Construction Calculators · U.S. Masonry
Brick bond pattern waste guide.
How many extra bricks does running, stack, common, English or Flemish bond need? Pick a bond and get the order quantity, with the Brick Industry Association correction factor for headers and a cutting-waste allowance you control.
Quick answer: with full headers, Flemish bond needs one-third more brick than running bond and English bond one-half more (BIA TN 10, Table 6). Stack bond needs the same as running bond. A 160 sq ft wall of standard brick (655 per 100 sq ft) is 1,048 bricks in running bond and 1,397 in Flemish bond before waste.
Inputs
Bricks needed
Fill the form and press Calculate.
The five bonds, and where the extra brick comes from
Every bond is built from two faces: a stretcher (the long face, 7⅝ or 8 in. wide) and a header (the short end, about half that). A header shows less area but is still one whole brick, so each header you add to a course makes the wall use more units per square foot. That geometry, not cutting, is the main reason bond choice changes the count.
StretcherHeader
Headers per course, and the arithmetic
Take a modular brick: nominal 8 in. long stretcher face, 4 in. header face, each 2Ⅴ in. high. In running bond, 12 in. of one course holds 1.5 stretchers. In Flemish bond the same 12 in. holds one stretcher and one header, which is 2 units, and 2 ÷ 1.5 is a one-third increase. In English bond the header course holds 3 headers per 12 in., so a stretcher course plus a header course use 1.5 + 3 = 4.5 units per 12 in. of the two courses, against 3 for running bond, which is one-half more. These match BIA’s Table 6 values exactly, which is why the page can use the table directly.
Where the headers are clipped from a whole brick, one brick makes two header faces, so Flemish bond in a veneer needs 1.5 units per 12 in., the same as running bond. The cost is not zero: each clipped header is a saw cut, and cuts break bricks. That is the waste you set in the input.
Corners, closers and where cutting waste really lands
BIA TN 10 notes that two brick widths plus one mortar joint equal one brick length, so corners and openings can be laid with little cutting. BIA TN 30 describes the cut pieces the bonds still need: a three-quarter brick at the start of a common-bond header course and a Dutch-corner closure in Flemish and English bonds, and a 2 in. “queen closer” in the English corner. Short walls, many corners and many openings multiply those cuts, so raise the waste input there. Long plain walls in running bond need the fewest.
BIA correction factors by bond
| Bond | Brick factor | Mortar factor (per 1,000 brick) | Headers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running bond | none (Table 4 basis) | 0 | No headers |
| Stack bond | none (Table 4 basis) | 0 | No headers |
| Common bond, full header every 5th course | 1/5 (+20%) | 1/15 | 1 header course in 5 |
| Common bond, full header every 6th course | 1/6 (+16.7%) | 1/18 | 1 header course in 6 |
| Common bond, full header every 7th course | 1/7 (+14.3%) | 1/21 | 1 header course in 7 |
| English bond | 1/2 (+50%) | 1/6 | Header course every 2nd course |
| Flemish bond | 1/3 (+33.3%) | 1/9 | 1 header per stretcher in every course |
| Flemish cross bond (Flemish headers every 2nd course) | 1/6 (+16.7%) | 1/18 | Flemish course every 2nd course |
| Cross bond, Flemish headers every 6th course | 1/18 (+5.6%) | 1/54 | Flemish course every 6th course |
| Double-stretcher garden wall bond | 1/5 (+20%) | 1/15 | 1 header per 2 stretchers |
| Triple-stretcher garden wall bond | 1/7 (+14.3%) | 1/21 | 1 header per 3 stretchers |
Mortar factors are listed for reference; this page counts brick only. Use the brick wall calculator for mortar volume.
How the estimate works
Net wall area is length times height minus openings. Multiply by the BIA Table 4 quantity for your brick size, which is based on running or stack bond. Multiply by 1 plus the bond factor from the table above. Then add your waste percentage and round up.
Worked example
A 20 by 8 ft wall in standard brick has 160 sq ft of net area. Table 4 gives 655 per 100 sq ft, so 1,048 running-bond bricks. For Flemish bond with full headers the net quantity is 1,048 × 4/3 = 1,397.3. With the BIA minimum 5% waste, 1,397.3 × 1.05 = 1,467.2, so order 1,468 bricks, against 1,101 for running bond. The BIA worked example for common bond with full headers every fifth course checks out too: 655 + 655/5 = 786 bricks per 100 sq ft.
Sources and as-of date
- Brick Industry Association, Technical Note 10: Dimensioning and Estimating Brick Masonry (February 2009): Table 4 quantities, Table 6 bond correction factors, the “at least 5 percent” brick waste rule.
- Brick Industry Association, Technical Note 30: Bonds and Patterns in Brickwork (March 1999): bond definitions, snap headers, corner closures.
Sources reviewed September 30, 2026. Table 6 note: the net increase for brick may be less than listed when more than one header can be made from a single brick.
Brick bond waste FAQ
Does Flemish bond really use a third more brick than running bond?
With full headers, yes. BIA Technical Note 10 Table 6 gives a net increase of one-third for Flemish bond and one-half for English bond, over the running-bond quantity in Table 4, before waste. The increase falls toward zero when each header is a clipped half brick cut from a whole one (see the header-type option).
Why is there no stack bond correction?
BIA states that its Table 4 quantities are based on running or stack bond. Both have the same face-brick count per square foot; stack bond just lines the vertical joints up.
What waste percentage should I use for each bond?
BIA gives one general rule: at least 5 percent on the net brick quantity, higher if job conditions or experience justify it. It does not publish a separate cutting-waste figure for each bond, so this page does not invent one. The waste field is yours to set: raise it for English or Flemish bond where closers and clipped headers are cut, and for small walls with many corners and openings.
What is a header and a stretcher?
A stretcher is a brick laid with its long face showing along the wall. A header is a brick laid across the wall so its short end shows. A clipped or snap header is half a brick that only imitates a header.
Does this work for multi-wythe walls?
This page estimates one visible wythe of brick. For several wythes or solid collar joints, use the brick wall calculator for the wythe count and mortar, then apply the same bond factor to the face wythe you are matching.
Is this an engineering or code check?
No. Building codes govern how much of a masonry-bonded wall must be headers and how ties are spaced. This is a quantity planning aid only.
Planning estimate
Quantities exclude structural bonding, ties, and code requirements. Confirm actual brick size, bond layout, and waste with the manufacturer, supplier or mason before ordering.