Retaining wall with gabion baskets | Cost saving panel with cobbles and recycled brick - Part 1

Part 1 of my Steep Driveway series showing how we built a retaining wall from 2m high gabion baskets, using recycled brick as infill and a cost saver partition panel using Scottish cobbles. This saved us a tonne of money by not having to get rid of our house renovation rubble and only buying a few bags of Scottish cobbles to complete the modern look.
Please be kind as I'm only just learning how to use movie software - this is my first one! Plus these photos were never taken with a video in mind, but for our own personal memories. So I've had to make do with what I had. Thanks for watching, Karen
I FOUND SOME PHOTOS SHOWING THE LEFT SECTION BUILD! - • Retaining wall with ga...
Here is a link to a more detailed gabion basket video - • GABION RETAINING WALL ...
Complementary blog post on how to build a gabion retaining wall - ourhomeproject...
MATERIALS USED -
Gabion baskets and helicoils (galfan coated)
Black woven geotextile - amzn.to/3dByAMR
White non-woven geotextile - amzn.to/3wu0bbj
80mm Perforated drainage pipe - amzn.to/3sZDQQM
Gravel
Recycled brick fill - check out Mainland Aggregates or your local Freecycle
Scottish cobbles (80-120mm)
Wire cutters - amzn.to/2PVGl86
Long nosed pliers - amzn.to/3dHuOl5
Long spirit level - amzn.to/3mpS5Mj
Short spirit level - amzn.to/31PzLCP
String line - amzn.to/39MZVum
Woven polypropylene bags - amzn.to/3dwpGQs
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.
PLEASE READ - Our Home Projects claims no liability for any injury or negative outcome resulting from projects, inspiration, ideas, instruction, or information taken from this platform. We are DIY-ers with no professional experience, learning and sharing as we go. Everyone's circumstances are different and you should consult the relevant professional for your own project. Follow manufacturer instructions when using power tools. Creating projects from this channel means you agree to do so at your own risk.
#gabionretainingwall #gabion #gabionwall #gabionwallconstruction #gabionbaskets #retainingwall #retainingwallconstruction #gabionbaskets #gardenwall #steepdriveway #lowcostretainingwall #costsaving #diy

[@jesuslovesu2970]

Great idea how you used the cobbles on the outer side while cheaper fillings in the centre. Thanks for sharing...

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching! Yes, it’s all about cost saving in this household. Approx 17-20m3 of cobbles would have cost at least 3 times as much. The extra panels are definitely worth it. Just remember the black woven geotextile behind it to hide the fill. Karen

[@The160879]

Hi Karen it’s an outstanding job and it’s what I’m going to use when I build my extension so I can get a retaining wall atbthe back of my home out of the waste

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Really appreciate it. Good luck with your project! Karen

[@sk-cu6fw]

It is. We've done the same thing. Some local rocks for facing, which hide old concrete and brick fill that's been discarded in the garden years ago. Works just as well and saves having to haul it away.

[@mainlandaggregatesltd7132]

Looks great! Excellent use of recycled materials whilst still achieving that decorative look.

[@justinegrayson2352]

It is beautiful, I will watch again and take detailed notes. I love this look SO MUCH and love that it looks very DIY friendly.

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks Justine and good luck with your project!

[@flienlow6281]

I have built quite a few gabion walls. That was an excellent Job!

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thank you! It did take us a few months to do the whole thing, but once you get going, it's just muscle power 💪

[@MrLincoln07]

awesome project. well done on the recycling of rubble. Genius!!. Cheers form NYC!!

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching and for leaving a comment 😄

[@sic04250f]

That looks awesome, well done

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@tomkenna6916]

Nice job, when I built mine I poured a concrete foundation for the baskets to sit on with the fall into the hill as wanted to make sure nothing going to wash underneath the gabions...tasty

[@OurHomeProjects]

Really good suggestion. With hindsight I wish ours were toed in a little deeper, but the driveway finish ended up being lower in places than expected as the opposite retaining wall by the house would have been too tall. However, at 1m deep full of brick, there's been no movement at all 4 years later.

[@vinm300]

Very inspiring (and explanatory) thanks.

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching!

[@jkuoverland8507]

Wow, that’s a lot of work! Very nice!

[@OurHomeProjects]

💪💪😁 Thanks for watching! Karen

[@simplybeautifullandscaping5895]

Awesome video I have to start a project same way in July just waiting on Gabion basket none in stock great job but am doing mine hopefully not laying them exactly on each other but like laying blocks so it kind of ties them together

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi, thanks for watching. Yes, good idea about staggering the baskets. Good luck with the project! Karen

[@simplybeautifullandscaping5895]

Tks

[@davidhegr6846]

Nice work, Karen :)

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching!

[@donlofting4268]

Couldn't handle the back ground noise went insane 😣

[@OurHomeProjects]

Apologies, it was the first video I had ever made and there is limited royalty-free music out there. It only has captions so can be watched on mute. Hope you got the info you were looking for. Karen :)

[@donlofting4268]

Thanks got a lot of ideas should have used mute. Good luck 👍

[@kevincoogan3518]

Really lovely wall, great idea for the partition wall in the gabion, you could any old hardcore in there at the back once it was porous.

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching Kevin. As long as the back fill is heavy like stone, it should be strong enough to do the retaining, eg light weight breeze blocks wouldn't be heavy enough, but dense ones would be. I found the gravel bags too light for my 1.5m section, most likely as the bags left loads of space within the gabion as they don't interlock closely like the bricks do. Karen

[@paulgewiss9238]

My plan is to define a 35' x 40' parking area with diy gabions made from hog panels sourced from tractor supply. We're trying clean up some rubble on the property. I don't feel like paying someone to haul it away and I love the idea of recycling the material into something useful and I like the idea of hiding it in plain sight. It will definitely cut down on the amount of new stone that I have to purchase

[@OurHomeProjects]

Sounds great! A suggestion would be to make sure whatever wire you use for the baskets doesn’t have a short lifespan and won’t corrode in a few years 👍

[@andyderwent6407]

very good video and a great job. thank you

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks Andy. Our whole property is on the side of a hill so I’ve had to think out of the box for several of our projects. Lots more videos coming. 😁 Karen

[@luke-THC]

Lovely work. I am going to do the same sort of thing for a back garden retaining wall

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching and good luck with your project 👍

[@luke-THC]

@@OurHomeProjects just as an estimate I will be getting 1m H ×7 m L with the partition for the cobbles, approximately how much cobbles do you think I would need?

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi Luke, iirc one 850kg bag of Scottish cobbles did around 4 fronts, that was placing the partition one square back from the front. If the cobbles you have found includes delivery then get one at a time. If you can use excess cobbles elsewhere in the garden get 2 and see how you go. This didn’t include any cobbles on the top which you might want to think about. HTH. Karen

[@annasmith4404]

Very interesting, thanks

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching

[@phobosdeimos1653]

Bella idea davvero! Per lavoro faccio installare gabbioni ma all'interno mettiamo sempre le stesse pietre.

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching. This is a great way to recycle unwanted brick and also saves cost on paying out for tonnes of cobbles you'll never see. Maybe look into it on a future build. Good luck!

[@asg981]

Great project! Thank you for sharing. Any tips for raking back the baskets by 5 degrees?

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi thanks for watching. On the bare ground, before the geotextile was put down, we placed a short spirit level laying front to back and used a spirit level app on a phone to get the 5-6 degrees. Shape the ground as best you can. Then recheck again once you put the geotextile and gravel down and then again once the baskets are in place, before you start filling them. As with everything, it's the prep beforehand and the double and triple checking that ensures the baskets maintain their angle. I think you can easily do more than 5 degrees, that is a minimum. Just make sure it's the same all the way along. Hope this helps!

[@johnlafferty1038]

@@OurHomeProjects 0

[@aceofspades5786]

My wall is three courses of baskets, each row inset 75mm back from row below, has similar effort. In all honesty the weight of these baskets is about 1.5T/m3 so I dont see them moving

[@OurHomeProjects]

Wow Ian, three must have been some serious hard work! Karen

[@estherukaobasi7556]

Do you spread cement in between the stones. Can it be built along a river shore. Great job.

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi, no cement, you need gaps for the water to flow through. I have seen pictures of gabions on river edges on finemeshmetals.com and it appears their baskets are rust free. However, you would have to contact them about using them for your exact purpose. HTH

[@portlandlocalchurch8168]

I love your creativity and cost saving thinking... How's the walls look today? I am watching your video for Inspiron my own project.. I have a 160ft long fence that is utilizing some recycled long metal posts from a farm and prefab wood panels from the home Depot... At one end of the fence it's 10ft tall , that's a 6ft tall wood panel with a 4ft gabion panel underneath... I guess I should make a video too since I've never seen a fence like my one ;)

[@OurHomeProjects]

Sounds like a big project! Our wall still looks great 7 years on. No rusting of the baskets and everything still in place. Good luck with your project!

[@goldenbay69]

Awesome thank you cute cat

[@OurHomeProjects]

So pleased it was useful! (She's really cute isn't she :) )

[@millin2222]

Looks lovely that does doing something similar on a smaller scale. Can you tell were did you get the wire ties from so the cage does not bulge out..thanks for the share

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi, thanks for watching. I got the 3mm lacing wire at the same time as the baskets from finemeshmetals.co.uk, ie. it came with the baskets as a component to tie them together. I didn't specify it as a separate item. Hope that helps. Karen

[@mikefloorstand]

Thanks for the useful video. How much time does it take to fill each basket?

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi there, it really depends on what you're filling it with and how much muscle you have (you do get more knackered as the day goes on!). It took us about 4 weekends to do the 2x9m section (my husband and me) and then a couple of weeks for me to do the lower section, but I was doing it by myself in freezing weather at that point so the number of hours per day weren't that many! ;-)

[@mattdiffey2501]

Well done this it’s very clever. How does it look now after 5months?

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi Matt, thanks for watching. I built the first section in 2016 and the second, slightly lower bit, a year later. We then had the driveway finished in 2019. Here is a link to the final stage which was Autumn 2019 and you can see the gabion wall still looking great and standing strong almost 4 years later. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHnSmp2bi6qBjbs The only issue we had was when they were backfilling behind the shorter run of gabions, I hadn't secured the baskets at the very back and the soil backfill pushed the top, very light row of baskets slightly forward. It hasn't compromised the retaining, but one day I will dig out behind that top row and secure them further back. I will probably replace the small gravel bags inside with proper recycled hard core too as the gravel bags weren't heavy enough to stop them moving. Hope this helps. Karen

[@MrGuy999guy]

Very interesting and informative Please use different music next time

[@OurHomeProjects]

Sorry, I have had a couple of replies about that. It’s all subtitles so you can watch again on mute if need be! 😆

[@MrTantilov]

Hi Could you please tell me what is the thickness of the gabions mesh? 3mm or 4mm

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi Spas, thanks for watching. All sides were 3mm except the front panel which was 4mm. Hope this helps. Karen

[@sirchestersqualityfoods3262]

Great 👍🏻 Small question what is the lifetime of the mesh used against corrosion. Tnx

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching. Unfortunately it seems the quality of gabion baskets really varies out there. Ours with the galfan coating are lasting really well, six years on now.

[@sirchestersqualityfoods3262]

@@OurHomeProjects wow that’s a decent time. Thanks for the info, really loved ur project ❤️👍🏻

[@OurHomeProjects]

If you’re in the UK it’s worth having a read on Fine Mesh Metals where we got ours. I also believe with gabion baskets you get what you pay for… so worth spending a bit more if the company gives you guarantees. I think the cheaper products can be thinner and might rust. All I can say is research and do a bit more research 😂 HTH. Karen

[@robertmclean7090]

How many tonne of cobbles did you use and what's the width of the wall please. I'm doing 20m x 1.5m so trying to work it out roughly. Thanks 😊

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi there, I go through all the detail in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHrak5WOid5la6M Sounds like a similar project to ours. Good luck!

[@chasl3645]

I wonder if there's enough weight there to control shoreline erosion from boat wake action.

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi Chas, thanks for watching. I did spot a few photos on the gabionbaskets.co.uk website showing gabions along water courses, but not sure about the wake action from a boat. Check it out for ideas. Karen

[@moneybay]

Where did you buy your Gabion baskets? I’d like to order some. Thanks

[@OurHomeProjects]

I bought mine from finemeshmetals in the UK. I give more info in this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHrak5WOid5la6Msi=hR-aEP841dAuG1zl

[@johnmichaelcorum9638]

Saan makakanili nyan gabion basket boss

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching!

[@stevem7250]

How much is the stone per tonne thanks

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi Steve, thanks for watching. I give more info in my detailed video if you want to watch - kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHrak5WOid5la6M I bought my recycled brick from Mainland Aggregates and the cobbles and gravel from my local landscape company. HTH Karen

[@TaharBELMADI]

Un mur en gabion plus de hauteur

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching!

[@nazemjaduoh3838]

👍👍👍👍😭😭😭🇱🇧

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching Nazem!

[@joewoodistiller]

The music is very noisy

[@OurHomeProjects]

Sorry about that. It was my first ever video and my choice of free music was limited. It’s all captions so listen on mute! 🙂

[@dilo_monilo]

Removed wonderful trees that took decades to grow. Could’ve just pruned them.

[@OurHomeProjects]

It was a hard decision, but they had not been looked after by the previous owner and blocked too much light and were making the bank unstable (hence the new retaining wall). Unfortunately you cannot prune fully grown evergreen trees as they just leave bald brown areas and do not refill. They were replaced with beech hedging which is growing well (many more than the 3 evergreen trees). Thank you for your concern.

[@timwalls1452]

No way this construction is safe. The integrity of each basket is only provided by small pieces of wire horizontally connecting the walls. This only prevents the walls from bulging once rock is placed inside the baskets. It does not mean it can withstand the pressure of a second layer pressing down from above. If that first layer ‘pancaked’ god help anything that’s near.

[@OurHomeProjects]

Hi, I suggest you look into the construction of the baskets themselves. The integrity comes from the side C clips that create the box shape and not from the cross wires. You need to research to make sure you're getting the right thickness of panels, the thicker they are the more integrity they provide. Clearly cheaper baskets may not hold up to the job. 5 years later, our gabion wall is still rock solid, no movement and definitely no worries of 'pancaking'. So definitely do your research before buying your baskets. In fact Fine Mesh Metals provide loads of info on their website, including structural engineer calculations etc. Definitely worth a read if you want to do something like this. Karen

[@joefisk4448]

This has to be one of the dumbest ways to build a wall

[@OurHomeProjects]

Thanks for watching. I hope you find the right solution for you!

[@enjek5654]

Only if you don't understand the engineering requirements and the cost.