How Much Mortar for 1000 Bricks? Bags & Cost

You need about 7 bags of masonry cement mixed with sand, or roughly 27 to 28 bags of pre-mixed 80 lb mortar mix, to lay 1000 standard modular bricks with 3/8 inch joints in running bond. The exact count depends on which product you buy, so below is the math for both methods, the sand you need, and what a crew charges to lay 1000 bricks .

The short answer: mortar for 1000 bricks

The count splits into two products that people both call mortar. Masonry cement is a bag of cement you mix with your own sand, and the trade rule of thumb is about 7 bags per 1000 standard bricks. Pre-mixed mortar already has the sand blended in, so each bag covers far fewer bricks.

For pre-mixed mortar, plan on about 27 to 28 bags of 80 lb mix per 1000 modular bricks with standard 3/8 inch joints. That figure comes straight from the manufacturer's own coverage rating of 37 bricks laid per bag.

Method per 1000 bricks	Bags needed	Notes
Masonry cement + sand	7 to 8 bags	plus about 1 ton of sand
Pre-mixed 80 lb mortar	27 to 28 bags	3/8 in joint, running bond
Pre-mixed 60 lb mortar	36 bags	3/8 in joint, running bond

To skip the conversions, enter your brick count and joint size into the mortar calculator and it returns bags for either method along with the sand you need.

How much mortar one brick actually uses

Quikrete, the most cited premix brand, states that one 80 lb bag of Mortar Mix lays about 37 standard modular bricks and yields roughly 0.83 cubic feet of wet mortar. Divide 1000 by 37 and round up: that lands at 27 bags.

Bags (80 lb) = Bricks ÷ 37Mortar volume (ft3) = Bags × 0.83

Twenty seven bags works out to about 22.4 cubic feet of mortar, close to 0.83 cubic yards, for all 1000 bricks. Add 5 to 10% for waste and tooling losses, which pushes a careful order to about 30 bags.

This assumes a standard 4 by 2.25 by 8 inch modular brick with 3/8 inch bed and head joints, laid in running bond. Thicker joints or oversize brick change the math, covered further down.

Pre-mixed mortar bags by size for 1000 bricks

Bag yield scales with weight, so smaller bags need proportionally more of them to cover the same wall. An 80 lb bag stays the most economical per brick, since you pay less handling and packaging per cubic foot of mortar.

Bag size	Yield per bag	Bricks per bag	Bags per 1000
80 lb	0.83 ft3	37	27 to 28
60 lb	0.62 ft3	28	36
40 lb	0.42 ft3	18	55

The same yield math applies to concrete block. If your project mixes brick and block, see how many bags of mortar per 100 block for the CMU side of the job.

Masonry cement method: 7 bags plus about 1 ton of sand

Compare options only after defining the specified mortar type, product yield and measured brick quantity.

Sand runs about one cubic yard, close to 1 ton, for every 7 bags of masonry cement. Utility and engineer size brick carry more mortar per unit, so those jobs can need 9 to 13 bags per 1000 bricks instead of 7.

Brick type	Cement bags per 1000	Notes
Modular (standard)	7 to 8	most common US brick size
Engineer	8 to 9	slightly taller unit
Utility	10 to 13	larger unit, more mortar per brick

The mix itself matters too: a standard Type N blend is roughly 1 part masonry cement to 3 parts sand by volume. See mortar mix ratio for the exact proportions by type and when to step up to Type S.

Bags of mortar mix stacked beside a large pallet of bricks on a masonry job site

Brick size, joint thickness, and what changes the count

Joint thickness moves the number more than most people expect. A 1/2 inch joint uses roughly 25% more mortar than a standard 3/8 inch joint, so a job with thick joints can need 34 to 35 bags of 80 lb premix instead of 27.

Brick size works the other way. Larger units like Norman or utility brick cover more wall area per piece, so a wall needs fewer bricks, but each one still carries a joint on every side, which keeps mortar volume closer to what smaller brick uses.

If you have not counted your bricks yet, the brick calculator turns your wall dimensions into a brick count first, so you can size the mortar from there.

What 1000 bricks of mortar and labor cost

Complex patterns, arches, and tight site access slow a crew down and push labor toward the high end of that range. Get a written quote before ordering material.

By Calcnaut

Formula and declared-case checks run during the build; sources are listed for readers to review. Read our method and editorial policy.

Frequently asked questions

How many bags of mortar do I need for 1000 bricks?

You need about 7 bags of masonry cement mixed with sand, or roughly 27 to 28 bags of pre-mixed 80 lb mortar, to lay 1000 standard modular bricks with 3/8 inch joints in running bond.

How many bags of mortar per 100 bricks?

You need about 2.7 to 3 bags of pre-mixed 80 lb mortar, or under 1 bag of masonry cement mixed with sand, per 100 standard bricks at a 3/8 inch joint.

How much does a bricklayer charge to lay 1000 bricks?

This page has no verified bricklaying rate. Request a quote stating brick size, wall system, bond, joint profile, openings, corners, access, scaffolding, mortar supply, cleanup and whether the unit is per brick, per area or lump sum. Do not derive the labor price from mortar quantity.

How much cement do I need for 1000 blocks?

For 1000 standard 8 by 8 by 16 inch concrete blocks, plan on about 30 bags of masonry cement plus roughly 4 cubic yards of sand, or about 80 to 100 bags of pre-mixed 80 lb mortar instead.

How many blocks will an 80 lb bag of mortar hold?

One 80 lb bag of pre-mixed mortar lays up to 13 standard 8 by 8 by 16 inch concrete blocks at a 3/8 inch joint, per Quikrete's published coverage rating.

Sources and references

These references and structured source records support the method and material data used on this page.

How Much Mortar for 1000 Bricks?

Key takeaways