Gabion Companies in the UK

Baskets of Strength

The word gabion comes from the Italian for ‘big cage’ and that usefully describes the most common form of gabion, which is a wire mesh box, designed to be filled with rocks for use in soil stabilisation or erosion protection schemes. Cylindrical metal gabions are also found in some constructions, such as dams. Gabions might be filled with earth or sand to protect military bases.

Gabions have numerous applications within the civil engineering and road building sectors. Filled baskets are frequently to be found providing erosion protection along shorelines or river banks, where they are resistant to being washed away and drain freely. Stabilisation of slopes and retaining walls are other major areas of use. In many situations, gabions can become even more effective over time, as vegetation fills the gaps and further strengthens the structure.

When used to create a retaining wall, or mass gravity wall, stone-filled gabions are normally built at an angle of around six degrees with a stepped front, rather than stacked vertically. This results in a strong, stable structure that resists sliding.

Featured Company – Maccaferri

While Leonardo da Vinci is credited with designing a type of gabion for the foundations of a castle in the 16th century, it is Maccaferri that is known as the inventor of the modern gabion, and held the original gabion patent in the late 19th century. Today, Maccaferri is the world leader in double twist wire mesh gabions and its BBA approved woven mesh boxes can have a design life of up to 120 years.

Maccaferri gabions and Reno mattresses have been proven in projects across the world. The double twisted hexagonal mesh of steel wire is reinforced by edges of heavier wire and transverse diaphragms. The wire is available with zinc galvanising or coated in Galfan, a high performance zinc/aluminium/mischmetal alloy. For even greater protection, particularly where the gabion is exposed to salt water, additional polymer coating is recommended.

The mesh boxes are delivered to site flat-packed for easy assembly before filling with stones and installed in a huge array of configurations. A wide choice of mesh and wire diameters is available to suit the performance requirements of different applications. Woven units can be easily amended on site and shaped to suit individual projects.

For full information about Maccaferri’s range of high quality woven mesh gabions, visit the website.