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[jowwy]

Anybody built any or have any on their property. I'm thinking of using a gabion structure to bring the levels of the garden up, as it slopes away slowly from the house...

This is what im thinking of, so i can also plant up the middle of the gabion too....it will be 9.2mtrs x 300mm x 300mm. The baskets wil cost me around £57 per 3m length........and then what ever i fill it with on top of that cost.

 

[midlife]

We have 3 as part of some benches, took way more rocks and stones to fill them than I thought !

 

[jowwy]

We have 3 as part of some benches, took way more rocks and stones to fill them than I thought !

any pictures

 

[midlife]

I’ll take one when I get home. It’s just the supports for a bench but I was just commenting on the sheer volume of stuff required to fill them.

 

[jowwy]

I’ll take one when I get home. It’s just the supports for a bench but I was just commenting on the sheer volume of stuff required to fill them.

yeh but the one im doing is only going to be 300mm high ( 30cm) and 300m wide ( 30cm ) also the middle will be full of soil for planting........so hoping the big stones we use to face the front of the gabion wont be too much, as the rear of the gabion will be chippings for drainage as you wont see the back end as it will be cover in soil and grass

i may use these to face the front and then use chippings in behind

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I used some last year. They are 60x60x200 cm. I decided on gabions for two reasons, I had a bit of a bank to hold back and a load of rubble from some building work which I needed to hide/ use up. I used some York stone and granite sets to face it, which worked well.

They were from gabionbaskets.co.uk who dealt with my order swiftly. I went for 4mm wire, rather than the standard 3mm, for peace of mind. One tip though, pay extra for the coils to hold them together, these make assembling them much easier and finishes them off quite neatly IMO.

 

[All uphill]

I do like a gabion. Personally I would fill them with local stone and earth and encourage wildlife and wildflowers to colonise them.

 

[Randomnerd]

Awful, ugly articles.
Retaining wall in dry stone every time. Will last a lifetime, take up way less space and never rot, rust, sink.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Awful, ugly articles.
Retaining wall in dry stone every time. Will last a lifetime, take up way less space and never rot, rust, sink.

I know where you're coming from, but to build a good dry stone wall takes some skill, whereas gabions are dead easy, which even a muppet like me can't get wrong.
Exhibit A, a wall I did at my place. It looks OK, but I'm under no illusions that whatever stability it has is due to what's behind it.

 

[jowwy]

I know where you're coming from, but to build a good dry stone wall takes some skill, whereas gabions are dead easy, which even a muppet like me can't get wrong.
Exhibit A, a wall I did at my place. It looks OK, but I'm under no illusions that whatever stability it has is due to what's behind it.
View attachment 622455

Cant see any gabions in that picture…..lets keep it on topic fellas

 

[lazybloke]

I remember my civil engineering mates learning about gabions. The texts said they had a coefficient of friction of 1, meaning they could NEVER move.

With assumptions like that it's no wonder the occasional structure collapses.
See also short-sighted design decisions like tunnel linings with only a 100 year design life.

 

[Randomnerd]

I know where you're coming from, but to build a good dry stone wall takes some skill, whereas gabions are dead easy, which even a muppet like me can't get wrong.
Exhibit A, a wall I did at my place. It looks OK, but I'm under no illusions that whatever stability it has is due to what's behind it.
View attachment 622455

A muppet can make the gabion face look really awful without trying. Should at least be coursed and follow the walling rules for strength and aesthetics. Anyhow, we have been told off by the OP for not adhering to his instructions. He will be telling us to start our own thread soon. Maybe I will, and post a how-to video on basic stone-laying?
(Just to push his patience to the very limit…your wall is well-coursed and only compromised in one or two spots by a running joint; for retaining, and as a general rule “length in, strength in”, meaning the shorter face of the stone facing and the stone pointing ”length in”. And hide any foundation at subsoil level!)

Oh, his hair is on fire now.

Whenever we’ve been asked for gabions, I’ve always managed to convince the client otherwise. I’ve a ready supply of photos from all over Yorkshire of the most massive retaining walls holding back incredible volumes of soil. in the OPs case he’s retaining hardly anything and has already let Kevin McLeod make up his mind for him, but for proper land stability, the friction and skill in walling far outweighs the speed and convenience of gabions.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

…your wall is well-coursed

Thanks, I'm happy with that!

 

[Adam4868]

Just to de rail the thread a little more 😁 I allways fancied having a go at dry stone walling. Was booked on a course before Covid struck so obviously got put off.

 

[T4tomo]

A muppet can make the gabion face look really awful without trying. Should at least be coursed and follow the walling rules for strength and aesthetics. Anyhow, we have been told off by the OP for not adhering to his instructions. He will be telling us to start our own thread soon. Maybe I will, and post a how-to video on basic stone-laying?
(Just to push his patience to the very limit…your wall is well-coursed and only compromised in one or two spots by a running joint; for retaining, and as a general rule “length in, strength in”, meaning the shorter face of the stone facing and the stone pointing ”length in”. And hide any foundation at subsoil level!)

Oh, his hair is on fire now.

Whenever we’ve been asked for gabions, I’ve always managed to convince the client otherwise. I’ve a ready supply of photos from all over Yorkshire of the most massive retaining walls holding back incredible volumes of soil. in the OPs case he’s retaining hardly anything and has already let Kevin McLeod make up his mind for him, but for proper land stability, the friction and skill in walling far outweighs the speed and convenience of gabions.

You are right, but the cost difference between a skilled dry stone waller and DIY gabions is massive, and in this instance he isnt holding back a huge weight, so the quicker easier solution is appropriate

The OP would be well advised to take time and care on what the face looks like and once installed its damn hard to fix / change, and to realise this is a discussion board, topics will meander at will. Like a river they can be coaxed to a certain course but never directed.

Lovely bit of walling in your avatar @Randomnerd - its dying art.

Edit to say, if t'garden slopes away from t'ouse, then will anyone even see the face side? unless there is a path or something around the far side of the garden, so maybe.