Brick vs Tile
Brick and tile both finish a surface with units — but the units behave differently. A brick wall is laid masonry: bricks and mortar joints build the structure itself, and the purchase question includes rows and mortar volume. A tiled surface is a finish layer: tiles are set over a slab or underlayment, and the purchase question is pieces and boxes after cuts, breakage, and pattern matching. The site models the two with separate calculators. The Brick Calculator estimates bricks, bricks per row, masonry rows, wall area, mortar volume, and waste for a rectangular brick wall. The Tile Calculator estimates floor or wall tiles from room and tile size, metric or imperial units, and a 10, 15, or 20 percent waste factor. The tile page explicitly links to the brick calculator for a complementary masonry material.
What each calculator does
The Brick Calculator takes gross wall dimensions, one rectangular opening in the selected wall unit, all three brick dimensions, mortar-joint thickness, and waste. It subtracts the opening, divides the net face area by the entered brick-and-joint module, applies waste, and rounds up to the whole-brick purchase count. Row counts use the gross wall geometry. Approximate mortar volume is the net wall volume at the entered brick depth minus the unrounded brick volume, and bond pattern, cuts, and breakage beyond the single opening require a project takeoff.
The Tile Calculator divides the net room area by the tile face area, applies the selected waste factor to the unrounded area-based count, rounds up once to whole tiles with a floating-point tolerance for exact integers, and then rounds boxes up from that purchase count. Room and tile dimensions can be entered in metric or imperial units. Actual coverage, grout joints, layout, cuts, breakage, and pattern matching are product- and project-specific inputs.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Brick Calculator | Tile Calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Surface modeled | Masonry wall (structure + finish) | Floor or wall finish layer |
| Unit of purchase | Brick (with mortar) | Tile, then box |
| Core geometry | Net wall area ÷ brick-and-joint module | Room area ÷ tile face area |
| Opening handling | One rectangular opening subtracted | None modeled (net room area) |
| Waste | Entered allowance before whole-brick ceiling | Selectable 10%, 15%, or 20% scenario |
| Extra outputs | Bricks per row, masonry rows, mortar volume | Whole tiles, boxes |
| Units | Selected wall unit | Metric or imperial |
When to use which
Use the Brick Calculator for laid masonry: a garden wall, facade, or partition where bricks and mortar build the surface and the result needs rows and mortar volume. Plan the footing beneath it with the concrete calculator, and measure the wall area first with the square footage calculator.
Use the Tile Calculator for a floor or wall finish where the base is already prepared: ceramic, porcelain, or stone tiles over a slab or underlayment. Its waste-factor options match layout complexity, so pick the scenario for your pattern — more cuts and pattern matching justify the higher allowance.
On one project the two tools can pair: size the base with the concrete calculator and the area with the square footage calculator, then count the surface material with whichever calculator matches the finish.
Where to start
- Brick Calculator — bricks, rows, wall area, and mortar volume for a rectangular brick wall.
- Tile Calculator — whole tiles and boxes for floor or wall surfaces with selectable waste factors.