) x wall length (metres) x 120

Is this how I should do it?

[The_Librarian]

Google turned this up : http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a

For an easy rule of thumb guide you should allow 60 bricks per square metre for the building of a single skin wall. This is known as a half brick wall and is shown in Diagram 1. The style is known as Stretcher Bond with only the long ‘Stretcher’ faces of the bricks visible.

When determining how many bricks are required you should first work out the area of the brickwork as follows:- Length of wall say 4m, height of wall say 0.5m, multiply the two figures together, 4m x 0.5m = 2 square metres. Square metres are often written as ‘m2’ or ‘sq.m’.

In the example above for a 2 square metre wall you will need to multiply 2 (area of brickwork) x 60 (number of bricks per square metre) = 120 bricks.

If you intend constructing a one brick thick solid wall, as shown in Diagram 2, then you should allow for 120 bricks per square metre. So for a one brick thick solid wall you will need 2 (area of brickwork) x 120 (number of bricks per square metre) = 240
bricks. The visible ends of bricks are known as ‘Headers’.

These figures do not allow for wastage or breakage, so it would be advisable to add a few extra to the order to make certain you do not run short. Normally 10% extra should be sufficient.

ASSUMING --- for ease of calculation the size of one brick is taken as 215 x 102.5 x 65mm and for normal brickwork the joint between the bricks both vertically and horizontally is 10mm.

[Gambit]

i'm no quantity surveyor. but i would imagine that the size of the bricks used would also need to be factored in.

[TheREV]

Depends on what you mean by 'double bricks'.

You will use 50 standard bricks per square metre (or 30 'maxis') - per wall. IOW, remember that external walls are cavity walls, so in effect there are two walls. Allow for 5% breakage, half-bricks, etc.

[TheREV]

Er, are you sure about the hight? 4.7m seems too high for a single story, and not high enough for a double story.

Also, remember that you need to factor in gable ends as well.

[The_Librarian]

Depends on what you mean by 'double bricks'.

You will use 50 standard bricks per square metre (or 30 'maxis') - per wall. IOW, remember that external walls are cavity walls, so in effect there are two walls. Allow for 5% breakage, half-bricks, etc.

Is South African bricks larger than UK bricks?

The subject matter which I've googled for, is from an UK-based site.

[Fuma]

Er, are you sure about the hight? 4.7m seems too high for a single story, and not high enough for a double story.

I probably got a wrong figure there. I check my house plan again later.
By double bricks I meant cavity walls. But I will use a 'single brick'/one wall to separate them rooms.

[TheREV]

Is South African bricks larger than UK bricks?

The subject matter which I've googled for, is from an UK-based site.

Dunno, but when I built my house, those were the numbers I used. Maxi bricks are bigger - and cheaper, but do be aware if you are using cement bricks - you must get a brick with a 'strength' rating of at least 7 mpa for non-load-bearing walls, and at least 10 mpa for load-bearing walls.

[The_Librarian]

*shameless thread bump and resuscitation*

Cashbuild have a handy calculator on their site for you to estimate the correct quantities.

http://www.cashbuild.co.za/Bricks_blocks_and_mortar.php

This is done to assist with any future queries which might arise. The link which I've given in my initial post above, doesn't work anymore.

[FlatspinZA]

Bricks in different areas have different dimensions, even if the difference is only 5mm - so find out what size bricks you are buying. You need to account for the mortar between your bricks, so add that to the height and length. In addition you need to allow for breakage. I wrote a program for this years ago, but I'll be damned if I can find it.