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    CMU Block and Grout Takeoff

    How to count concrete masonry units (CMU) and grout from the plans: wall areas, openings, special units, grouted cells and the bars in them. Or send your plans: CMU block and grout counts are part of the free takeoff, with every number shown on your drawing.

    How to Do a CMU Block Takeoff

    1. Find every masonry wall: Mark the CMU walls on the plans and match each one to its wall section: block size, wall height, bond beams and grouting. Note any wall that changes height.
    2. Measure length and height: Run wall lengths on the centerline so the corners count once. Take heights from the wall section, top of footing to top of wall, in 8 in courses.
    3. Take out the openings: Deduct doors, windows and louvers to get the net wall area, and note the lintel over each opening.
    4. Convert area to block: A standard 8 in x 16 in block face covers 0.889 SF, so a wall takes 1.125 blocks per square foot of net area. Count bond beam, lintel and corner units on their own and take them out of the plain block.
    5. Count the grouted cells: From the general notes and the wall sections: the vertical bars at their spacing, plus the cells the notes call for at corners, wall ends and each side of an opening. A fully grouted wall grouts every cell.
    6. Figure the grout: Grout per cell is the core area times the grouted height. Take the core area from the block manufacturer's data sheet, then add the bond beams and lintels.
    7. Add the reinforcing: Vertical bars in the grouted cells, horizontal bars in the bond beams, and joint reinforcement by the linear foot. Include the laps and the dowels into the footing.
    8. Allow for waste: Add your usual allowance for broken and cut block, and keep the net count on its own line so the takeoff can be checked.

    Block per Square Foot

    Block is counted by the face it shows in the wall. A unit's nominal size includes one mortar joint, so an 8 in x 16 in face covers 8 x 16 = 128 square inches, or 0.889 SF, whatever the wall thickness. One square foot of net wall area therefore takes 1 / 0.889 = 1.125 units. A 4 in x 16 in face covers half that, so it takes 2.25 units per square foot.

    The wall thickness (6 in, 8 in, 10 in or 12 in CMU) changes the unit you order, its weight and its core size, so it changes the grout, not the count per square foot.

    Worked Example: One 8 in CMU Wall

    Given: a wall 60 ft long and 12 ft high (18 courses of 8 in), in 8 in x 8 in x 16 in block, with #5 vertical bars at 32 in on center and a bond beam at the top course.

    Block

    Gross area = 60 ft x 12 ft = 720 SF

    Openings: one 3 ft x 7 ft door (21 SF) and two 4 ft x 3 ft windows (24 SF) = 45 SF

    Net area = 720 - 45 = 675 SF

    Units = 675 x 1.125 = 759.4, so 760 units before waste

    Bond beam course = 60 ft / 1.333 ft per unit = 45 bond beam units, so 715 plain block and 45 bond beam units. Count the lintel units over the three openings from the details and take them out the same way.

    Grouted cells and grout

    Cells at 32 in: 720 in / 32 in = 22.5, round up to 23 spaces, so 24 cells

    One more cell each side of the three openings: 6 cells, so 30 in all (check the layout for cells that land in the same spot)

    Grout, as a first pass with every cell full height: 30 cells x 12 ft = 360 LF of cell

    With a core area of 0.2 SF (an example only; use your block's data sheet): 360 x 0.2 = 72 CF = 2.7 CY, plus the bond beam

    Wall rebar

    Vertical #5: 30 bars x 12 ft = 360 LF x 1.043 lb/ft = 375 lb, before laps and dowels

    What to Check Before You Order Block

    • Wall heights: the top of footing in the wall section against the floor elevation on the plan. A step in the footing changes the course count.
    • Grout spacing: the general notes and the wall sections often give different spacings, or one says "grout solid" below grade. That is a question for the engineer.
    • Special units: bond beam, lintel, corner and half units come from the details and the sections, not the plan view.
    • Control joints: their locations come from the elevations or the notes, and the units at each joint (often sash or half units) are counted on their own.
    • What sits under the wall: the footing, a thickened slab and the dowels belong to the concrete and rebar takeoff, not the block count.

    What Our Free Takeoff Includes for Masonry

    CMU block and grout counts are included in the free takeoff. Check them against your wall layout.

    • Each block and grout count marked on your drawing, with the math shown next to it.
    • Where the wall sections, the notes and the specs disagree, a question for your engineer instead of a guess.
    • The footings, thickened slabs and rebar under the walls in the same takeoff, as concrete and rebar.

    On our sample job, the City of Ocala Park Pavilion, the restroom walls are 8x8x16 block, 14 ft high. The takeoff counts 2,346 blocks and 59 grouted cells, each with one #5 bar, and lists the block as masonry scope, separate from the 76.7 CY concrete total. We are not affiliated with the City of Ocala, and the City does not endorse us.

    Estimate only. Verify before ordering.

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