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I need to build a relatively short and about 70-100 cm high retaining wall in my garden. I have chosen to make it out of gabion for various reasons, one of them being price. The main reason, however, is the inaccessibility of the place by larger/heavier vehicles.

My problem is that the retaining wall should be placed so that it will be perpendicular to a 150 mm diameter rainwater PVC pipe running through that place.

  • The pipe instead of meeting the wall is right under the surface now.
  • The gabion wall will need to be sunk in the current ground by about 30-40 cm so that it sits on the harder layer of soil (marlstone) the garden is on. I can't really put the wall higher since there will only be newly piled soil which would be too soft to hold the gabion.

Moving the pipe to run around the wall or digging it lower is not really an option here. I will need to run the pipe through the wall - it should go through the wall about 30 cm above its base.

My idea is:

  • Cut a hole (only as big as to just fit the pipe) in the gabion mesh
  • Lead the pipe through the hole
  • Reinforce the surrounding of the pipe inside the gabion by adding several of those stabilizing hooks all around the pipe (I mean those hooks which are added into gabions while they're being filled and hold opposite sides of gabion cages).

Is my idea OK or would you recommend a different approach?

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  • I added a link to the definition of "gabion" for those (like me) who aren't familiar. I attempted to do the same for "marlite", but only found a wiki link to marl, and several companies named "Marlite". Please edit to indicate what marlite soil is, for those who aren't familiar.
    – FreeMan
    Commented May 19, 2022 at 20:15
  • That said, and having looked at the definition of gabion, I don't see why your solution won't work. You'll just have to be careful while filling the cage with the hole cut in the mesh to ensure it doesn't blow out on you.
    – FreeMan
    Commented May 19, 2022 at 20:16
  • I don't have any experience with building gabions, so I wanted to find out whether there are recommended ways how to do this, or some special gabion parts for this. The only risk I saw here is, as you mentioned, the cage bending outwards while filling (the hooks should help here), but I prefer to ask before I start something I don't know anzthing about. Marlite is apparently better known as marlstone - a softer sedimentary rock. I added the link.
    – Topper Harley
    Commented May 19, 2022 at 21:01

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Sounds like you are on the right track to me. Consider providing some support to the pipe immediately upstream of the gabion (if possible), to avoid any future issues with settlement.

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