Craft Quantities
Plan & Takeoffs

By trade

Masonry calculators

A wall is counted in units per square metre, and that figure is decided by the format and the bond rather than by the wall. The mortar behind it is the part that moves: the same area takes half as much again if the joints are wider, the units are more absorbent, or the blocks are hollow and being filled.

  • 31Calculators
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How masonry is measured

Units per square metre of face for brick and block, cubic metres or bags for mortar and grout, and linear metres for anything that runs — ties by density per square metre, weeps and lintels by opening. A perpend joint counted or not counted is the difference between an accurate order and a pallet standing in the way.

What gets left off a masonry order

  • Cutting waste at openings and returns, which is a fact about the setting-out rather than a flat percentage.
  • Grout in hollow blockwork: filling cells or a bond beam is a concrete order sitting inside a masonry one.
  • The absorbency of the brick. A high initial rate of absorption changes how much mortar goes in and whether it should be wetted at all.
  • Movement joints and the filler, sealant and ties that come with them, which are set by the wall's length and not by its area.

Job takeoffs7

Where bricklayers meet the rest of the job: each runs one of these calculators, with every other trade in the same job beside it.

Worked examples2

A real job estimated step by step, with this trade's steps counted.

Comparisons9

Two ways of doing the same work, weighed against each other.

Planners2

Work this trade out from a space rather than from a job.