Installation
Polypropylene Gabion Mesh Assembly for Gabion Baskets
Polypropylene composite gabion mesh is assembled into a gabion basket with polymer strips, not with steel lacing wire. This page is only that difference: panels, joints, bracing and the lid. Foundation, drainage and the wall sequence are in the gabion retaining wall installation guide. If you copy a steel-wire method onto this mesh, you can cut the ribs and still think the box is tied.
Technical Knowledge Team · Updated 3 October 2026 · 6 min read
Before the panels come off the pack
Check the gabion box size, which face is the lid, and the mesh opening against the drawing. The nominal opening for this mesh is 65 ± 3 mm. Stone that suited an 80 mm × 100 mm wire may be wrong here, or it may be fine. Look at the stone before you unfold a row of baskets.
The ground under the first course is a foundation question, covered in the wall guide. On the day, keep the panels off rebar, off broken concrete and off anything hot. A polymer rib cuts more easily on a sharp drag than a steel wire does.
Form the basket and make the joint
Unfold the panels and fold the sides on the lines made for that fold. The mesh is stretched polypropylene, and the fold detail is part of the product. Do not invent a crease across a rib.
Join edges with the polypropylene connection strips, threaded the way the assembly sheet shows, along the joint rather than at a few points. Do not use steel hog rings or lacing wire. Tension should be even. A tight spot and a loose spot become a bulge when the stone arrives.
Diaphragms go in at the spacing on the drawing before the box is full. Internal braces go in as the stone rises, not after the face has bellied.
Fill, close, record
Place stone in layers. Do not tip a bucket from height onto the mesh. Hand-place the visible face if the wall will be seen. Stop when the lid can shut without a mound of stone forcing it.
Close the lid with the same strip detail on all four edges. Then tie this gabion basket to the next one. Check line, bulge, missed strips and any cut rib. A cut rib is a repair or a rejected panel, not a detail to bury.
The illustrated assembly sequence supplied with the product is the one to follow if it conflicts with a habit from wire gabions. This page is the reminder of what is different.
Frequently asked questions
Can I follow a steel-wire gabion installation guide?
For the order of work, mostly. For the joint, no. Use the polypropylene strips and the fold lines for this mesh.
What stone size should I use?
Stone that cannot pass the opening on the drawing. Ask for a check against 65 ± 3 mm if that is the mesh being supplied, and do a trial box.
Where is drainage and the foundation?
In the gabion retaining wall installation guide. This page does not replace them.
Project-specific support
Send drawings and exposure conditions for technical review
Product information supports evaluation and procurement; final design and regulatory compliance remain project-specific.