Maccaferri® Gabion

Maccaferri gabions can withstand high shear stresses and earth pressures and can be easily adapted to site conditions.

Function

Maccaferri gabion baskets are rectangular wire mesh cages manufactured from double twisted hexagonal mesh that are site filled with hard durable rock to form an earth retaining structure.

Applications

Gabions can be used in a variety of different applications from mass gravity retaining walls in highway projects to architectural feature walls. Their origins date back to 1893 when Maccaferri’s wire mesh gabions were used to repair a breach in the weir at Casalecchio di Reno and this long history of use is a testament to the reliability that Geofabrics offers its clients. Gabions form flexible retaining structures that can accommodate differential settlements. They are also permeable eliminating the main cause of instability of soil retaining structures. Gabions have also been shown to provide a good balance between engineering requirements and environmental considerations for earth retaining walls in rivers, along roads and railways.

Advantages

Maccaferri gabions can be stepped, vertical or battered to suit your project. They offer an environmentally friendly alternative with low installation costs.

Maccaferri gabion baskets are made from high quality steel wire, which is heavily galvanised with our GalMac® zinc-aluminium (Class A to EN 10244:2) coating to provide long term corrosion protection. An additional protective polymeric coating is also applied for gabions that are to be used in more aggressive environments, or where a longer design life is required. The new PoliMac® polymer coating has been developed to provide superior materials to clients that respond to the new demands of climate change, infrastructure resilience and increasing value. PoliMac® offers significant improvements over traditional polymer coatings including greater abrasion resistance, long-term UV protection and environmental benefits.

Maccaferri Gabions have BBA HAPAS Certification.

Design support

To support design of retaining walls, slopes, embankments hydraulic structures (weirs and channel linings) and rockfall protection we offer an advanced suite of software free to our clients. 
To assist engineers with the design process, the Geofabrics team of engineering specialists are available to give technical advice in the use of the software as well as provide training in-house or via seminars. 

Installation

Gabions are delivered to site flat-packed, where upon they are assembled, placed into position, and filled with a hard durable rock. Hard dense quarried stone in the size range of 100 mm to 250 mm is normally used to fill gabion baskets. The modular nature of gabions means that it can be used in a vast array of applications and configurations.

Onsite Installation Training

To protect the quality of your project, Geofabrics provides on-site installation training as well as guidelines and diagrams to assist contractors. Our recommended specialist gabion installers can construct sample units on-site before works begin to ensure products are installed as per our recommendations. Once the sample units are approved by engineers or the client, the gabion works can go ahead.

Tool Hire & Purchase

Pneumatic lacing tools are available for hire from your local Geofabrics office for use with woven mesh systems. These tools have been shown to halve assembly time. We also sell lacing rings ("C" rings) and preformed bracing wires that assist in creating a straight gabion face and speed up the installation process.