Bricklaying and blockwork are measured trades, and the fastest way to price them accurately is per square metre from a rate you trust. A good estimate separates facing brickwork, common or engineering brickwork below DPC, blockwork by thickness (100mm, 140mm, 215mm) and full cavity walls including insulation and wall ties — because each has a very different labour and material content.
The rate itself is a build-up: bricks or blocks per m², mortar, the bricklaying gang output, and an allowance for cutting, bonding and movement joints. Facing brickwork carries more labour than blockwork; a cavity wall combines both skins plus insulation and ties. Footings and substructure blockwork add their own rates below ground. Getting these separated means your tender reflects the real work rather than a rough average.
ConstructQS gives you a starter rate library for brick and block — facing brickwork, blockwork by thickness, cavity walls, fair-faced and manhole blockwork, plus footings and substructure — all in £ or € and fully editable to your own rates. Every rate shows its source, so your own prices always take priority over the indicative library.