Gabion Basket Foundation/stem wall?

[Baw335]

I have an old house on the other side of our property that I have been working to convert to a seasonal cabin and shop. It has a rubble foundation that is in need of attention in a few spots. I was originally planning to replace a section with block but have been intrigued with the idea of a gabion wall and haven't thought a reason why not to try it. Permits, inspection, insurance, and resale are not applicable or are of no concern to me. Anyone have any experience using gabions structurally? I would be curious to hear what people think. I found a photo of someone that built what looks to be a basement out of them.

 

[ducksface]

Gabions aren't meant to have weight put upon them.
The weight is held by the rock and it stands due to no load. The wire is just to keep the rock at the preferred angle because without it it reverts to the physical slope dictated by physics.

Any weight and it fails.
You can try a stacked rock (what your picture is, if it is real stone and not manufactured veneer) for your foundation if you think you can duplicate a lifetime of learning into one foundation....

Real foundation, then a facade(what your picture probably is based on the linear demarcations) is practical.

The picture is so you can see the framework needed with NO load.

 

[tjdux]

I have no experience in this matter but ny 2 cents is that is a wall covering on that photo of that basement wall...

Could be totally wrong but it looks like rock veneer as compared to structural. Are there more photos of the build process of that home?

Signiture; Check out my garage progress http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352703

 

[readhead]

Not inexpensive. Very labor intensive. You have to form and pour a bond beam on top to frame on. You need some kind of plan to drain water away that gets inside.
A few people tried it here and it was a disaster.

 

[Baw335]

I could be wrong but that photo has the grids on it from wire mesh. I don't have the build thread from that photo, just a photo I found on the Internet. It seems that some folks have been using them for buildings.

 

[ducksface]

We told you how
We told you why
We provided self taken photos of self involved projects.
Go ahead. Do it.
From here I suggest you type in to Google
Gabions basket fail.
Then put a building on top of it.

 

[PugetDude]

I'll just leave this here...

http://www.terraaqua.com/gravity-retain.php

 

[Baw335]

I'm not belittling your advice Ducksface; I was just trying to start a conversation about alternative methods. Im shocked that I have a house still standing on top of a 100 year old dry rubble foundation; which is why I looked into the baskets in the first place.

Thanks for posting that info Puget, that's info that I haven't seen before.

 

[garagelogician]

I'm not belittling your advice Ducksface; I was just trying to start a conversation about alternative methods. Im shocked that I have a house still standing on top of a 100 year old dry rubble foundation; which is why I looked into the baskets in the first place.

Thanks for posting that info Puget, that's info that I haven't seen before.

I design retaining walls for a living. Gabions are meant to retain earth, not support buildings directly. Old style dry rubble foundations work because they are supported on both sides by the backfill. Take away the earth on one side, and they woudn't be able to support that kind of dead load without blowing out.

The picture in your original post appears to just be a veneer on a typical concrete stem wall.