How Many Bricks Do I Need for a Garden Wall? UK Chart
A garden wall 5 m long and 0.9 m high, one brick thick, takes 567 bricks (540 plus 5% for waste), about 0.50 tonnes of building sand and 5 bags of cement for the mortar. The chart below covers other sizes.
Bricks for a one-brick-thick wall
Standard bricks (215 × 102.5 × 65 mm) with 10 mm joints, 120 bricks per m², 5% for cuts and breakage:
| Wall length | 0.6 m high | 0.9 m high | 1.2 m high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 m | 152 | 227 | 303 |
| 3 m | 227 | 341 | 454 |
| 5 m | 378 | 567 | 756 |
| 8 m | 605 | 908 | 1,210 |
| 10 m | 756 | 1,134 | 1,512 |
For a half-brick (single skin) wall, which is 60 bricks per m², halve the numbers. That is the figure to use for cladding, infill panels and house walls, but a half-brick wall is generally too slender to stand freely at garden-wall heights without piers.
The materials list for a 5 × 0.9 m wall
| What to buy | How much | How we worked it out |
|---|---|---|
| Bricks, 215 × 102.5 × 65 mm | 567 bricks (1.1 packs of 500) | Brick calculator: 4.5 m² at 120 bricks per m², 5% extra |
| Building sand | 0.50 tonnes | About 0.9 tonnes per 1,000 bricks, for a 1:4 mortar mix |
| Cement | 5 bags of 25 kg | About 8 bags per 1,000 bricks |
| Concrete for the foundation | Ask your bricklayer | A wall needs a concrete foundation, whose depth and width depend on the height, the soil and the local rules. Use the concrete calculator for the volume |
| Damp-proof course | 5 m | A course of DPC, usually bitumen or plastic, near the base, so that damp does not rise up the wall |
| Coping stones | 5 m | A cap on the top of the wall keeps the rain out of the brickwork |
Before you build
- Check the rules. A wall over 2 m high, or over 1 m next to a road in England, usually needs planning permission. Listed buildings and conservation areas have extra limits.
- Design for the height. A freestanding wall that is more than about a metre high needs piers, or a thicker section, to stay up in the wind, so talk to a bricklayer or an engineer for anything above that.
- Choose the mortar to suit the bricks. A mortar that is stronger than the bricks makes the wall crack through the bricks, not along the joints.
- Buy all the bricks together and mix them from different packs as you lay, to blend any colour differences.
- Check for buried services before you dig. The free LSBUD (LinesearchbeforeUdig) service shows the gas, water, electricity and telecoms assets near your address.
Mistakes that cost people money
- Using bricks that are not frost-resistant for a garden wall. Choose bricks that are rated for exposed use.
- Skipping the foundation or making it too shallow. The wall will move and crack.
- Mixing too much mortar at once. It goes off before you can use it.
- Ignoring the weather. Do not lay bricks in heavy rain or frost, and cover fresh work.
Frequently asked questions
How many bricks per square metre?
About 60 for a single skin (half-brick) wall of standard bricks with 10 mm joints, and 120 for a wall one brick (215 mm) thick. For example a 10 m² single-skin wall is 600 bricks before waste.
How many bricks do I need for a 5m long wall 0.9m high?
540 bricks for a wall one brick thick, or 567 with 5% for waste. A single-skin wall of the same size would need half as many.
How much sand and cement do I need for the bricks?
As a rule of thumb, about 0.9 tonnes of building sand and 8 bags of 25 kg cement per 1,000 bricks for a 1:4 mortar. For 567 bricks that is 0.50 tonnes of sand and 5 bags of cement.
Do I need planning permission for a garden wall?
In England, a wall or fence over 2 m high (or over 1 m next to a road or footpath used by the public) usually needs planning permission. Other parts of the UK have their own rules, and listed buildings and conservation areas have stricter ones, so check with your council.
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Estimates only. Quantities depend on your materials, site and supplier. Confirm important numbers before you order, and check the Building Regulations and any planning rules for anything structural or close to a boundary.