Work out bricks, cement bags and sand for any masonry wall, and the mortar for internal or external plaster — the same quantities you would carry into the details of measurement and the abstract of cost.
Enter the wall dimensions as you would book them in the measurement book: length × height on the face, deduct openings, and pick the wall thickness and mortar mix.
Worked example. A 10 m × 3 m wall, 230 mm thick, with 4 m² of openings, in cement mortar 1:6. Net area = 30 − 4 = 26 m²; volume = 26 × 0.23 = 5.98 m³. Bricks = 5.98 × 500 = 2,990 nos (order ≈ 3,140 with a 5 % breakage allowance). Wet mortar = 5.98 × 0.23 = 1.375 m³; dry = 1.375 × 1.33 = 1.829 m³. Cement = 1.829 ÷ 7 = 0.261 m³ = 7.53 bags (say 8); sand = 1.829 × 6 ÷ 7 = 1.57 m³.
For internal 12 mm, external 15 mm, or two-coat 20 mm work. Take the plastered area from the wall faces after the usual deductions for openings.
Worked example. 100 m² of 12 mm internal plaster in cement mortar 1:6. Wet volume = 100 × 0.012 = 1.20 m³; dry mortar = 1.20 × 1.33 × 1.20 = 1.915 m³. Cement = 1.915 ÷ 7 = 0.274 m³ = 7.88 bags (say 8); sand = 1.915 × 6 ÷ 7 = 1.64 m³.
More quick-check calculators from the Estimotor reference set.
Cement, sand and aggregate for nominal mixes M5 to M25, with the 1.54 dry-volume factor.
Open →Tile counts, skirting runs and paint litres per coat for the finished surfaces over your plaster.
Open →Per-unit cement, sand and aggregate constants for common items — handy for checking theoretical consumption in RA bills.
Open →