Guides · material quantities only
Building materials list for a house, stage by stage
The quantities below are for an example house: about 120 m², 220 mm walls, a flat stand, local stock bricks and a hipped roof with concrete tiles. They include 10% waste on bricks, cement, sand and stone. Sand, stone and fill are shown in 6 m³ truck loads, the way most suppliers sell them; cement in 50 kg bags.
Stage 1: Foundation
Dig, cast the strip footings, build up to slab level, fill and cast the surface bed.
| Material | Example house |
|---|---|
| Trench excavation | 25.7 m³ |
| Strip footing concrete (600 x 250 mm) | 11.7 m³ |
| Foundation bricks | 4 609 |
| Cement (footings, surface bed, mortar) | 168 bags (83 + 72 + 13) |
| River sand (concrete) | 2.6 loads (6 m³) |
| Stone 13/19 mm | 2.7 loads (6 m³) |
| Building sand (foundation mortar) | 0.45 loads (6 m³) |
| Fill G5 under the slab | 11.2 loads (6 m³) |
| DPM 250 micron | 2 rolls |
| Foundation brickforce | 5 rolls |
| Optional on normal soil: slab mesh Ref 193 and footing steel | 10 sheets, 29 rods |
Stage 2: Walls up to the wall plate
Brickwork, brickforce, lintels over the doors and windows, DPC and the wall plate.
| Material | Example house |
|---|---|
| Wall bricks | 18 872 |
| Cement (wall mortar 1:5) | 51 bags |
| Building sand (wall mortar) | 1.84 loads (6 m³) |
| Brickforce | 28 rolls |
| DPC 225 mm | 3 rolls |
| Precast lintels (1.2 m to 2.1 m) | 32 pieces |
| Wall plate 38 x 114 | 9 lengths of 6 m |
Stage 3: Roof
Trusses, battens and the roof covering. Concrete tiles are heavy: the trusses must be engineer designed.
| Material | Example house |
|---|---|
| Timber 114 x 38 (trusses) | 120 lengths of 6.6 m |
| Timber 38 x 38 (tile battens) | 85 lengths of 6.6 m |
| Double Roman concrete tiles | 1 880 |
| Ridge and hip tiles | 97 |
| Hoop iron (truss tie-downs) | 80 m |
| Nails and tile clips | about 32 kg |
| Optional: roof underlay, fibre cement fascia | 189 m², 52 m |
Stage 4: Plaster and finishes
Plaster inside and out, a floor screed, an apron around the house, steps and a fire wall to a double garage depend on what your plan shows. Our estimate reads them from your plan's notes and asks you about the rest.
Tips for buying
- Buy stage by stage. Materials for later stages lying on site get stolen, damaged by rain, or tie up money you need now.
- Get quotes on the same list. Give every hardware store or brickyard the same quantities, so you compare like with like.
- Check your slope and soil first. On a medium slope the example house needs 7 242 foundation bricks instead of 4 609, and 18.7 loads of fill instead of 11.2. Clay that swells, dolomite or a steep stand needs an engineer.
- Double storey? Only the ground floor follows these rules: the engineer designs the slab, beams and stairs.
How the bricks are counted: how many bricks do I need for a 3-bedroom house?
Get this list for your own house, stage by stage, as a PDF and a spreadsheet to take to your suppliers.
Get my materials listThese are material quantities, not a quote or a building plan. Your builder and, where needed, your engineer must confirm them for your stand and soil.