Customer Project of December 2023
Every month, WireFence selects a favorite customer project!
The team reviews photos from customers to choose the best, using review images and any sent through email or LiveChat.
December’s Pick – Gabion Trellis Fence Project
This month’s favourite project belongs to James Dilkes who used our gabion trellis kits to create a very unique fence.
James purchased two custom versions of L757.5cm x D45cm x H97.5cm Trellis Wall Kit (4mm dia.) and L262.5cm x D22.5cm x H97.5cm Trellis Wall Kit (4mm dia.). He has removed the inner panels where the flowers or plants were supposed to climb up and replaced them with wooden decking boards to form the fence part of the wall. This resulted in a very unique and amazing fence which hasn’t gone unnoticed in the neighborhood.
We have a fairly large front garden which started out in a state of disrepair, and the time had come for us to design and lay out the whole area from scratch. Previously, the garden had a brick wall at the front, about a metre in height, which was not in good condition. We wanted to create a new boundary with a slightly different footprint to the old wall, and which complemented the other elements we were going to build, and potentially with a more striking/interesting look.
We didn’t know we were going to go for a trellis kit beforehand – it was only in searching that the possibilities become apparent. After having found the idea here and there in searching online, we decided that gabions in general seemed to be a good solution for what we were trying to achieve, and the trellis kit in particular had characteristics that we liked. The idea was to use the Gabon trellis as the main boundary, behind which we would plant a variety of shrubs/bushes/plants.
We had searched a variety of websites for the right type of kit to do the job. The trellis kit from WireFence seemed to offer exactly what we wanted, whereas the offerings discovered elsewhere would have required significant customisation on our part in order to get where we wanted to. Whilst the standard kits did not fit our exact measurements, in getting in touch directly, Erno was able to help us tailor the kit to exactly fit within the boundary we were trying to fill, which really helped us to make this work. Based upon our research, the quality of the metalwork was high and the price was very reasonable, in addition to the fact that the kit was complete and self contained.
We started with a firm base, as the original wall sat upon Victorian foundations. We were able to use a core drill to cut into these foundations and glue scaffold poles to support the tower parts of the gabions. It was necessary to use some compacted MOT1 subbase material to level the foundation before we could begin, on top of which a thin layer of sharp sand was placed. This was delineated by the pavement on the front side and some concrete edging blocks placed on the rear side. There are two sides to our wall, one long wall and another shorter one where the trellises are slightly closer together to fit.
We found that it was essential to use the tying wire to tie together the internal sides of the large base gabions to prevent them from bulging when we filled them with loose rocks. In our case, we used loose Forest Rustic Gabion stones from a local supplier, which matched the colouring of the house well and was complemented by smaller stones of the same type on the driveway itself.
We closed the tops using helical connectors rather than tying wire, which gave a nice finish. We were able to construct the wooden parts that are inserted between the trellis towers using timber uprights with a wedge cut-out into which horizontal slats of decking board were placed. These were painted and attached to the Gabion towers at either side using typing wire through drilled holes in the timber uprights.
We have had many positive comments from passers-by. This is the first wall in the area to have this type of construction. – James Dilkes
We love to see our customer’s projects and we are always thrilled when we receive such amazing ones. It’s a pleasure to see our products used in such versatile ways and we hope we’ll have more projects shared with us in the future!