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How to count blocks, footing and pillars for a boundary wall

Updated October 16, 2026

A boundary is ordered from its length and its height. The blocks follow from the wall area and the block size, the concrete from the sections of the footing and of the pillars. This guide counts quantities; it does not design the footing or the reinforcement.

1. Blocks

Multiply the length by the height to get the area, increase it by the waste and divide by the area of one block. A 50 × 20 cm block covers 0.10 m².

2. Strip footing and pillars

The footing concrete is the length times the width times the depth. The pillars stand at their spacing: the length divided by the spacing, rounded up, plus one. Each pillar is the square of its section times the height.

Worked example: wall of 30 m, 2 m high

Blocks 50 × 20 cm, 5 % waste, footing 40 × 30 cm, pillars 20 × 20 cm every 3 m:

Area 30 × 2 = 60 m². Blocks: 60 × 1.05 / 0.10 = 630.
Footing: 30 × 0.40 × 0.30 = 3.600 m³.
Pillars: 30 / 3 = 10, plus 1 = 11, each 0.20 × 0.20 × 2 = 0.08 m³, so 0.880 m³.
Coping: 30 m.

Panel fence of 30 m, 1.8 m high

Panels 2.5 m wide, posts embedded 0.6 m, 4 fixings per panel, 5 % waste:

Panels: 30 / 2.5 = 12, with waste 12.6, so 13.
Posts: 12 + 1 = 13, each 1.8 + 0.6 = 2.40 m long.
Fixings: 12 × 4 = 48.

What this does not cover

The count does not design the footing or the pillars, count the reinforcement or check the stability against wind and soil. That comes from the engineer and the local rules.

General information, checked at the date shown. It does not replace advice from a professional for your situation.

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