mangers

Definitely not an option. No access at back. Would need to be transported from front to back and then somehow dropped into place. That would in itself be another head scratcher. Looks too structural engineery to me ? but thanks for suggestion. I like the criblocks. Though proving difficult to find anywhere that just sells them on their own for say something like my domestic project (small scale). I could be proven wrong here. Might have discovered a gap in the market! They come in concrete, plastic (recycled) and timber. Stumbled upon one site that gave me rough estimate for my 30m3 wall - came close to 10k! Looking like gabion is still the most cost effective for want I want.

CPD and Andy. Thanks for the gabion reassurance. Thought I figured it out all wrong. Andy, those criblocks look really interesting. The tiny bit I read I think I'd nearly prefer them than the gabion solution. Looking forward to a quiet house later once everyone is in bed to do further research and costs. If I could source rubble or demolition brick I would, though I thought 40t of stone delivered for £680 was a decent price. Plans might all change if those criblocks are cost effective. Thanks folks.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Food for thought. Here's another angle. The bottom of trench is around 4m below the house level and 8m horizontally away from the house. Gabions was my preferred option as 1. Solid 2. I wanted to extend and raise the back of garden up by 2 metres and back fill with soil. Though 2m won't level the garden it would make a huge difference.

...they don't in my case. Anything goes, as long as it's cheap and structurally sound. Got call back from delivery guy... here's break down so far: 40t clean limestone (150mm) @ £9 per t = £360 £40 delivery for every 5 ton, 8 deliveries = £320 Total delivered = £680 (inc. vat) - works out at £17/t delivered. All I need to know now is if (clean) limestone is suitable and if it is I think I got myself a bargain considering I can get it delivered incrementally like above in 5 ton batches.

Well that would kill me, I only need (only says he) about 40t. I was thinking of making a small investment in one of these if the going gets too tough... it'll squeeze nicely down the side of house to the back. That bank you see in picture has been like that since I tackled it in our first lockdown. Hasn't budged. Not to say it won't budge. It might some day. Not a gamble I'm willing to take. Not even with a sleeper retaining wall. I'd just feel happier with something a bit more solid and weighty down there. One option is to just retain this bank with 1m3 of retaining gabion. Then instead of going another 1m course higher in gabion, just have a raised decking to level garden. Anyway, this digresses from main thread title. I'll start another thread on that if I get that far.

Every thing needs to brought in from front to back. Zero direct access in the back. Concrete lego blocks would be perfect but they'd break my back carrying them in from the front. ? In addition to retaining wall, the 2m high gabions will allow me to level out the garden with back fill. Had thought of raised decking but i'd still need something to retain the bank. Here's a picture from a few weeks ago... have since dug/pickaxed more since. I honestly don't mind the carrying of stone from front to back, wheelbarrow at a time. I could spend 1 hour in the gym or get a great weekend workout this way.

Gaboon in this scenario sounds about right ? I never considered a failed gabion and the ramifications that could follow. Point taken. Smaller stone would have much more difficulty holding back a landslide should the gabion fail in comparison to larger heavier stone. In fact it would be useless. Thanks for pointing that out. I ventured to the local quarry early this morning. I knew a 20 ton tipper lorry delivering all that stone on my relatively small driveway wouldn't go down well my neighbours... and come to think of it my wife. Moving all that by hand would take many weekends just to clear the driveway! Turns out the quarry put me in touch with a local lad who does 5 ton deliveries. Obviously he'll charge his own delivery rate. What really surprised me though was the price of stone. They had 6inch clean limestone for collection at about 9 pounds per ton. That works out at 360 pounds for 40 ton! Plus the surcharge for delivery from the local lad which I've yet to find out. It's looking like batches of 5 ton a go might work out very well. I am though getting mixed comments about the suitability of limestone for gabions. Is it OK or should I be looking for sandstone or granite?

Hello, Need to create a gabion retaining wall, circa 30m in length, 1m in depth and 1m, 1.5m, and 2m high stepped in various places. The question I have concerns the gabion fill. Everywhere I look I see that gabion fill stone should be angled and range from 100mm-200mm for your typical mesh aperture 76mm (3 inch). Where I'm living, getting that size stone costs about 150 quid a jumbo bag. I'd need about 50 bags! Dump truck from quarry is not an option unfortunately. Have no access to rubble either in case anyone asks ? The front of the gabions aren't public facing at all. I was thinking of stacking concrete soap bars 440mm x 140mm x 100mm to the front of each gabion and the 2 sides at either end of wall. I'd have a 10mm gap between each soap bar for drainage. As the soap bars are acting as a barrier, theoretically it could allow me fill baskets then with much smaller and cheaper drainage stone or even 12mm decorative stone (25 quid a jumbo bag). Huge saving! Each m3 will be braced at the usual 1/3 and 2/3 front-and-back (4) and at least 1 brace left-to-right. So 5 braces per m3 at least. Gabion wire will be 3mm except the front which will be 4mm. Would it work? I understand the larger angled stone will lock thus preventing bulging, but hoping the lovely flat surface of the soap bar and bracing would work equally as well.

Hello folks, Another newbie has joined! Software engineer by trade but like to get stuck into jobs about the house. Old man is a bricky (at 78, yes, still going) so probably picked up the odd tips from him along the way! I stumbled upon your site whilst researching gabions for a project I hope to start. 30m3 stepped at various heights, 1m, 1.5, 2m etc... Probably better to create a new thread for some of those gabion questions. No doubt with your sage like members you'll put me right! Kudos to all you experts/contributors. Though I started off researching gabions, I ended up looking at many other completely unrelated stuff! Loving the rabbit holes I keep dipping in and out of! Thanks.