Gabion Wall Installation — Wire Baskets Filled With Rock
A wall of rock in wire that holds a slope or frames a patio, built on a base that keeps the baskets level through the winter.
Gabion wall installation is welded wire baskets set on a compacted class 5 base, tied together, and filled with rock by hand so the faces look stacked rather than dumped. JMB Builders builds gabion walls across the Twin Cities metro as retaining walls on a slope, as accent walls and seat walls, and as planters. The baskets drain through themselves, which suits Minnesota frost. Priced per linear foot of wall.
- Priced per linear foot of wall
- Baskets drain through, no drain tile behind most walls
- Faces hand-packed so the rock reads as stacked
- Quote from photos, reply within one business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Send photos and hear back within one business day — or book a free in-home estimate.
A gabion is a welded wire basket filled with rock. Set in a row and tied together, the baskets make a wall that is heavy enough to hold a slope and open enough that water runs straight through it instead of building up behind it. That second part is why gabions suit Minnesota: the usual way a retaining wall fails here is water trapped behind it freezing and pushing, and a gabion has nothing to trap.
What makes a gabion wall look good or bad is the base and the packing. The baskets sit on a trench of class 5 compacted in lifts, set level and tied to each other with spiral binders or rings so the row acts as one piece. Then the rock goes in by hand at the faces, each stone placed flat side out and wedged tight, with the middle of the basket filled faster. A basket that is simply dumped full bulges and looks like a cage of gravel; a packed one looks like a stacked stone wall held square.
We build them as low retaining walls on a slope, as a backdrop or seat wall beside a patio, as pillars at a driveway, and as planters. Taller retaining runs need a wider basket at the bottom and a slight batter back into the hill, and a wall over the code height is sized by an engineer like any other.
What you supply
- The rock you want to see on the face: trap rock, river rock, granite, limestone or a mix, picked at a stone yard
- Basket size and finish: galvanized or PVC-coated welded wire, picked from the sizes the supplier stocks
- Where the wall goes and how tall; we stake it out with you
- Access for a skid loader to bring the rock close, or a wheelbarrow route
What JMB supplies
- A site measure, layout, and the utility locate before we dig
- A footing trench with class 5 compacted in lifts and the baskets set level
- Baskets assembled square, tied together with spiral binders or rings, and braced inside so they do not bulge
- Rock hand-packed at every visible face, bulk filled behind, and lids wired down
- Geotextile fabric between the baskets and the soil on retaining walls so fines do not wash through
- A batter and wider base baskets on taller retaining runs; an engineer's sizing where the height calls for it
- Backfill, grading and cleanup, and photos of the finished wall in your job folder
How it is priced: per linear foot
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Height: a knee-high accent wall vs. a retaining wall that needs wider base baskets and a batter
- The rock: delivered trap rock is cheaper to fill than hand-sorted river rock or a cut stone face
- How many faces show; a free-standing seat wall is packed on both sides, a retaining wall on one
- Basket finish: galvanized vs. PVC-coated, and basket size
- Access for a skid loader to stage the rock next to the wall
- Caps: a wood or stone seat cap on a seat wall, or lids left as wire
- A wall over the code height sized by an engineer
Send a photo of the spot with something for scale and tell us what the wall needs to do: hold a slope, sit on, or just look good. The quote follows a site measure.
How long it takes
An accent or seat wall: one to two days. A low retaining wall on a slope: two to four days, most of it filling baskets by hand.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Gabion retaining wall on a slope
A row of baskets, wider at the bottom on taller runs, set with a batter into the hill. Fabric behind the baskets keeps the soil from washing through the rock. Drains through itself, so no drain tile on most walls.
Gabion seat wall beside a patio
A low free-standing basket packed on both faces with a cedar or stone cap to sit on. Doubles as a backdrop for a fire pit area or a screen along a property line.
Gabion pillars and planters
Square baskets at a driveway entrance, at the ends of a fence, or as planters with a liner and soil in the middle. Small enough to carry in and set by hand.
Gabion and block together
A block wall with gabion sections at the corners or as a feature, or gabions below a block cap. Both sit on the same compacted base.
Gabion Wall Installation — Wire Baskets Filled With Rock: questions, answered
Does a gabion wall need drainage behind it?
Not the way a block wall does. The rock in the basket is open, so water runs through the wall instead of pooling behind it, which is the main reason retaining walls bow out in Minnesota. What a gabion retaining wall does need is geotextile fabric between the baskets and the soil so fines do not wash through the rock, and a compacted base so the baskets do not settle unevenly.
What rock goes in a gabion basket?
Anything larger than the wire opening and hard enough to handle freeze and thaw: trap rock, granite, limestone or river rock are the usual choices. The face rock is what you see, so that is picked at a stone yard for color and shape, and we hand-pack it flat side out. The inside of the basket is bulk filled with the same rock or a cheaper angular stone.
How tall can a gabion retaining wall be?
Low walls on a slope are built from single baskets set with a slight lean into the hill. As the wall gets taller the base baskets get wider and the wall steps back, and a wall over the code height is sized by an engineer the same as a block wall would be. Most back yard gabion walls stay under that height, often as two short walls with a terrace between.
Will the wire rust?
Baskets come in heavy galvanized wire, which weathers to a dull gray and holds up for a long time, and in PVC-coated wire, which is usually black or green and lasts longer where the wall sees road salt. Both are made for being outside in the wet. We order the finish you pick and keep the ties and lids in the same finish.
Why does one gabion wall look neat and another look like a cage of gravel?
Packing. A basket that is dumped full from a loader bucket bulges at the sides and shows a jumble. We brace the inside of the basket, set the face stones by hand with the flat side out and wedge them tight course by course, then bulk fill the middle. The lid is wired down tight so the top course stays put. It takes longer and it is the difference you see.
Gabion or block for a short retaining wall?
Block is faster to build and gives you a smooth capped top. Gabions cost more in labor to pack but drain through themselves, sit happily on uneven ground, and look like rock instead of concrete. On a wet slope, near a pond or wherever drainage behind a block wall would be hard to run to daylight, a gabion is the easier wall to keep standing.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners, builders and dealers. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
Related jobs we do
Retaining Wall Installation — Block Walls Built and Repaired
A slope that will not hold, a bed that spills onto the driveway, or a block wall that is leaning out after ten winters — built or rebuilt on a base with drainage behind it.
Read moreBoulder Retaining Wall — Fieldstone Boulders Set by Machine
A slope that needs holding and a look that fits a wooded or lakeshore lot — boulders set tight, leaned back, on a base and drainage that get them through the freeze-thaw.
Read moreRetaining Wall Drainage — Why Walls Fail in Minnesota Frost
A wall that leans a little more every spring is not a block problem or a stone problem — it is water freezing in the soil behind it. This is how a wall is built so that never starts.
Read moreSeat Wall and Pillars — Block Columns With Caps and Pillar Lights
Pillars that mark the corners and the steps, with a light on top and a seat wall running between — stacked plumb on a base so the caps stay level.
Read moreFire Pit Patio — Backyard Fire Pit Built with Pavers
A place in the yard to sit around a fire on a fall night, with pavers under the chairs instead of mud, and a pit that is built to take the heat.
Read moreBlock Steps Installation — Paver and Retaining Wall Block Stairs
Timber steps rotting into the hill, a front walk that ends in a scramble up the grade, or a retaining wall you need to get through — steps built in block that stay level and even.
Read morePage reviewed October 1, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All pavers pages
Where we work
Pavers near you
Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: