What material for retaining wall in garden?

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What material for retaining wall in garden?
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sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 10 9:46 am Post subject:

Tavascarow wrote:

What about using all the small stone as an infill for a gabion wall?
Moe environmentally friendly than concrete, though I doubt any cheaper.

is that the mesh basket things that you fill with stone? THat could be an option, I'll investigate further

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 10 9:50 am Post subject:
Wasn't Jonnyboy thinking about gabions? Ah yes, this old thread might be worth a nose, there's a useful link at the end: https://forum.downsizer.net/about14598.html

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 10 10:30 am Post subject:

gabions do seem to be the way to go. Having just wandered up the garden with a tapemeasure we think we could do what we want with a 1m high wall covering maybe 5.5m in width (subject to more accurate measuring later on), so standard cages would work and online prices suggest we're looking at �150-200 for the cages, then just time to dig the stone out of the garden and fill them up.

Will start saving up!

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 10 10:46 am Post subject:
hmm, would this sort of galvanised and coated mesh on a roll work for the same purpose, or does it have to be modular cages? We could sink steel posts to tension it easily enough and could achieve a sloped front for added base stability this way. https://www.4wire.co.uk/green-mesh-wide-holes-holes-heav-p-314.html

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22790
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 10 11:01 am Post subject:
Sally, I am pretty sure I have one or possibly two gabion baskets in my barn that were acquired for a long-forgotten project. If you are passing this way in the near future, you are welcome to them.

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 10 11:15 am Post subject:

sally_in_wales wrote:

Tavascarow wrote:

What about using all the small stone as an infill for a gabion wall?
Moe environmentally friendly than concrete, though I doubt any cheaper.

is that the mesh basket things that you fill with stone? THat could be an option, I'll investigate further

Gabions? They're very good but can be expensive. https://www.stones3.co.uk/pricelist.php

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 10 11:44 am Post subject:

judith wrote:

Sally, I am pretty sure I have one or possibly two gabion baskets in my barn that were acquired for a long-forgotten project. If you are passing this way in the near future, you are welcome to them.

That would be fab, am sure we can arrange to come that way

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22790
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 10 11:47 am Post subject:
Excellent. Then I will fight my way to them and see exactly what I have. (I will get the barn tidy and accessible if it kills me!!)

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 10 12:07 pm Post subject:

judith wrote:

Excellent.
Then I will fight my way to them and see exactly what I have. (I will get the barn tidy and accessible if it kills me!!)

See if that grill's there at the same time...

Gabions a great: very attractive if well filled (like so many other things). It's also possible to use them as a vertical planting surface.

You could use the mesh to make baskets from. The point of having individual modules is that they're more stable than a length of netting.

hobgoblin

Joined: 14 Sep 2010
Posts: 10

Posted: Tue Sep 14, 10 4:25 pm Post subject:

All that stone and someone suggests concrete!!
You do not need a foundation or breeze blocks or mortar or concrete!
Build a drystone wall.
turf the "foundations" use a 1:7 angle on the face, break your joints and keep the skin of the wall thick by trying to keep the stone longways in, backfill with small stones, 2cm and over, as you go.
Lots of habitat for wildlife, no carbon footprint, dont need to superheat rock to make cement, and you have the materials there.
I have an info sheet on how to.
A drystone waller.

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Tue Sep 14, 10 5:34 pm Post subject:
I think Sally only has enough stone for the lower walls. The concrete/gabions or whatever is for the higher walls higher up the garden.

hobgoblin

Joined: 14 Sep 2010
Posts: 10

Posted: Tue Sep 14, 10 9:48 pm Post subject:
So the gabions are filled with? The cost of a drystone wall will be half that of a concrete and block wall with rebar. Also. Environmentally friendly and low carbon. If you want something expensive , environmentally damaging and has no potential use for wildlife, then.....who am I to point that out!

bodrighy

Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 2159
Location: Near Devizes

Posted: Tue Sep 14, 10 10:31 pm Post subject:

I'd go with Hobgoblin. Down here we have loads of 'Cornish hedges, basically two dry stone walls sloping inwards as they go up. Infill as you build them, infilled with earth stones earth etc and then planted out with hazel, blackthorn etc. Some have been around for goodness knows how long. Great for wild flowers etc and wildlife. I know quite a few that have fields behind them a good five foot higher than the road so they should be strong enough as retaining walls for your purpose

Pete

robkb

Joined: 29 May 2009
Posts: 4205
Location: SE London

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 10 7:23 am Post subject:
Cornish hedges are beautiful, and very surprising when you scrape against them in your car

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 10 7:53 am Post subject:

hobgoblin wrote:

So the gabions are filled with?

The cost of a drystone wall will be half that of a concrete and block wall with rebar.
Also.
Environmentally friendly and low carbon.

If you want something expensive , environmentally damaging and has no potential use for wildlife, then.....who am I to point that out!

I'm not saying no to a dry-stone wall! Just pointing out that there isn't THAT much stone there: it would need to be brought in.

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