Allan Block counts and pallet calculator guide

A worked Allan Block quantity you can load

For the labelled New York AB Classic example below, a 30 ft run × 3 ft exposed blockwork, one illustrative buried course and 10% allowance gives 139 blocks to order. At the producer’s listed 40 blocks per pallet, buying whole pallets means four pallets containing 160 blocks.

Load that example in the existing block calculator, then replace the dimensions, burial, allowance and pallet quantity with your actual product and project details. Calculator starting prices are generic examples, not a producer quote. We publish independently and have no manufacturer or dealer partnership.

Use your local producer’s dimensions and pack

The general Allan Block catalog lists AB Classic at approximately 18 in long × 8 in high × 12 in deep and tells readers to obtain exact local specifications. Zappala’s New York page lists the different dimensions and pack quantities below. Do not combine one source’s rounded dimensions with another producer’s packaging and call it a universal Allan Block preset.

The dimensions below are published physical product references. The worked arithmetic uses them as the installed module for illustration. Confirm effective installed coverage with your supplier before ordering. The listed cap is a separate product; its dimensions and packaging are not transferred into the block example.

Count courses before rounding to pallets

Round the number of units in each course and the number of exposed courses upward. Add the buried courses specified for your project, then apply the entered cutting/breakage allowance. Pallet rounding is a separate purchasing step after the individual block order.

For the 30 ft × 3 ft Classic example, 360 ÷ 17.625 rounds to 21 units per course. The 36 in exposed height rounds to five 7.625 in courses. Adding one illustrative buried course gives six courses and 126 net blocks. Ten percent allowance rounds the order to 139; four 40-unit pallets contain 160. The 21 units above that order are a consequence of full-pallet purchasing, separate from the cutting allowance.

Five full exposed courses are 38.125 in of blockwork. The model rounds a partial top course upward; that does not set the finished height or choose embedment, caps, grading or cutting details. Have those requirements resolved in the project takeoff.

Units per course = round up(run in inches ÷ installed unit length)
Exposed courses = round up(exposed block height ÷ installed course height)
Net blocks = units per course × (exposed courses + specified buried courses)
Blocks to order = round up(net blocks × (1 + allowance ÷ 100))
Whole pallets = round up(blocks to order ÷ units per pallet)
Whole-pallet units = whole pallets × units per pallet

New York producer examples for three wall sizes

All six rows use the dimensions and packs identified above, one illustrative buried course and 10% cutting allowance. They estimate a straight wall built from one uniform unit size. The wall heights are exposed blockwork with caps excluded. These quantities are not approved wall designs or promises of local stock.

Keep cap stones and mixed patterns separate

A straight 30 ft cap run using 17.625 in of effective coverage needs 21 net caps, or 24 with an illustrative 10% allowance. A full 56-cap pallet contains 32 more caps than that 24-cap order. Ask whether caps can be sold individually and confirm actual coverage, corner cuts and adhesive requirements.

These examples do not calculate an Ashlar pattern or a mixed pack. A pattern combines different sizes and needs its own unit schedule. Corners, end units, half units, curves and changes in course length also need a separately checked layout.

Confirm these details with the supplier

Retain the exact producer, product, finish, installed dimensions and pack schedule with the quote. Confirm whether the order is for individual units, partial pallets or full pallets, and reconcile delivery and returns on that basis. Product names alone do not establish a national pallet quantity.

The examples count face units and purchase packages. Core fill, leveling base, drainage stone, fabric, geogrid and engineering requirements are not selected by the brand name or these tables. Use the selected system’s current documents and the project design for those details.

• Confirm actual installed length and course height, rather than mixing approximate catalog conversions.
• Specify wall blockwork height separately from caps and the required burial.
• List corners, end units, pattern units and caps separately.
• Confirm units per pallet, partial-pallet sales and the actual delivered quantity.
• Obtain the specified foundation, drainage, reinforcement and local approvals separately.