How to Calculate Bricks for Stairs

Brick is a traditional building material that is used to create everything from walkways to entire homes. Constructing stairs from brick can add an elegant look to your home that should last for many years to come. Bricks can be purchased in varying colors as well as sizes. In order to calculate how many bricks you will need to complete your stairs, you must calculate the square footage of the project and then decide which size brick you plan to use.

Tape measure
Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the length and width of your steps. Since these are your stairs, the tread -- the portion you walk on -- can be as deep or as wide as you wish. Divide both the length and width measurements by 12 to convert the inches to feet.
- 2
  Multiply the length by the width to arrive at the total area of each step. For example, if your steps are going to be 4 feet wide by 3 feet long, then multiply 4 by 3 for a total area of 12 square feet.
- 3
  Measure the height, or rise, for your steps. The width of each rise should be the same as the width of the tread. In the example above, the width was 4 feet. If your rise is one foot, then multiply 4 by 1 to arrive at four square feet for each rise.
- 4
  Add the total square feet for the tread and the rise for each step. In the example above, add 12 plus 4 for a total of 16 square feet of bricks needed for each step.
- 5
  Multiply the total square feet needed for each step by the number of steps in your stairs. For stairs with 8 steps, for example, multiply 16 by 8 for a total of 128 square feet of bricks needed to build your stairs.

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