Build your own gabion wall - instructions, costs, prices

In our blog you will learn how to build a gabion wall yourself and how to save a lot of money when buying the individual parts via our online shop. Gabions are stone baskets that can be used in many different ways in the garden. A gabion wall can be used as a noise or privacy screen, to support or fasten a slope or simply as a decoration, for example for a gabion raised bed. The construction of a gabion wall is relatively simple, since the individual elements are already delivered ready. These can be purchased for example from our online shop. Here we present the different availability of gabions and the costs.

PROFILE - What is a gabion wall?

• Gabions are stone baskets
• other designations: Loading basket, wire ballast box or masonry stone basket
• available in different sizes and designs
• a net basket contains different stones
• natural stones can be used as fillings
• Quarry stones of quartzite, granite, river pebble or limestone well suitable
• Gabions can be supplied filled or unfilled
• several baskets side by side and on top of each other form a gabion wall
• is frequently used for slope fastening and slope securing
• Gabion walls can be given a natural appearance by climbing plants
• they are also nature-friendly because they provide safe shelter for many insects, small reptiles and mammals

The building as a retaining wall

Gabion walls are becoming more and more popular in local gardens and on the properties of detached houses. And many towns and municipalities also use gabion walls as slope reinforcement, for example when a road is a little higher. The construction of gabion walls is relatively simple if good preliminary information is available. Depending on how high and how long a gabion wall is to be, a decision should be made as to which type of gabion delivery is the most sensible. The filled gabion parts are more expensive, but those who only want to build a small wall are better advised to do so. The setting up of the wire baskets already filled with stones is quicker, the wall can be erected within a day, for example as a border or to secure a small slope. It looks different if many gabions are needed, then it becomes quite cheaper, if one decides for the variant of the self-filling. It is also easier to first build up a layer of wire baskets, then fill them with the stones you want and order and then build up another layer.

The filled wire baskets are heavy and not easy to stack on top of each other. However, if the wire baskets are now set up empty and only then filled, this is usually possible with one's own physical strength. Who would like to build a high wall, a static calculation must be carried out however, with a small wall (under 2.0 m height) with few gabions, such a calculation does not have to be usually made.

Location and regulations for the construction of a gabion wall

A gabion wall is versatile in the garden. A building permit is not always required. Because it can also be built as a bed surround, as a separation of your own garden or as a privacy screen for a terrace. In such cases the construction of the gabion wall does not have to be approved, as no major structural changes are made to the house or garden. The situation is different if the gabion wall surrounds the property and is to be used instead of a fence to bound the property. In this case, the neighbours concerned usually have to agree, as does the municipality, if the gabion boundary is also erected towards the road.

In order to be absolutely sure when the gabion wall is to reach a certain height, the safest way is always to contact the responsible congregation. Because here the regulations in Germany are not uniformly regulated, the municipalities and countries have different opinions of structural changes on the properties and depending upon housing situation already a view protection at a terrace must be approved starting from a certain height by the responsible building authorities. It becomes annoying above all if this was not known to the owner of garden and a subsequent permission is no longer given. That means usually that the straight built wall must be removed again. In order not to let this come so far, an inquiry should always be submitted as well as an application with sizes and location of the wall with the responsible municipality in advance.

Preliminary work, statics and construction

Depending on the purpose for which the gabion wall is built, the statics must be checked. Various regulations and safety classes must be observed here, especially for very high walls and for slope securing. The higher a gabion wall is built, the safer its stability must be guaranteed. Therefore, the trade also offers different sizes of gabions, as well as the most different types of mesh, mesh width, and different wire thicknesses. If the gabion wall was constructed with preliminary work and on the basis of the statics, it is a wall that will last for a long time. In addition to high weather resistance, it also offers good noise and visual protection.

When determining the location for the new gabion wall, particular attention should be paid to the following in order to maintain high stability:

• Gabions with a height of up to one metre and a width of at least 30 centimetres only require a frost protection substructure.
• here a base of gravel (compacted) is sufficient
• Gabions with a width of more than one metre and/or less than 30 cm must be additionally fixed.
• to prevent the wall from falling over later, posts or iron pipes are knocked deep into the ground in the middle of the wire basket
• for better safety, these posts can also be concreted into the ground, which is an advantage for very high walls
• Gabions also generally require a foundation as a slope attachment
• before any possible undercutting, the installation of a strip foundation is suitable
• before setting up the gabion baskets, no matter for what purpose, the floor must always be checked for its strength
• who is not sure, should consult a structural engineer before building the gabion wall
• Depending on the desired height and length of a gabion wall, the baskets are placed next to each other and stacked on top of each other

The gabion baskets are connected to each other in different ways. Here there is the fastening by a spiral, which is pulled by the meshes. Another variant are the gabions, where round eyelets are attached at the sides, which are connected with a straight rod. The third variant are baskets, which can be connected to each other with C-rings.

Configuring and ordering gabions

With a few clicks to your individual gabion wall - here you can get to our gabion configurator.

Gabion wall the ideal slope attachment and slope protection

The gabions are particularly suitable as slope stabilizers and slope securing, because they offer good water permeability, so that no waterlogging and water accumulation can occur on the slope, even if it rains heavily for several days in a row. The water permeability of the joined stones in a wire mesh therefore ensures that the water can always run off downwards when securing the slope, but the soil on the slope is collected.

However, the following must be observed when fastening slopes with gabions:

• a high level of stability must be guaranteed
• therefore never build a slope stabiliser with gabions without a foundation
• use a concrete foundation for the slope fixation
• Gabions that are planted offer additional slope stabilization, as the roots increase the strength
• especially when the construction of a slope fortification is very difficult, a specialist can also be consulted

Gabions which are to be used to secure a very large or long slope require even greater stability so that they can support the slope well even in very strong weather conditions, such as very prolonged rainfall.

Gabion filling - the choice of the right stones

The client is also spoilt for choice when it comes to the choice of stones. First and foremost, of course, it is important that the gabion filling also matches the mesh size of the gabion baskets used. In addition, there are other properties such as weather resistance, good compressive strength and frost resistance. The choice here is important, depending on how high a gabion wall is to be built, whether water runs off when securing a slope, and much more. And, of course, the appearance and use of the gabions are also important. If the wall is to stand alone later and is not to be overgrown, the stones used must of course also have a particularly beautiful appearance. In contrast to this there is a wall covered with green plants, for example also in the case of the slope fastening, where the stones are no longer in the foreground. Here you can also use a cheaper variant of the stones. In all cases, larger cavities between the layered stones must be avoided when filling the gabion baskets, as otherwise the stability is not given. A better compaction can also be achieved by overfilling the baskets, so the stones slide together a little more densely, the wall becomes more stable.

The following stones are offered on the market as gabion fillings:

• Quarry stones from the regional area
• Glass in different colours
• different types of marble stones
• basalt
• Granite in different colours
• tourmaline
• Quartz stones in different qualities and colours

If the baskets are delivered separately from the stones, they can of course also be varied and mixed appropriately during later filling. For example, coloured pieces of glass can be placed between white marble stones. This is entirely in the hands of the builder of the gabion wall.

The cost of a gabion wall can be determined when the size and appearance have been determined. The costs for this depend mainly on the filling, as this is calculated according to kilo prices. The higher and wider the wall has to be, the more filling material is needed. And also by the desired kind of the filling material the costs can turn out very differently for the entire wall, which can make a large difference in the end for the different walls. In addition there are the costs for an unfilled gabion.

Configuring and ordering gabions

With a few clicks to your individual gabion wall - here you can get to our gabion configurator.

Buy gabion wall, gabion stones costs and prices

The costs of the gabions always depend on the size and the respective selection of the filling stones or gabion stones. The stone baskets can be bought online on our website. The 4.5 mm thick wires of the welding grids, which are used for this, are either galvanized or zinc-plated. Finally there are the desired stones, which are also different in price. If you already know that the gabion wall will grow over later, you can choose the cheapest variant. Ideally, the best stones will be those with the highest quality. In addition, the price also depends on the delivery mode. From our gabion shop, lattice material and stones are always delivered seperately. The delivery of our filling material is always "DDP"!

Therefore, it can be assumed that prices will be roughly as follows:

• one unfilled gabion (see price in the shop - single price list or configurator)
• In addition there are the prices for the filling material, see price list in the shop - here you have to pay attention to the container size!
• this includes limestone, basalt and others
• higher quality stones, like lava spits, sodalite, etc. cost a little more
• kits are also available, for example a kit for a gabion fence