What to put in Gabion baskets

salex

I'm building a retaining wall in the garden using gabions (wire mesh baskets often seen on motorways etc)
Usually they are filled with some decorative stone at the front and the rest of the basket filled with rubble

I've just dug up the garage floor and need to get rid of 2.5m3 of tarmac

Could I use old tarmac to fill the gabion basket?

it seems wasteful to pay to have the tarmac taken away to landfill, only to have to pay to have rubble brought back to fill the baskets.

level200

I have seen them filled up with empty wine bottles (bottom pointing out) they looked lovely with lights behind them.

27col

Seems to be good idea of yours, I can't think of any reason why you could not get rid of your old tarmac in this way. 2.5m3 does not seem to be a very large amount, perhaps you could put out a sign offering to take brick rubble free of charge if you need any more.

Kiran

Quarries will deliver gabion stone usually 5" or 6" down. What kind of quantities are you looking for?

With regard using tarmac as a fill material, its not normally used as structural fill due to the hydrocarbon content which present environmental issues, and the soft nature of the material when compared to stone.

salex

Thanks for all the replies
I need to fill between 8 and 10 1m3 baskets

I suppose if I spread the tarmac between all the baskets then the softness of the material will not really matter.

I'll look into finding a quarry that will deliver stone and perhaps demolition companies will want rid of hardcore etc :beer:

Kiran

1 full wagon load will be 20T. As a very rough approximation that would equate to about 10 baskets. Demo waste is an option however you may find that it contains a high quantity of fines, these will fall out of the baskets. Gabion stone probably is the best option.

jimbo_the_jetset

Specification for Highways Works, Class 6G, lol

http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/mchw/vol1/pdfs/series_0600.pdf

On highways for example they are fully filled with good quality stone, or at least that's how they are specified.

Depending on the retained height I would be inclined to fill with well packed rubble (nothing that will disintegrate) and face in good flat stone for an asthetic look

Zazen999

The problem with using tarmac [and I spent many years reading SHW as posted by Jimbo...] is that over time it will melt/change shape and will move downwards thus leaving you with a gap at the top....and potentially a gooey mess leaching out of the bottom of the gabions.

I'd stick to stone/rubble etc and fill the middle with any other solid waste such as brick/concrete etc and save the nicer stones for the outside as you suggested.

moonriver

I am thinking about using gabion baskets to shore and repair an existing boundary between myself and my not so nice neighbour. My intention is to put a more permanent fence or wall on top of the gabions on completion and was thinking of bedding some 11' concrete posts every six foot for this His property sits approx. 5' higher than mine and is already falling in....the length is 30'. Can anyone give me advice on how best to do this.....I do have brain...honest!....just wonder if someone out there actually knows how it should be done?