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The volume of brick rubble in cubic yards.
About 1.2 short tons per cubic yard for broken brick and mortar; lighter than concrete rubble but still heavy waste.
Approximate weight
12 short tons
About 1.2 short tons per cubic yard for broken brick and mortar; lighter than concrete rubble but still heavy waste. A planning figure, not a specification. Check the figure against the container's or vehicle's weight limit before booking.
- Conversion factor applied
- 1.2 short tons per yd³
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Brick Rubble Cubic Yards to Tons Calculator: 12 short tons — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
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How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- Typical bulk density used here: approximately 1.2 short tons per cubic yard
- Density varies with moisture, composition and how the material was broken or processed
Inputs used
- Brick Rubble volume (yd³)
- 10
Intermediate steps
- Conversion factor applied
- 1.2 short tons per yd³
Confidence note: About 1.2 short tons per cubic yard for broken brick and mortar; lighter than concrete rubble but still heavy waste. A planning figure, not a specification. Check the figure against the container's or vehicle's weight limit before booking.
What this calculation does not cover
- A wall's outside dimensions are not its brick volume. Measuring length by height by full thickness on a cavity wall counts the cavity and the blockwork inner leaf as brick. Take those off, and convert concrete lintels, sills and footings at their own density rather than this one.
- How the container is filled changes the tons per cubic yard. Rubble dropped in by grab or bucket and pushed down as the machine works sits tighter than the same material barrowed in, so a machine-loaded container reaches its weight limit before it reaches this yardage.
- This factor is for broken material, not for the wall. Brickwork bulks by roughly half again as it comes down, so a volume measured off intact masonry — which is what the first note above walks you through — converts at a solid-brickwork density nearer 1.6 short tons per cubic yard rather than the 1.2 used here for loose arisings. Either bulk the measured wall volume by about 1.5 before entering it, or measure the heap.
- The tonnage says nothing about where it can stand. A loaded skip puts its whole weight through a few small bearing points, and arisings heaped on a suspended floor, a basement vault or a block-paved drive concentrate it further. Check what the ground or structure underneath will carry before the container is sited or the pile is built.
Estimated cost — your price
This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-08-26 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.0
Regulatory standards & verification citations2
- Typical bulk density used here: approximately 1.2 short tons per cubic yard
- Density varies with moisture, composition and how the material was broken or processed
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Brick arisings sit between clean aggregate and concrete rubble in density, and the mortar content is what moves the figure. Old lime-mortared brickwork breaks apart cleanly and produces relatively light, sortable arisings; cement-mortared work comes away in lumps that carry more mortar per brick and weigh more. That distinction matters for reclaim as much as for disposal, since bricks that separate cleanly are worth salvaging and those bonded in cement generally are not. Estimate the volume from the wall being taken down, convert, and check it against the container's weight limit.