Mortar Calculator
Calculate exactly how many bags of mortar you need for any brickwork, blockwork or pointing job. Works for standard, thin-joint and pointing mortar. Metric and imperial.
🔨 Mortar Calculator
📐 How It Works
Mortar quantity depends on brick count and joint size. Standard 10mm joints use approximately 0.5–0.7kg of mortar per brick including bed and perpend joints. Allow 10% extra for waste and pointing.
📋 Worked Example
Single skin wall 4m × 2.4m using standard bricks: Area = 9.6 m². Bricks = 9.6 × 50 × 1.1 = 528. Mortar = 528 × 0.6 = 317 kg. Bags of 30kg = 11 bags.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Standard 10mm joints: approximately 0.5–0.7 kg per brick for a single skin wall. This accounts for both bed joints (horizontal) and perpend joints (vertical). Thicker joints require more mortar.
For general brickwork: 1 part cement : 5–6 parts sand by volume. For exposed or structural walls: 1:4. For pointing: 1:3. Pre-mixed mortar bags already have the correct ratio — just add water.
Mortar begins to set in 1–2 hours and reaches workable strength in 24–48 hours. Full cure takes 28 days. Don't load fresh brickwork within 24 hours and keep it damp in hot weather to slow curing.
No — never add water to mortar that has begun to stiffen. Once mortar starts setting, the chemical reaction has started and adding water weakens it significantly. Mix only what you can use in 1–2 hours.