Gabions are wire mesh boxes that are filled with stones and they areplaced in an orderly pattern to act as a single gravity retaining wall.

Meshes or Lacing wires are designed to hold the gabion boxes together. Most of the wires are zinc-coated or PVC coated to prevent steel wire from corrosion. Furthermore it is common that wires are fabricated in hexagonal patterns with doubly twisted joints to avoid the whole gabion mesh from disentanglement in case a wire accidentally breaks. Because of the nature of gabion filling materials, they are very permeable to water. They have particular application in locations where free water drainage has to be provided. Furthermore gabions are capable of accommodating larger total and differential settlements than normal retaining wall types so that they are generally found in locations where founding material is poor.

Fig:  Wires of gabion walls