project. Gabion steel basket retaining wall and Indian flagstone steps

date. Winter 2020

location. Uppermill, Greater Manchester

specification. Having worked for Jane to build her magnificent three-metre-high retaining wall my next job for her was to rebuild a retaining wall at the bottom of her very steep driveway. There was an existing poorly built wall from a previous owner, along with many cracks and back filled with a beer barrel, my first job was to remove it all safely. In it’s place I designed a retaining wall made of filled steel framed gabion baskets to provide a crisp edge to a safe vehicle turn around area.

After using a sub base I constructed the area, filling gabion baskets with a huge amount of stone, rubble and brick inside with nicer stone facing the top and front to match into the new drystone wall. I tied these together tightly to construct a strong and long-lasting retaining wall with enough space to tarmac the driveway inside.

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The two retaining walls are bonded by a new set of Indian flag stone steps leading down to the garden.

I spent much of my time crouched down inside the baskets, filling them. By the end of winter my knees certainly felt the effects and I learnt that my body appreciates the more traditional styles of dry-stone walling. But the final product was worth it, looking smart, strong, purposeful, and nicely compliments the stone, new drystone wall and Indian flagged steps.

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The final piece of this puzzle will be to plan and nurture a cottage garden…watch this space 😊

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