Concrete vs Brick
A home masonry project usually goes one of two ways: poured concrete or laid brick. The two calculators model those materials very differently, and they can work together on the same job — the brick calculator page notes that a brick wall sits on a concrete footing, and the concrete calculator page notes that masonry walls can sit on a slab. The concrete calculator estimates poured volume — cubic yards and cubic feet for slabs, columns, tubes, curbs, and stairs — plus bag count and dry-mix weight from the yield and bag weight you enter. The brick calculator counts bricks, rows, wall area, and mortar volume for a rectangular brick wall, subtracting an opening and applying waste before the whole-brick ceiling.
What each calculator does
The concrete calculator starts with a shape — slab, column, tube, curb, or stair — and its dimensions, then applies a quantity and a waste allowance. Shape volume is computed in cubic feet, waste is applied once, and bags are rounded up only after dividing by the yield you enter. Estimated dry-mix weight is the rounded bag count times the bag weight you enter. The initial 0.6 cu ft yield and 80 lb weight shown on the page are separate, editable planning assumptions; the page is explicit that an 80 lb package does not have a universal yield. The weight result is package count times package weight, not a concrete-density calculation.
The brick calculator takes gross wall dimensions, one rectangular opening in the wall unit, all three brick dimensions, mortar-joint thickness, and waste. It subtracts the opening, divides net face area by the brick-and-joint module, applies waste, and then rounds up to the whole-brick purchase count. Row counts use the gross wall geometry, and approximate mortar volume is the net wall volume at the entered brick depth minus the unrounded brick volume. Bond pattern, cuts, breakage, and field yield beyond the single opening require a project takeoff.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Concrete calculator | Brick calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Material modeled | Poured concrete | Unit masonry (bricks and mortar) |
| Core question | How much concrete, and how many bags? | How many bricks, rows, and how much mortar? |
| Shapes | Slab, column, tube, curb, stair | Rectangular wall with one opening |
| Key outputs | Cubic yards, cubic feet, bags, dry-mix weight | Bricks, bricks per row, rows, wall area, mortar volume |
| Waste | Applied once before bag ceiling | Applied before whole-brick ceiling |
| Assumptions | Bag yield and weight entered by user | Brick dimensions, joint thickness entered by user |
When to use which
Use the concrete calculator for poured elements: a slab, a footing, columns or tubes, a curb, or a concrete stair. It carries the purchase question — bags and dry-mix weight — through to the end, provided you use the yield and weight printed on the product you plan to buy.
Use the brick calculator for laid masonry: a garden wall, a facade, or a partition, where the unit of purchase is the brick and the question includes rows and mortar. It handles one rectangular opening per pass, so plan to subtract additional openings or run separate scenarios for complex walls.
The two tools pair naturally on one project: size the footing or slab with the concrete calculator, then count the wall on top with the brick calculator. For concrete stair geometry specifically, the concrete page points to the stair calculator, and for the area behind either takeoff, measure first with the square footage calculator.
Where to start
- Concrete calculator — poured volume, bag count, and dry-mix weight for slabs, columns, tubes, curbs, and stairs.
- Brick calculator — brick, row, wall-area, and mortar estimates for a rectangular brick wall.