The mesh holds the stone, but the stone does the work. Poor stone, or good stone badly placed, is the most common reason a gabion structure underperforms.
Two rules, and a good job meets both:
A small proportion outside the range — about 5% over and 5% under, by count — is tolerable. Indian BOQs often write it simply as boulders with a least dimension of 200 mm.
Thinner units take smaller stone. For revet mattresses, a widely used guide is about 75–125 mm stone in a 0.15–0.23 m mattress and 100–200 mm in a 0.30 m one.
For demanding work the rock can be tested: a specific gravity above 2.5 and water absorption below 1% are typical acceptance limits (FHWA HEC-23).
A well-packed gabion is about 30–40% voids (IRC:SP:116-2018 designs to a maximum of 40%). Tightly graded crate pitching can reach lower — the CWC handbook works an example at about 27%. At 35% voids, filled gabions weigh roughly 1.7 t per cubic metre, which is also the easiest way to check the packing on site.
Order stone by the total volume of the gabions being filled, plus an allowance for overfilling (about 25–50 mm on top of each box) and for sorting out face stones. Ask your quarry whether they sell by loose volume or by weight, and convert accordingly.
No smaller than the mesh opening, and ideally 1.5 to 2.5 times it — about 150 to 250 mm for standard 10×12 mesh. Mattresses take smaller stone.
Yes. Rounded river stone is acceptable and widely used, though angular crushed stone interlocks and packs tighter.
Shale, mudstone, claystone and any rock that softens, splits or breaks down in water.
Tell us your dimensions, wire specification and quantity — we'll come back with a quotation and lead time.
