Why the brick module includes mortar
Bricks are not laid edge-to-edge. The horizontal and vertical mortar joints increase the space occupied by each unit. AmountHub therefore calculates a brick-and-joint module rather than dividing wall area by bare brick dimensions.
Worked example
A 5 m × 2.4 m wall has 12 m² of gross face area. With a 21.5 cm × 6.5 cm brick and 1 cm joints, the effective module is larger than the brick itself. The basic estimate is then increased by the selected waste percentage.
The planning options can deduct major openings, multiply for a second equivalent brick leaf and translate the final count into pallets when your supplier provides a pallet quantity.
Openings should be handled deliberately
A large garage door or repeated window opening removes a meaningful amount of wall area and should normally be deducted. Small openings do not always reduce the order by their entire face area because jambs, sills, cut bricks and returns still consume material. That is why AmountHub keeps opening deductions separate from the general waste allowance.
Single-leaf and multi-leaf walls
The basic calculator estimates one visible brick leaf. If a design genuinely uses two equivalent brick leaves, the planning tool can multiply the net face-area quantity by two. Complex bonded solid walls, headers and structural details should still be taken from drawings rather than reduced to a simple multiplier.
Bond patterns, specials and corners
| Detail | Why it changes the order | How to plan |
|---|---|---|
| Running bond | Mostly standard stretchers | Base estimate works well for field brick. |
| English / Flemish bond | Different header/stretcher mix | Check the design and specials. |
| Arches / soldier courses | Special cuts or units | Schedule separately. |
| Piers / returns | More brickwork than flat face area suggests | Measure separately where significant. |
Before ordering bricks
- Use actual product face dimensions, not a generic regional assumption.
- Do not add the mortar joint twice if the supplier gives a nominal module size.
- Deduct large openings separately.
- Schedule special bricks, arches and feature courses independently.
- Consider keeping a few matching spare bricks from the same batch.