Bricks are one of the classic building blocks in Minecraft, giving you that warm, red-orange brick-house look, and they are fully renewable so you never run out. The catch is that “brick” means two things: the brick item you smelt, and the brick block you build with. This guide covers both, plus every way to get bricks and what you can make from them.
This guide walks through turning clay into bricks, crafting the brick block, the other places bricks turn up, and what to build with them. Everything here is confirmed in the current 2026 version of Minecraft (26.2).
Quick answer: smelt clay balls in a furnace to get brick items (1 clay ball makes 1 brick). Then place 4 bricks in a 2×2 square to craft 1 brick block. Clay balls come from breaking clay blocks, which you find in shallow water and lush caves.
Bricks at a Glance
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Brick item | Smelt 1 clay ball = 1 brick |
| Brick block | 4 bricks in a 2×2 square |
| Clay source | Clay blocks (4 clay balls each) |
| Also builds | Flower pots, decorated pots, slabs/stairs/walls |
Step 1: Get Clay
Bricks start as clay, which is a light-gray block you dig up:
- Find clay blocks in the shallow water of rivers, lakes, and beaches, or in lush caves.
- Break a clay block with any tool (or your hand) and it drops 4 clay balls. If you mine it with a Silk Touch tool, you get the clay block itself instead.
A single clay patch usually gives you plenty of clay balls, and since clay generates all over the world, bricks are effectively unlimited.
Step 2: Smelt Clay Balls Into Bricks
This is the actual “making” step:
- Open a furnace (craft one from 8 cobblestone if you need one).
- Put your clay balls in the top slot and any fuel in the bottom slot. Planks, coal, or charcoal all work well.
- Each clay ball smelts into one brick item.
Step 3: Craft the Brick Block
The brick item on its own is a crafting ingredient. To get the building block:
- Place 4 brick items in a 2×2 square in the crafting grid to make 1 brick block.
Brick blocks are stone-type blocks, so mine them back up with a pickaxe (mining without one drops nothing). You can turn them into slabs, stairs, and walls, and a stonecutter makes those variants quickly with less waste.
Other Ways to Get Bricks
You do not always have to smelt. Brick items also come from:
- Villager trades: a Mason villager deals in bricks and brick-based blocks. Our Minecraft villager jobs guide covers the Mason.
- Archaeology: brushing suspicious sand in desert wells (a good chance) or suspicious gravel at trail ruins can give bricks. See our guide on how to find trail ruins.
- Decorated pots: breaking a decorated pot with a tool (no Silk Touch) drops bricks.
Bricks vs Nether Bricks
Quick clarification, because it trips people up: the red bricks in this guide come from clay. Nether bricks are a separate item you get by smelting netherrack, and they build the dark-red Nether brick blocks in fortresses. Same idea, different material.
Frequently Asked Questions
Smelt clay balls in a furnace, one clay ball per brick item. To make a brick block, place 4 brick items in a 2×2 square in the crafting grid.
Clay blocks generate in the shallow water of rivers, lakes, and beaches, and in lush caves. Each clay block breaks into 4 clay balls (or the block itself with Silk Touch).
Four. Place 4 brick items in a 2×2 square. So you need 4 clay balls smelted into 4 bricks for one block.
Brick blocks (and their slabs, stairs, and walls), flower pots, and plain decorated pots. Brick blocks are mainly a decorative building material.
No. Any furnace fuel works, including planks, coal, or charcoal. One fuel item smelts several clay balls depending on the fuel.
No. Regular bricks come from smelting clay balls. Nether bricks come from smelting netherrack and are used for the darker Nether brick blocks.
Bricks are a cheap, renewable, great-looking building block once you know the two-step flow: dig clay, smelt it, and craft the block. Grab a stack of clay from the nearest riverbank and you will have all the bricks you need. Since you are already smelting, our how to make charcoal guide gives you a renewable fuel to power the furnace.
