Gabion baskets have become more and more popular in the last few years. They’re available in various designs, sizes, filling, anchoring… Needless to say, all these aspects have an influence on the price. In this article you’ll get to know more about the price of gabion baskets and discover useful money-saving tips and other interesting facts.
Which factors determine the price of gabion baskets?
The price of gabion baskets depends on different factors. Below you can find a handy overview.
1. Price per meter
On of the most important aspects that has a big influence on the price of gabion baskets is their size. They’re available in practically every size, thanks to the wire mesh or netting that is very easily custom made.
The more you want to ‘close off’ your garden, the bigger your gabion baskets are going to be, and that influences the price of course!
What’s also different for every basket is the thickness of the wire and the size of the mesh. Your choice is probably going to depend on the type of stone filling you want to use. Bigger stones mean bigger mesh. Keep in mind that your gabion baskets cannot be too shallow. Otherwise they won’t be stable and that doesn’t look very good.
Recommended price of gabion baskets: (Prices strongly differ, depending on the supplier and/or expert)
3 ft length x 6.5 ft height x 1.5 ft depth (mesh of 0.2 x 0.2 in): ± £ 85
3 ft length x 6.5 ft height x 0.5 ft depth (mesh of 0.2 x 0.2 in): ± £ 60
5 ft length x 1.6 ft height x 1.6 ft depth: ± £ 55
The smaller types of gabion baskets (e.g. 3 ft length x 1.6 ft depth) can be placed freely on a sturdy ground. In case of bigger baskets, you’ll need to anchor them into the ground, so they don’t fall over or collapse.
This can be done by anchoring hardwood or metal posts into the ground or a concrete base. The baskets are in turn placed over these posts. By filling up the baskets, the posts become invisible.
Recommended price for anchoring:
This depends on whether or not you’ll be calling in an expert. If you have the necessary knowledge and experience, it’s possible to do the job yourself. But it’s still recommended to call an expert. That way you’re guaranteed of having a quality product, and at the same time you avoid problems and extra costs in the future because of bad placement. Every expert has their own prices, which makes it that much harder to estimate a price beforehand.
The most commonly used fillings are natural stones, such as quarry stone or loose boulders. Think about stones like basalt, greywacke, Yellow stone, Icy blue… Of course, you don’t have to choose stones. You can go for glass, wood, ceramics, recycled materials, etc. Anything is possible! And if you get tired of one filling, you can always change it to something else over time.
Tip for cheap gabion baskets: go for natural materials like treebark. It has a natural effect, and is above all budget-friendly.
Letting your baskets be completely filled up by hand can be more expensive, because of the more expensive, labour-intensive work. Of course, in turn you get a nice and tight result. Loosely poured gabion baskets are done mechanically, which makes the cost a bit lower but the result sloppier.
Recommended price for stones:
If you go for a stone filling, you can expect prices around £0.20 – 0.60 per pound. Filling your baskets with glass is a good deal more expensive.
Concrete (2.3 – 3.5 in): ± £ 0.06 – 0.10 a pound
Basalt quarry stone (2.2 – 3 in): ± £ 0.20 a pound
Greywacke quarry stone (2.3 – 3 in): ± £ 0.20 a pound
Yellow stone quarry (2.3 – 6.5 in): ± £ 0.22 a pound
Choosing standard issue gabion baskets are obviously cheaper than those with extra features. Flower boxes, waterfalls, lights… can all be build into the basket, for a price of course.
Recommended prices for extra’s:
Gabion basket letterbox (2 ft length x 4 ft height x 1.5 ft depth): ± £ 365
Waterfall 1 ft (can be build into the gabion basket): ± £ 100
Gabion basket with flower box (1.5 ft height x 4 in wall thickness): ± £ 55
If you have the right knowledge, experience and tools, you can always try and place those gabion baskets yourself. This will indeed seem like the most profitable option for your wallet, in the short term that is.
But seeing as the execution has a big influence on the look and durability of gabion baskets, it’s vital that this is done properly. Especially the bigger gabion baskets need to be placed perfectly, so they don’t fall over or collapse.
A professional contractor possesses the right experience and necessary materials to place your baskets well, in any material or design you want. So in order to be completely guaranteed of long-term quality, it’s recommended to call in an expert.
