Quick Answer: Clay brick typically runs $400 to $900 per thousand for a standard modular brick as of 2026, and concrete brick runs $350 to $650 per thousand. Most residential face brick lands between $500 and $750 per thousand delivered. Prices vary by type, color, finish, region, and quantity, and they move with energy and freight costs, so use these ranges as a starting point and get current quotes for your bid date.
What Brick Actually Is
Brick in construction falls into three families: clay brick, concrete brick, and reclaimed or salvaged brick. Clay brick is fired in a kiln and is what most people picture when they hear the word. It comes in modular (about 3.5 by 7.625 by 2.25 inches), standard (about 3.5 by 8 by 2.25 inches), engineer, and utility sizes, and it is graded by exposure: SW (severe weathering), MW (moderate weathering), and NW (no weathering). Concrete brick is a cured cement and aggregate unit, cheaper than clay, used for backup or for a uniform look in non freezing climates. Reclaimed brick is salvaged from demolished buildings, sold by the pallet, and priced for its weathered look more than its structural capacity. Within clay brick you also see face brick (the visible, finished unit), common brick (used for backup, not appearance), thin brick (a veneer slice about half an inch thick applied over a substrate), and firebrick (used in fireplaces and kilns, rated for high heat).
What Drives the Price
Type and grade are the first driver. A clay face brick in SW grade costs more than a common MW brick because it has to meet tighter absorption and compressive limits. Color and finish move the price a lot. A red or brown modular brick in a standard run is cheap, while a tumbled, glazed, or hand molded brick in a custom color can double the unit price. Smooth or sanded faces, through body color, and flashed or waterstruck textures all carry premiums. Manufacturer and origin matter: a domestic General Shale, Belden, or Pine Hall brick ships by truck, while an imported European or Mexican brick adds freight and lead time. Region and delivery are a big factor because brick is heavy (about 10 pounds per modular unit), so freight from a distant plant can add $50 to $150 per thousand. Volume moves the price a full tier when you buy by the truckload instead of by the pallet.
Typical Price Ranges by Type
- Modular clay face brick, standard red or brown, SW grade: $400 to $650 per thousand, the workhorse for residential veneer.
- Standard clay face brick, premium color or texture: $600 to $900 per thousand, used for feature walls and high end residential.
- Engineer or utility size clay brick: $500 to $750 per thousand, larger units reduce labor cost per square foot of wall.
- Glazed or tumbled clay brick: $800 to $1,400 per thousand, custom finishes for accent bands and feature elevations.
- Concrete brick, standard gray: $350 to $550 per thousand, used for backup walls and non freezing climates.
- Thin brick veneer: $0.70 to $1.80 per piece, or $6 to $14 per square foot, sold by the square foot for adhered veneer systems.
- Reclaimed brick, mixed lots: $300 to $600 per thousand, plus sorting and cleaning labor on site.
- Firebrick, medium duty: $1.50 to $3.00 per piece, sold by the piece for fireboxes.
How to Take Off Brick for a Bid
Brick is taken off by the square foot of wall and converted to a count by the bond pattern and joint thickness. For a running bond with a standard modular brick and a 3/8 inch joint, you use about 6.75 to 7 bricks per square foot of wall face. For a stack bond it is similar, but bond patterns like Flemish or English cross use two sizes and change the count. Wall area is the gross area minus openings, but small openings under about 16 square feet are usually not deducted because the labor to cut and lay around them costs more than the brick saved. Multiply net wall area by bricks per square foot to get the brick count, then apply a 5 percent waste factor for cuts, breaks, and defective units. Round up to the pallet or cube, because partial pallets carry a break charge. Carry the mortar, sand, wall ties, flashing, weeps, and joint reinforcement into the same takeoff, because those accessories can add $1.50 to $3.50 per square foot of wall and are easy to leave out.
How to Buy Smarter
- Get three supplier quotes for the same type, size, and grade. Brick prices swing 15 to 30 percent between yards on the same bid date.
- Buy by the cube or truckload when the wall area supports it. Pallet by pallet pricing is 10 to 20 percent higher per thousand.
- Lock quotes for 30 to 60 days on longer bids. Brick tracks natural gas for the kiln and diesel for freight, and both move.
- Match the grade to the climate. An MW brick in a freeze thaw zone will spall, and a cheap unit price becomes a warranty claim.
- Verify the color and texture with a sample panel before you order. A full truck of the wrong brick is hard to return.
Where Estimators Get It Wrong
The biggest miss is using a generic bricks per square foot number without checking the bond pattern and joint thickness the plans call out. A 1/2 inch joint instead of 3/8 inch changes the count per square foot and can underbid the package by 5 to 10 percent. A second miss is forgetting the accessories. Mortar, sand, ties, flashing, weeps, and joint reinforcement are part of the wall system, and leaving them out of the takeoff underbids the masonry package badly. Estimators also mix up face brick and common brick. Common brick is a backup unit and not rated for exposed appearance, so substituting it for face brick to save on unit price fails the spec and the inspection. Finally, estimators quote reclaimed brick the same way they quote new brick. Reclaimed lots are mixed sizes and grades, and they need sorting, cleaning, and a higher waste factor, often 10 to 15 percent, so the apparent savings on the unit price disappears in labor and waste.
Putting It Together
For a typical residential veneer, plan on $500 to $750 per thousand for the brick, $1.50 to $3.50 per square foot of wall for mortar, sand, ties, flashing, and weeps, and a freight line that can run $50 to $150 per thousand depending on distance. Take off net wall area by bond pattern, add 5 percent waste, round to the cube, and get three quotes dated to the bid. Match the grade to the climate and verify the color with a sample panel, and your masonry package will land close to budget and pass the submittal.