Make or buy gabions ?

[CompoSimmonite]

I've decided to use gabions to terrace my back garden. Won't be even 1m high so single cages with no stacking needed and therefore easy for me to do myself. From what I read Galfan finished are the best.
Is it worth making my own out of mesh and clips or should I simply buy them ready made ?
I'm not from Yorkshire but do have Jewish ancestry

Cheers.

Paul H

 

[armalites]

I've been looking at doing this recently and found these guys http://gabion1.co.uk/

I have to admit I was surprised how much this can add up when you start buying tonnes of stone

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I've been looking at doing this recently and found these guys http://gabion1.co.uk/

I have to admit I was surprised how much this can add up when you start buying tonnes of stone

I've actually got loads of new pavers that I'm going to use for the facings then backfill with all kinds of rubble. They suggest if you want to use decorative stone then you can add a "mesh" wall, say, 12" from front face and fill that with the decent stuff and then again anything behind.
Already on scrounge with friends and neighbours who have broken bricks and concrete that I can use then will have a load of broken demolition bricks for the rest of backfill.

 

[normspanners]

Have seen someone fill them with bricks IE build a dry brick wall on the inside of the basket on the 'seen' side with half decent reuse, then back fill with demolition rubbish / hardcore crushings behind, it looked ok especially when the vegetation stuff starts to grow inbetween and didnt cost a lot coz of using hardcore waste.
looked alittle like this but you could lean them slightly towards your terrace.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I wonder if you could train ivy, or similar, to cover the mesh over time ?

 

[bump]

I used to buy them in, pretty sure it was from speedwell reinforcement in Sheffield.

 

[bigegg]

I've decided to use gabions to terrace my back garden. Won't be even 1m high so single cages with no stacking needed and therefore easy for me to do myself. From what I read Galfan finished are the best.
Is it worth making my own out of mesh and clips or should I simply buy them ready made ?
I'm not from Yorkshire but do have Jewish ancestry

Cheers.

Paul H

I think it would depend upon how much you can get the mesh for.
I bought a 50mx 2.4m roll of 3x1 heavy weldmesh off the bay about 5 years ago - cost less than 100 quid, and would have made a LOT of gabions.
As to infill - try asking at your local builders merchant / brickyard for damaged stock.
I pay 7 quid for a dumpy bag (1cu m) of broken bricks/slabs at my local place

 

[mike os]

Buy them... not that expensive and much less work

 

[bigegg]

You could always try earthbags - either dumpy bags filled with soil, or smaller ones (on eBay) filled with 10:1 soil/cement.
If you use the smaller bags, either rebar hammered through or barbed wire laid between courses to stabilise.

 

[bigegg]

Actually, just read the OP again - for a 3ft terrace, why not just build a wall?

 

[penfold]

Making a handful of gabions is barking; they don't cost much.

 

[normspanners]

One point if you decide to grass over the top of them to form a grass terrace, you will need to roll some terram textile over them to stop the substrate being washed through the stone which it will, and then kill the grass.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Making a handful of gabions is barking; they don't cost much.

I need 13 @ 1mx1mx1m so cost quickly adds up.

 

[penfold]

The cheapest I can find galvy weld mesh is £6/m2, 13 galvy gabions is 80m2 and £385 delivered.

 

[bigegg]

EBay item152067814131?

£150 for 7 part rolls of 2x2 12g collect from rossendale.

 

[normspanners]

Just had a thought how about the mesh frames around some IBC they are galv then cut them in half ok maybe a little shorter than you want , cut the pallet bit off then all you need to fill in with new mesh is the base, if in fact, do you,?? because you could lay terram on the ground / to form base then put the frame on it, fill it, then move to the next the mesh holds it all in place, the weight holds it down, then terram over the top, to form the lid, ready to grass over, if you use the old brick idea for the on view face the bricks would help seal the larger gaps in the mesh. then fill with demolition waste behind.

I have seen loads of them coz people usually only want the plastic bit and with scrap prices as they are you would pick them up dirt cheap .
If you cut them at the hight you want then every three stitch them together, with galv wire and you have another one,--------buy three get one free !!
Aguy I know has just bought aload for putting his store of logs in, easy to move and stack and very cheap

 

[bigegg]

I need 13 @ 1mx1mx1m so cost quickly adds up.

Do you really need 1m cube gabions? 300mm wide is probably enough - you can tie them into the backfill with an extra piece of mesh if you're worried about stability.
Will cut down on a lot of cost and labour...

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Just had a thought how about the mesh frames around some IBC they are galv then cut them in half ok maybe a little shorter than you want , cut the pallet bit off then all you need to fill in with new mesh is the base, if in fact, do you,?? because you could lay terram on the ground / to form base then put the frame on it, fill it, then move to the next the mesh holds it all in place, the weight holds it down, then terram over the top, to form the lid, ready to grass over, if you use the old brick idea for the on view face the bricks would help seal the larger gaps in the mesh. then fill with demolition waste behind.

I have seen loads of them coz people usually only want the plastic bit and with scrap prices as they are you would pick them up dirt cheap .
If you cut them at the hight you want then every three stitch them together, with galv wire and you have another one,--------buy three get one free !!
Aguy I know has just bought aload for putting his store of logs in, easy to move and stack and very cheap

That is a good idea. Will have a think about them. They will be at bottom of garden so not visible unless going down to the lower level - which I'd like to use as a raised bed veg area.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Just had a quick look and a lot of IBC cage are made out of thing galv tube so probably wouldn't last very long seeing pics on eBay show them rusty by just being outside never mind in the ground.

Shame as liked that idea.

Next is what about IBC containers ?
£2 each ! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281995043893?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Using hole saw make loads of drainage holes then fill with rubble & soil. Clad visible face with decking or even cheap fencing panels.
So what's the opinion of IBC's ? Would they bulge out, go brittle / split etc ?

Cheers.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

Just had a quick look and a lot of IBC cage are made out of thing galv tube so probably wouldn't last very long seeing pics on eBay show them rusty by just being outside never mind in the ground.

Shame as liked that idea.

Next is what about IBC containers ?
£2 each ! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281995043893?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Using hole saw make loads of drainage holes then fill with rubble & soil. Clad visible face with decking or even cheap fencing panels.
So what's the opinion of IBC's ? Would they bulge out, go brittle / split etc ?

Cheers.

See if you can get black IBC's, they should be more UV stable.
Ones that have been used for storing oil normally sell cheaply.