Build your own gabion fence - privacy fence construction and costs

A gabion fence is inexpensive, versatile and can be erected quite quickly in the property. In addition to its use as a privacy fence, the gabion fence serves as an ideal boundary for the property. Basically the gabion fence consists of wire baskets and the suitable filling material such as gabion stones, glass or wood. In your own garden, fence gabions can be planted and designed. A good quality is decisive for the successful construction of the fence.

The quality of fence gabions - you should consider this

If you want to build your own fence gabions, you should pay attention to high-quality starting materials. Stone baskets made of welded wire mesh offer more stability and do not deform due to the load of the stones. Galvanized wires are weather resistant. The zinc layer protects the metal from oxygen and thus from the formation of rust. This is especially true for baskets which are special or galvanized. This is a very robust coating of zinc and aluminium (with self-healing effect). In addition to the reliability of the baskets themselves, the quality of the filling material is also decisive for the durability of the gabions. Filling materials such as dolomite, basalt, granite or limestone are considered to be very robust.

However, gneiss or river pebbles can also be used as cheaper fillings. To prevent the stones from slipping or sagging, they should be at least 1.2 times the size of the lattice mesh. The range includes steel baskets with a straight course as well as curved gabions. These give the fence an interesting shape and can be optimally adapted to the conditions in the respective garden.

Preliminary work, surveying and construction of the gabions

Accuracy and care in the preparatory work for the gabion construction are decisive for the later stability of the construction. The first step is to consider the dimensions of the gabion fence or wall. The available space, but also design aspects play a role here. Would you like, for example, to place only gabions in the area in question or use other elements? During planning, a sketch of the area can help to keep an overview of all design elements and to correctly estimate distances and relations.

Measure the area of the fence - width, height and depth. Make a precise sketch with the dimensions and calculate the required number of wire baskets and quantity of stones. Consider whether a continuous fence is to be created or a mixture of individual gabions and wooden fences as well as loosening up with bushes or shrubs is planned. If you know the dimensions of the gabions and can estimate how long the fence will be, you can order the stone baskets. In addition, a subsoil fixing is often necessary.

An appropriate substructure (frost protection or lean concrete) is always recommended so that later deformation of the gabions can be ruled out. If the gabions are higher than 100 cm, then a correct foundation is important. Additional support posts must then be anchored in the ground into this foundation - particularly with regard to wind loads - in order to transfer the loads.

Gabion configurator

With a few clicks to your individual gabion fence - here you can get to our gabion configurator.

Building the gabion fence yourself - this is how it works

If a gabion fence is to be used as a property boundary, clarify with the responsible building authority whether these fence gabions are possible according to local regulations and which regulations must be observed. Before you erect the wall, prepare all the necessary parts. Depending on the height and width of the gabions, erect a foundation and insert the support piles into it. Fasten the individual baskets to this. Gabion parts, - at HS-Gabionenshop these parts are always included with the purchase of "baskets"! Simple connecting elements such as rings, binding wire or spacers are also available separately. The spacers or tension anchors ensure that the baskets in the gabion fence do not bulge when the stones are filled. If the gabions are in the right spot and connected to a wall, they have to be filled.

Pour the stones into the baskets with a bucket, for example. Large stones can also be filled by hand. Round stones are easier to pour and flat stones are easier to fill by hand. Spacers or tension hooks for stabilizing the wall are to be hung up according to the assembly instructions. Then you bring in small stones and close after the gabion filling the upper cover of the elements in the gabion fence.

Assembly instructions for fence gabions - Explanation of the structure

If you want to install fence gabions, you should erect a stable foundation. For a 1.5 m high gabion fence, excavate approx. 30 cm of soil. Fill the resulting trench with 20 cm of gravel, which should then be compacted with a vibrating plate. It is best to fill the upper 10 cm with concrete so that a strip foundation is created. Depending on the height of the fence, the required stabilising posts (included in the delivery) should be concreted in at least 60 cm. Place the gabion floor grid over the posts and connect the gabion floor to the side walls, using the spiral rods, for example.

Slide the spacers over the posts to stabilize the wire baskets. You can insert a partition wall between two columns in the gabion basket and fix the additional grid with a spacer as well as by screwing in a vertical spiral. Create an auxiliary formwork to prevent the front grilles from bulging forward as a result of filling. Fasten the squared lumber with wire or cable ties on the long side of the gabion at the height of the spacers. Now fill the baskets with suitable stones.

Avoid cavities and do not use stones smaller than the cuff width. By placing a levelling layer of small stone material between the layers, you prevent settlement. Finally, the lids of the gabions are closed and fixed with spirals.

Filling the metal baskets - how to fill the stone basket

Once the setting up of the gabion baskets is complete, stones can be filled in. Suitable types are pebble, andesite, basalt, granite, river pebble, lava stones, rhyolite, marble or glass chunks. It is ideal if the grain size is 1.2 times the mesh size. To calculate the filling quantity you can use our filling quantity calculator from the shop. For the filling you need a formwork, which can consist of wooden slats or beams. Tie it to the gabion with cable ties - starting in the lower part. A very harmonious look results if you fill the stones by hand. Interesting effects are created when you insert weatherproof lighting units between the stones. If planting is planned, use planting bags to create the necessary space.

The wooden slats gradually move higher with the progress of the stone filling to provide support where you fill in the stones. After all, the stabilizing posts are surrounded by stones inside and are therefore no longer visible. You can remove the wooden slats as soon as the lid is fixed.

Privacy fence - gabions as privacy protection

Gabions can be used as a privacy fence if you want to protect private areas, such as a terrace, from unwanted glances. You can also provide stairs or containers, rainwater containers and even compost heaps with such a screen so that only the gabions are visible from the outside, but not what is behind them. Gabions as privacy fences also have the advantage that they have a sound-insulating effect. The stones reflect the sound waves in different ways, so that the sound overlaps and thus attenuates. High and narrow gabions are frequently used here, which makes a foundation with support posts indispensable for the privacy fence.

Gabion configurator

With a few clicks to your individual gabion fence - here you can get to our gabion configurator.

Costs - the prices for a gabion fence

The prices for gabions, a gabion fence or a privacy fence are different - depending on which sizes, grid thicknesses or shapes you choose for a gabion fence. With the help of our configurator, you can easily determine the price of the gabion of your choice by specifying the dimensions, required basket sizes and mesh size. Basically, the prices increase with the basket size, but not in the same proportion with the wall meters. The filling materials vary greatly in price depending on the type of rock. Please inform yourself about this in our shop - we offer at least 30 different types and additionally also glass chunks. The delivery of our stone material is generally "DDP"!

PROFILE - What are gabions?

Gabions (Italian gabbione - large cage), also called masonry stone baskets, pouring baskets or wire gravel boxes, are fillable wire boxes that can be used for garden design. The baskets originated in the Middle Ages. At that time they were woven from willow and served the military as a protective wall and for entrenchment. Today, however, gabions are valued as an inexpensive alternative to walls or slope fortifications and are used in horticulture and landscape architecture. They serve as a wall, privacy fence or noise protection, wall, raised bed, slope fastening or to absorb a horizontal earth pressure. If you want to use gabions to create a garden area, you can choose between different wire diameters, widths and sizes as well as models with different mesh sizes. If the wire basket is galvanised, it remains resistant to weather conditions and moisture and retains its stability for several decades. They place the gabion baskets as desired and then fill them with stones.

As filling different stones are used, such as basalt and dolomite, limestone granite, etc.. If you want to create a wall, combine several baskets with composite elements. Very narrow and high gabions can be stabilised and reinforced with columns. The baskets represent a modern form of dry stone walling and have a sound-insulating effect. They offer insects a valuable habitat and store solar heat for a warm evening due to the slowly warming stone fillings. Gardeners can plant their gabions decoratively or combine them with other elements.