If you’re searching for a unique outdoor seating arrangement, gabion benches can add style and glamour to any location. Much like other gabion structures, gabion benches are made from sturdy wire mesh bases that are filled with rocks, concrete or other materials. When placed together, gabion benches can be set up in several ways to add a stunning natural aesthetic to outdoor arrangements.
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How to use gabion cages as seating
Before you build a bench, you need gabion cages. These are the wire boxes that hold rocks in place. The boxes are wire mesh with enough tensile strength to contain substantial stones. Manufacturers weld galvanized steel mesh for extra strength and an attractive look. Sometimes the galvanized mesh is coated in PVC, too.
After filling the mesh and aligning two or three ballast cubes, you place a weather-resistant, sturdy top above them. Two square gabions can sit at opposite ends of the bench, or a long, single gabion sit in the middle.
Gabion benches look wonderful when surrounding a deck, around a fire pit, or lining a walkway. You can put them anywhere that you need seating but want it to have a natural style.
How to Use Gabion Cages as Seating
Before you build a bench, you need gabion cages. These are the wire boxes that hold rocks in place. The boxes are wire mesh with enough tensile strength to contain substantial stones. Manufacturers weld galvanized steel mesh for extra strength and an attractive look. Sometimes the galvanized mesh is coated in PVC, too.
After filling the mesh and aligning two or three ballast cubes, you place a weather-resistant, sturdy top above them. Two square gabions can sit at opposite ends of the bench, or a long, single gabion sit in the middle.
Gabion benches look wonderful when surrounding a deck, around a fire pit, or lining a walkway. You can put them anywhere that you need seating but want it to have a natural style.
How to Make a Gabion Bench
There are several ways to make a gabion bench. You can make stand-alone benches with one or two gabions with one wide or several narrow boards attached to them. Your imagination is the only limit to the style and shape of the bench.
DIY – What You Need to Make a Gabion Bench For Your Garden
Depending on the complexity of the gabion bench you want in your garden, you might be able to complete a project in about an hour.
Materials You Will Need
- Wire gabion cages – you can make your own or buy them premade
- Ballast stones that are at least 30% larger than the openings in the cages
- Boards for the top – floorboards are good choices
- Fasteners for the top
The Sizes Available
- Individual stool
- Bench for two or three
- L-shape seating for several people
Different shapes of gabion benches
If you’re looking for a different design for your outdoor space, gabion benches can be arranged into various shapes. For example, L-shaped gabion benches can be constructed using three gabion cages or baskets and two wooden seats. If you’re looking to create a structure that is not strictly straight, you’ll want to create an extremely stable seat and secure it safely to the gabion cage.
As a rule, when creating gabion benches, you will want to ensure that the materials used are stable and fit for purpose. Unlike standalone gabion structures (walls or baskets for example), gabion benches need to be able to bear weight. Therefore, it’s advisable to use sandstone or granite for filling gabion benches, as you will want to ensure an adequate level of support for the wooden panel and the added weight of people sitting down.
If you’re a DIY seating enthusiast, there really is no limit to what you can create with gabion cages. You’re not strictly limited to rectangular or square cages. Though these are easier to work with, you can source normal wire mesh, plywood and paint for a unique and different gabion structure. Though these wouldn’t necessarily be classed as benches, they’re excellent sidepieces for a garden that’s looking to utilise gabions for decoration. With more unique gabions like this, you’ll need to mould the plywood and mesh material to create the shape that you’re looking for and meld the steel together.
Finally, when you’re planning the creation of a gabion bench, make sure that you get the correct support for your seating platform. Whether you want to seat 2 or 4 people, you’ll need to order the correct sized gabion cages in order to balance the weight correctly and support the wooden platform.
Specialists should be able to advise you of the correct size when you order, but it’s a great idea to have measurements to hand to prevent any slip-ups during the sourcing process.
What You Can Use as Soft Tops for Gabion Seating
Gabion benches have wooden, concrete, or metal tops for seating. Cedar flooring looks lovely atop a filled gabion. A custom concrete slab also looks nice atop the wire cages. But, if you are looking to soften the hard bench, you can add temporary softness.
To add a decorative and comfortable flare, use cushions made of outdoor fabric. You can attach cushions to the tops if you prefer them to be permanent. You could also use pillows or blankets on the benchtop to create a more comfortable seating arrangement.
Gabion Benches vs. Wooden Benches For Your Garden
When deciding what type of benches to put in your garden, you have some considerations to make. The first is how the seats will stand up to the weather. Wooden benches will only last a few years, especially if they do not have treated wood. The legs of the bench can rot from the moisture on the ground.
Another consideration is how you can integrate the bench into the garden. Gabion benches have bases made of wire mesh and ballast stone. Many people put soil or sand in the gabion as fill, so they could also put plants into the spaces between the rocks. The gabions could become living aspects of the garden in a way that a wooden bench cannot.
One more consideration is whether you want to rearrange your seating. You can quickly move wooden benches, while gabion seating is more permanent. To move the gabions, you would have to completely tear down the benches and rebuild them in their new locations.
The Advantages of Gabion Benches
There are several notable advantages to using gabion benches in your garden. Gabions offer an environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing look. You can dress the gabions with rocks and filler material found on site. Using local material proves to be environmentally friendly because minimal fuel is used for transportation.
Gabion benches use mostly natural materials. The gabions are galvanized steel, but the filler material is taken directly from the ground. The tops of the benches are made of raw materials, and they could be made from recycled or local wood when possible. The materials used are highly sustainable, which is what should be used in garden spaces.
Another benefit of gabion benches is that they remain cool, even in hot climates. The stones inside of the gabions give air room to circulate. Because they are free-draining, they are stable as water moves freely through them. The gabions themselves add a naturally attractive element to any garden. The hardness of the gabions showcases the softness of plants in the garden.
Gabions are permanent, easy to install, and strong. They do not need a foundation or a masonry filling to hold the rock in place. The mesh walls of the gabion do that. Because the ballast in the gabions is not held in place by mortar, they can move as the ground does; this only adds to their stability.