Gabion Wall construction

[fbinet57]

Good afternoon all

I live in a small detached bungalow on the grounds of my daughter’s house (sounds grand but it’s a garage conversion really). The bungalow is situated just above a drop that the local building control officer described as ‘precipitous’. My foundations are just higher than roof level of the houses below. Over the two years I’ve lived here I’ve noticed some soil erosion that is causing cracks to appear in the ground between me and the edge. I own the land below for sufficient distance to install a retaining wall. Unfortunately attempts by previous owners have been unsuccessful and various structures – concrete blocks, railway sleepers, scaffolding poles – are now leaning away from the bungalow and appear to be moving, albeit slowly, down the drop.


I’ve researched solutions and feel that a Gabion wall like the ones built beside motorways is a better solution than a traditional retaining wall. I have calculated that I need an eight metres length by three metres high so it’s not really a DIY project – particularly at my age. I’ve only managed to find one contractor with sufficient knowledge and experience to build it for me and his price is extremely high.


I am hoping that someone may have an alternate (more affordable) solution or could advise me on what such a structure should cost. The cost he quoted included backfilling with hardcore and providing a level surface for future topping. The property is close to Haywards Heath on the side of the valley that contains the River Ouse and the Weir Wood reservoir although they are both approx three miles away.

 

[charliegolf]

I have a little diy experience - strengthening a riverbank about 12m from my house. It's a 2m drop, so 2 baskets high. On the positives, you should be able to source the baskets- I used 2x1x1m (about a 3" mesh) baskets- and they came folded flat. You could easily do the job of making them up on site, and you can carry them comfortably to place them.

The base they sit on is important. Can you get a mini digger down there to provide a level floor? Then there's getting the stone to site? I used 4" and up pebbles from the river on the bottom row, with hardcore and clean rubble at the rear.

For the upper ones, hoisting every stone 2m was a drag, so I bought in some gash stone from a local supplier. Then it's about finding a couple of guys to fill them.

Everything goes up in price if you want dressed stone laid in like a master mason! All mine were placed by hand at the front, and chucked in at the back. In short, it is a very doable project managing job.

I set my top baskets back about a foot from the front of the bottom ones. In my head that means if they move, it'll only be one way. I stole the idea from professional ones I'd seen.

This company is in my town, but they are on ebay, so clearly ship baskets. I have no link to them other than as a customer.

 

[cdbe]

I'm no expert but would have thought that if it's a properly constructed/converted "legal" house and it is insured then this should be the subject of an insurance claim?

Otherwise, given that it's your house that's at risk I would think you'd be best engaging a structural engineer to design a (cost) effective repair solution, or your gabion baskets could just be an expensive addition to the current pile of sleepers, blocks and scaffold tubes that someone thought looked the part.

 

[mikeey84]

I'm with Cdbe on this one- if you don't do it properly, it will be pointless.

Get an SE in, and then you can sleep easily when it rains knowing your house won't slip down into someone's back garden!