Estimating & Quoting Software for Bricklayers
Estimating software for bricklayers converts wall dimensions from a plan into a priced brickwork and blockwork quote — measuring wall area, converting it into a brick or block count, applying your own labour and material rates, and producing a professional quote or tender — instead of you tallying brick counts and mortar bags by hand off a printed elevation. My Trade Hub automates that wall-area takeoff from uploaded PDF plans and applies your own editable rates library, whether you price per square metre or per 1,000 bricks, to produce a Bill of Quantities and a client-ready quote or tender.
Key takeaways
- Bricklaying pricing starts with wall area in square metres, converted into a brick or block count, then priced against your labour and material rates.
- Face brick, common brick, cavity, veneer, and blockwork each carry different bricks-per-square-metre factors, wastage allowances and labour rates.
- Labour is usually priced per square metre of finished wall or per 1,000 bricks laid, depending on the job and the bond.
- My Trade Hub automates wall-area takeoff from uploaded PDF plans and applies your own editable rates library to produce a Bill of Quantities and quote.
- Bricklaying contractors preparing a priced tender through My Trade Hub report doing so 60 to 75 per cent faster than pricing manually.
Why bricklaying estimating takes so long
Bricklaying estimating takes so long because almost every figure on the quote depends on one measurement done accurately first — the net wall area in square metres — which is then converted into a brick or block count, a mortar volume, and a labour price, so a single missed opening or the wrong wastage allowance throws out everything that follows.
A typical bricklaying job is rarely just one wall type. Face brickwork to the street elevation, common brick or blockwork behind it, cavity or veneer construction, and sometimes a besser block retaining wall or boundary fence — each has its own bricks-per-square-metre factor, its own wastage percentage, and its own labour rate, whether that rate is priced per square metre or per 1,000 bricks laid.
For most bricklaying contractors, working all of that out by hand from a printed elevation means estimating gets squeezed into evenings between jobs on site — which is exactly when an opening gets missed or a wastage figure gets copied from the wrong brick type.
What’s in a bricklaying takeoff
A bricklaying takeoff is the measured wall area, converted into a brick or block count, for every elevation shown on the plans, broken down so each can be priced with materials and labour. A complete takeoff typically covers:
- Gross wall area by elevation — face brickwork, common brick, and blockwork measured separately.
- Openings — windows, doors and service penetrations deducted from the gross area before converting to a brick count.
- Brick or block count — calculated from the net wall area using a bricks or blocks-per-square-metre factor for the bond and unit size.
- Mortar — mix and volume, plus a wastage allowance for cuts, breakages and offcuts.
- Cavity, veneer and retaining wall items — wall ties, weep holes, damp-proofing, and drainage and reinforcement behind retaining walls.
How My Trade Hub takes off brickwork from your plans
My Trade Hub’s automated quantity takeoff reads your uploaded PDF plans and measures wall area by elevation automatically — deducting openings and separating face brickwork, common brick and blockwork — instead of you scaling each elevation off a printed drawing with a tape measure and a calculator.
Because the takeoff is automated rather than manual, it is 60 to 75 per cent faster than measuring and converting wall areas by hand, so a set of plans becomes priced quantities in minutes rather than an evening’s work.
The output is a structured, itemised set of wall areas and quantities — not a single black-box total — so you can check every elevation against the plans before a brick count or a mortar volume goes anywhere near a quote.
Pricing brickwork: rates, labour and margin
Once wall areas and brick counts are measured, pricing a bricklaying job means applying your labour rate — per square metre or per 1,000 bricks — and your material rate for bricks, blocks and mortar, then adding overheads and margin on top.
Labour rates vary with access and scaffolding, brick or block size, bond pattern, and whether the work is single-storey veneer or a two-storey cavity wall, so the rate needs to reflect the actual job, not a figure carried over from the last one.
My Trade Hub’s editable rates library holds your own labour and material rates, by wall type and by pricing method, and applies them automatically to the measured quantities — so the same rate structure you use on site is the one that ends up in the quote.
| Item | Quantity | Example rate | Example subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross wall area (elevation) | 42 m2 | n/a | n/a |
| Less window and door openings | 6 m2 | n/a | n/a |
| Net face brickwork, veneer construction | 36 m2 | $120 per m2 (example) | $4,320 (example) |
| Lintels over openings | 2 no. | $180 per lintel (example) | $360 (example) |
| Mortar and wastage allowance | 5% of net area | included in rate | included in rate |
| Total, this extract (example only) | $4,680 (example) |
From estimate to a professional quote or tender
With wall areas measured and brick counts priced, the next step is turning that pricing into a document a client or head contractor can act on — a clear, professional quote for a direct residential job, or a complete tender submission and Bill of Quantities for a larger commercial package.
My Trade Hub turns the priced takeoff straight into a client-ready quote or tender, with your branding and terms attached, so you are not re-keying the same brick counts and rates into a separate spreadsheet or Word document.
Because the slow part — measuring the walls and converting them into brick counts — is already done, producing the quote itself takes minutes, which means you can turn a bricklaying price around the same day the plans land in your inbox.
Quoting vs tendering for bricklaying work
Most bricklaying contractors move between two different pricing situations, and knowing which one you are in changes how you should put the price together.
A straightforward quote — a brick veneer garage, a boundary retaining wall, a small blockwork fence — is usually priced directly for the homeowner or builder as a fixed price with a short list of inclusions and exclusions. A larger commercial job — a full brick veneer or cavity brick house package, or structural blockwork on a commercial build — is more formal: you are often pricing against a builder’s or developer’s drawing set and specification, in competition with other bricklaying subcontractors under a set closing date.
The estimating principle is the same either way — measure the wall areas accurately, convert them to brick or block counts, then price it — but a tender demands a Bill of Quantities and a tighter, more competitive rate, since you are one of several contractors bidding the identical scope.
Common mistakes in bricklaying estimating
Most bricklaying under-quotes come down to a short list of recurring mistakes, all of which are avoidable with a consistent takeoff process.
- Missing an opening when converting wall area to a brick count, which throws the whole quantity out.
- Using a wastage allowance for the wrong brick type — face brick, common brick and reconstituted stone all cut and break differently.
- Under-pricing cavity construction, which carries more mortar, ties and weep holes than a single-skin veneer wall.
- Forgetting drainage, ag pipe and reinforcement behind a retaining wall, which add real quantities beyond the block count itself.
- Pricing from an outdated drawing revision, so the brick count no longer matches what is actually being built.
Common brickwork costing traps
Lintels over openings, additional mortar and ties for cavity construction, and drainage and reinforcement behind retaining walls are frequently priced as an afterthought rather than a line item. Building them into your rates library once means they are never left off the next quote.
How My Trade Hub helps bricklayers win more work
My Trade Hub helps bricklayers win more work by automating the slowest part of the quote — measuring wall areas and converting them into brick and block counts — and applying your own rates to produce a priced tender, rather than replacing your pricing judgement with a fixed price list.
Upload the PDF plans and the automated quantity takeoff measures wall area by elevation, ready to convert into brick and block quantities across face brick, common brick, cavity, veneer and blockwork. Your editable rates library holds your own labour rates — whether you price per square metre or per 1,000 bricks — and material rates for bricks, blocks and mortar, and applies them automatically to the measured quantities. From there, generate a Bill of Quantities and a professional quote or tender document, ready to send.
Bricklaying contractors preparing a priced tender through My Trade Hub report doing so 60 to 75 per cent faster than measuring and pricing manually, because the wall takeoff and the rate application both happen in minutes rather than an evening at the kitchen table.
- Automated takeoff of wall areas from uploaded PDF plans, split by face brick, common brick, cavity, veneer and blockwork
- Your own editable bricklaying rates library — priced per square metre or per 1,000 bricks, plus mortar and material rates
- Bill of Quantities and professional quote or tender documents generated from the same takeoff
- Every rate stays fully editable — nothing is locked to a fixed price list
Frequently asked questions
what’s the best estimating software for bricklayers?
The best estimating software for bricklayers automates the wall-area takeoff from your plans — converting elevations into brick and block counts across face brick, common brick, cavity, veneer and blockwork — and lets you apply your own labour and material rates rather than a generic price list. My Trade Hub performs that takeoff automatically from uploaded PDF plans and produces a Bill of Quantities and a client-ready quote or tender, while keeping every rate and quantity editable so you stay in control of the final price.
how do you price a brick wall per square metre?
A brick wall is priced per square metre by measuring the gross wall area, deducting openings for windows and doors, then applying a labour rate and a material rate — bricks, mortar and wastage — to the net area, plus separate allowances for lintels, ties and any cavity or veneer construction detail. The rate needs to reflect the brick type, bond and access on the actual job rather than a generic average.
what is the difference between pricing per square metre and per 1,000 bricks?
Pricing per square metre applies a single labour rate to the net wall area and suits straightforward veneer or cavity walls, while pricing per 1,000 bricks laid is based on the actual brick count and is common on larger or mixed-bond commercial jobs where brick size and pattern vary across the job. Both methods still need mortar, wastage and lintels accounted for separately if they are not already built into the rate.
how do you allow for wastage in a bricklaying quote?
Wastage in a bricklaying quote is usually allowed as a percentage added to the net brick or block count, to cover cuts, breakages and offcuts, and the percentage varies by brick type and bond — face brick and feature brick typically need a higher wastage allowance than standard common brick. Applying the wrong wastage percentage for the brick type is one of the more common ways a bricklaying quote comes in short.
is there estimating software for bricklayers in Australia?
Yes — My Trade Hub is Australian-built estimating and tendering software that automates wall-area takeoff from uploaded PDF plans for bricklaying and blockwork, applies your own editable rates library, and produces a Bill of Quantities and a professional quote or tender, priced in Australian dollars.
does My Trade Hub have a free plan for bricklayers?
Creating a My Trade Hub account is free, and gives bricklayers access to the contractor marketplace to browse tenders and receive quote requests. Automated quantity takeoff, the rates library, and tender preparation are part of the paid Starter, Scale and Professional plans, priced in Australian dollars with no lock-in contracts.
what is included in a bricklaying Bill of Quantities?
A bricklaying Bill of Quantities lists every measured item from the takeoff — wall area by elevation, brick or block count, mortar volume, lintels, and any cavity, veneer or retaining wall items such as ties, weep holes and drainage — each with its own quantity and rate, so a builder or client can see exactly what is being priced.
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Turn your plans into professional tenders 60–75% faster with My Trade Hub. Plans built around your tendering volume — no lock-in contracts.
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