Gabions

Gabions basket retaining walls are used in many situations, including the stabilisation of earth movement and erosion, river control, reservoirs, canal refurbishment, landscaping and retaining walls. They can be manufactured in welded mesh or woven wire.

Advantages of Gabions

The substantial physical mass and flexible composition means that gabion retaining walls can accommodate severe differential settlement. Their un-bound stone infill also prevents the build-up of damaging hydrostatic pressures behind the wall and because of these qualities engineers have made gabions the retaining wall solution of choice.

Gabion Wall Contractors

JML Contracts offer a full design, supply and installation package throughout Scotland for all Gabion basket services.
As specialist installers of Gabion basket retaining systems, and other solutions such as timber crib, segmental block walls and reinforced earth retaining walls, we have expertise in many solutions for land reinforcement, soil retention, sea, river and waterways protection, erosion control, and road and railway construction.
We specialise particularly in small, awkward Gabion basket contracts such as restricted access, rear gardens, river /coastal erosion Gabion mattress work and manual filling operations but as specialist Gabion wall contractors we have worked on large Gabion projects across the UK – up to 3000m3.
We also have experience in free-standing Gabion walling and architectural Gabion cladding works, and Gabion rain screen cladding works.
As well as acting as a main contractor, we carry out subcontract Gabion basket work for Maccaferri, and other clients such as RAF Leuchars, I & H Brown Ltd, Morrisons Construction, Mansell, Balfour Beatty, The Phi Group, and Perth & Kinross Council.
Our team is available to help throughout the process, from conception through to construction, and JML Contracts offers the following Gabion basket services:

  • Technical Advice
  • Site Visits
  • Preliminary Design Assessments
  • CAD and 3D Rendered Drawings
  • Installation Guidance

Gabion Technical Advice/Product Specification

With years of experience designing and installing an extensive variety of Gabion retaining systems, JML Contracts can advise on the most cost-effective solution for your project.

Site Visits

Where required, one of our technical engineers/team can undertake an initial walkover site survey. This will help us advise on the most suitable system for the job.

Indemnified Design Service

JML Contracts can use our internal or 3rd party engineers to provide a structural analysis of our Gabion retaining systems in accordance with BS EN 1997-1:2004, BS 8002:2015 and BS8006-1: 2010.

Product Literature

The following documents are available for download here, or hard copies are available at your request.

Gabions have a wide range of uses; we have listed the most common ones below for your information. Please feel free to contact us for any further information or questions you might have regarding any of these uses.

  • Mass-gravity walls
  • Reinforced soil walls
  • Garden terrace walls
  • Ha-Ha walls
  • River canal lining
  • River training structures, eg Groynes
  • Gabion weir or dam structures
  • Roadway culvert in or outlet structures
  • Low-level or Irish crossings
  • Longitudinal river structures
  • Bio filters, reed beds
  • River diversion structures
  • Architectural applications such as cladding, etc
  • Bridge abutments and protection
  • Scour protection
  • Coastal erosion protection

Technical Help – We have the technical knowledge and expertise to make your design or structure erection task as easy and seamless as possible.

Site Assistance – We can visit your site to give advice on the best size baskets and methods to use to undertake the installation, and we will provide design assistance for your erosion or retention problems.

Price Estimates – We can provide a costing to carry out the complete works including the supply of all materials, or if preferred we can provide a labour and plant costing for the erection of the gabion structure.

Technical

Gabions are used in many situations, including the stabilisation of earth movement and erosion, river control, reservoirs, canal refurbishment, landscaping and retaining walls. They can be manufactured in welded mesh or woven wire.

Their substantial physical mass and flexible composition means that gabion walls can accommodate severe differential settlement. Their un-bound stone infill also prevents the build-up of damaging hydrostatic pressures behind the wall and because of these qualities, engineers throughout the world have made gabions their retaining wall solution of choice.

The gabion wire diameter can range from 2mm to 8mm and the gabion basket can either be welded or woven, galvanised or plastic coated, depending on application.

Baskets normally come in flat pack form and are assembled on site. They can be used in a range of applications from small domestic projects to large industrial schemes.

Stone Required

The infill to the baskets is usually locally sourced stone ranging from 200mm–100mm. Hand facing ensures that the wall has a very good cosmetic appearance.

  • Environmentally acceptable – the use of local rock and soils for backfill is encouraged, with the subsequent growth of vegetative cover.
  • Flexible – gabions are able to settle and move without failure, even on unstable soils.
  • Economical – suitable stone is normally found on site, or from a nearby quarry.
  • The gabion basket has a high compressive resistance (rock) and tensile (mesh) strength.
  • The gabion baskets allow the free passage of water through the structure, and weep holes are unnecessary.
  • Vegetation can be incorporated within or over the gabion structures to blend in with the local environment.
  • The integrity of a local ecosystem within a river is unaffected by gabions as they allow the free flow of water and growth of plants through their structure.
  • With time, the integrity and strength of gabion river protection is enhanced with the subsequent growth of plants and their root systems penetrating the porous gabion structure.

More recently, architects and landscape designers have come to recognise the visual qualities of stone-filled gabions and as a consequence the use of gabions as decorative cladding and landscape screening is increasing.

This type of gabion facing provides a fresh modern feel, but with a colour and visual texture that can sit very well with existing surrounding architecture.

Despite more than 100 years of familiarity with the gabion, it is encouraging to see that new and highly original uses are still being found for this simple, functional, ecologically sound and visually appealing product.

For further information regarding using gabions as a cladding system please contact us directly.