Masonry estimating software for masonry subcontractors and general contractors. Wall areas measured by type and height, converted to unit counts at the right coursing, with grout, reinforcement, ties, lintels and scaffold priced as their own lines instead of loaded into a square-foot rate.
Masonry looks like the most straightforward trade to estimate — measure the wall, multiply by a rate — and that impression is exactly why it is so often mispriced. Two walls with identical square footage can differ by 40% in cost depending on unit size, coursing, how many cells are grouted, whether there is horizontal joint reinforcement every other course, how high the wall is, and whether it is a plain running bond or has three types of accent unit and a stone base.
BidcoreAI measures masonry by wall type rather than by wall area alone. Each wall type carries its unit size, coursing, bond pattern and mortar joint, so a measured area converts to a real unit count instead of a nominal one. Openings are deducted by rule, jambs and returns are counted where they add cutting, and the wall height is retained because it drives both productivity and scaffold.
The quantities that live inside the wall get measured on their own terms. Grout volume comes from cell spacing and lift height, not a blanket allowance. Vertical reinforcement is taken from the wall schedules by bar size and spacing. Bond beams, lintels, ties, anchors, flashing, weeps and control joints each appear as a line, because on a real project they add up to a meaningful share of the bid and they are the first things forgotten when a wall is priced as a rate per square foot.
Access is treated as a cost, not an afterthought. Wall height determines whether the crew works off the ground, off frame scaffold or off a mast climber, and the estimate reflects the difference. So does the finish: split-face, ground-face, glazed and thin-veneer units each carry their own productivity and their own waste allowance.
Measured from the architectural and structural sets, plus the wall type and lintel schedules.
Concrete masonry measured by wall type, with unit size and coursing driving the count.
Face brick, thin brick and stone veneer counted at the specified bond and joint size.
Grout volume from cell spacing and lift height rather than an allowance per square foot.
Vertical and horizontal steel from the wall schedules, by size and spacing.
The items that never appear in a square-foot rate but always appear on the invoice.
Crew productivity by unit type and height, with the access method priced explicitly.
Wall types, coursing and access — the three things a generic area takeoff ignores.
Wall types identified from plans and schedules, measured across every level and proposed for confirmation.
Measured wall area converted to unit counts at the specified unit size, bond and joint thickness.
Openings deducted by rule with jamb and head conditions counted, because cutting around an opening is labor the area does not show.
Cell fill computed from spacing, wall thickness and lift height, with bond beam and lintel fill separated.
Vertical bars, joint reinforcement and bond beam steel taken from the wall schedules by size and spacing.
Access priced from wall height and elevation, so a two-storey lift is not carried at ground-level productivity.
Units per mason-day by unit type, size and finish — split-face and ground-face are not laid at the same rate.
Waste factors per unit type, shown as applied, higher for veneer and special shapes than for standard block.
Lintels, ties, flashing, weeps and control joints tracked as their own quantities against the schedules.
Quantities grouped by elevation and level, matching how masonry is actually sequenced and billed.
Unit counts, mortar, grout and accessories exported as a purchase-ready material summary.
Re-issued elevations compared against the previous set so a changed wall type is flagged, not missed.
Output structured to the Division 04 sections your specification is written in.
Schools, warehouses, retail shells, healthcare and multifamily — wherever load-bearing block or veneer is the envelope.
From elevations and wall schedules to a priced package with a material list attached.
Mostly, the things that were inside a square-foot rate come out where you can see them.
Counting at the specified coursing rather than a nominal rate per square foot is what makes a material order match what the crew actually lays.
Cell fill calculated from spacing and lift height replaces the blanket allowance that is either quietly generous or quietly short on every job.
Scaffold is a real cost that scales with height. Pricing it explicitly is what stops a tall elevation being bid at ground-floor productivity.
Lintels, ties, flashing and control joints tracked as quantities rather than remembered at the end, which is when they get missed.
Split-face, ground-face and glazed units each carry their own rate, so a decorative elevation is not priced like a warehouse wall.
Units, mortar, grout and accessories in purchase quantities, ready to send to a supplier while the estimate is still being finished.
Because masonry cost lives in the details a wall area cannot express.
Unit size, coursing, bond and finish are properties of the wall type, so the count and the productivity follow automatically.
Grout comes from cell spacing and lift height. It is one of the largest hidden variances in masonry bidding.
Elevation heights feed scaffold and productivity directly rather than being noticed late in the estimate.
Material summaries in order units — block, brick, mortar, grout, ties, lintels — for supplier pricing.
Measure and price from anywhere, with no workstation licence and nothing to install.
Masonry packages can be measured and priced for you through professional takeoff services when volume spikes.
Send the elevations and wall schedules and have the package measured for you — unit counts by wall type, grout and reinforcement quantities, accessories and access — priced against your own rates and returned with the marked-up drawings behind every number.
One platform, one cost database, one set of drawings — whichever scope you are pricing today.
Compare the unit count, the grout volume and the scaffold line against what you carried last time.
