Curved Gabion Walls

Gabion walls are traditionally non-curved, but some of Permathene’s customers have chosen the unique challenge of creating curved walls for the aesthetic outcome, for example Kingston Foreshore in Canberra in our gallery section.

A curved gabion wall provides a welcoming and cosy feel to it and can become an integral aspect of the landscaping. Often used for fire pits.

Building curved gabion walls requires considerably more work than regular gabion walls. While the vertical panels bend easily to whatever curve is required, the horizontal panels which are used for the base and lids need to be placed, overlapped, and cut, with the rough ends bent downwards and out of the way of hands but it is well worth the additional effort.

For this type of project, the use of gabion C rings is recommended to connect the panels, as trying to use spirals to fit the curves is not ideal. C rings are also much neater visually. These are gabion C rings which are 3mm in wire diameter and not to be confused with fencing C rings which are too weak for this type of application. Gabion C rings also require a special tool which uses an air supply. Permathene hires out and sells this equipment.

For building curved walls using gabion C rings, see photographs for the Kingston Foreshore project here. This shows how smaller panels are utilized and connected.

When building curved gabion walls, it helps to have a landscape concept plan drawn out. This is to calculate the curve and how much material will be required. You can get some great ideas from Catherine Stewart of Garden Drum, see here: Garden Drum.

The other way to achieve a curved wall is to slightly offset smaller cages, see photograph below. This gives the illusion of a curve and allows for the cages to be built using no special tools apart from a pair of pliers.