How to Calculate Nortar for Brick Work?

In this civil engineering article, you can learn how to measure a number of bricks and amount of mortar essential for the wall in meter cube.

Normally, the proportion of cement and sand for mortar remains as 1:6 for 9” brickwork and 1:4 for 41/2” brickwork. Mortar thickness should remain under 10 mm among the courses and sides of the bricks. Superior quality cement and sand should be utilized for making the bond better among bricks.

Suppose, the size of the modular bricks is taken as 190 X 90 X 90 mm and thickness of mortar as (10) mm. Given below, the detail calculation method for the bricks and mortar in one meter cube (1 m³).

Step1:- Measure the volume of one brick with mortar.

Length, breadth, and height of the bricks are given as (190X90X90) accordingly. But, when 10mm thick mortar is added at all side of brick, the dimension changes to (200X100X100).

Therefore, The volume of one brick with mortar is =(200X100X100) mm cube.
=0.002 m³

So, the number of bricks necessary for 1 cubic metre is = (1/0.002) = 500 Nos

Step2:- Measure the volume of bricks excluding mortar.

Also Read: Process for calculating the total numbers of bricks in a wall

As above dimension,
The volume of one brick exclusive of mortar is = (190X90X90) mm cube.
=0.001539 (m³)

Step3:- Measure the volume of 500 bricks excluding mortar.
=500 X 0.001539 meter cube.
=0.7695 meter cube.

Step4:- Measure the necessary amount of mortar by deducting the volume of bricks excluding mortar from the volume of wall i.e (1- Volume of bricks excluding mortar)
=1-0.7695
=0.2305 meter cube.
But it is applicable for wet condition.
For dry volume, the above volume is increased by 33% as bulkage of sand.
So, the dry volume of mortar is = (0.2305 X 33/100)
= 0.306565 meter cube.

Step5:- Workout the volume of sand and cement based on the grade of mortar
Now, assume proportion of mortar as 1:6 (1 part Cement & 6 Part Sand) and the total is 7 part.

The cement is one part, so its volume will be as follow :-
= {0.306565 X (1/7)}
=0.043795 m³
We know, the density of cement is 1440 kg/m³

Therefore,
Quantity of cement is = 0.043795X1440 = 63.64 kg approx.
i.e 1.26 bags of cement of 50 kg
Again, sand is six-parts and its volume is calculated as follow,
={0.306565 X (6/7)}
=0.26277 m³

Therefore, From the above calculation, it is given that for one-meter cube volume of the wall, 500 Numbers of bricks, 63 kg of cement and 0.263 m³ of sand will be required.

If, it is required to work out the number of bricks and volume of mortar of 15-meter cube wall, then just multiply the calculated value of bricks, cement, and sand for a one-meter cube of the wall with 15 and obtain all the required quantity.