The pictures doesn’t do it justice but, this is off the wall rock work. I’ve watched them do this on another hillside. They use wire cages about 8’x4’x4’ open at the top to drop in the rocks. A rubber type half-pipe chute is used to funnel the rocks into the cages. A bobcat loads the chute while several hands are positioned to keep the rocks tumbling down the chute. When the cage is full a wire top is attached to enclose the cage. It’s not a fast and easy task by no means.

Catching a couple of workers there today I asked if they knew the cost of the caged rock erosion walls? Get ready........about two million dollars.


If a feller had two mil for a rock work, I’d think he could afford to find a pristine flat lot

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triggers dog-pile egomaniacs

Wonder what the view is like? Kinda reminds me of the houses I saw in Kalifornia cantilevered out over cliffs. Sometimes, the majority of the house out in space. Yeah, you have a view, you might just lose the house.

I have heard those "wire cages filled with rocks" are called "Gabion Walls".

John

We were seeing these caged rock constructions all over Europe last summer. When we got to the Catholic pilgrimage site Our Lady of Lourdes in France, we saw these being used around the grounds to funnel the throngs of visitors.

What BigWheel just pictured is becoming quite popular here in Phoenix. Similar border type wall/fencing around homes and offices. It gives me the heebie-jeebies, as I see it as perfect nesting for scorpions and killer bees. Nevertheless, I would have to imagine it's got to be cost-efficient, or it wouldn't be gaining popularity. Clearly what the OP pictures is a much smaller grade of actual gravel, and not simply river-rock.

Nice ammunition supply for "protestors."

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Eccentric old coot

It seems foolish to build in an area like that to begin with. Too much rain in a short period could send everything, including the house, down the hill. Seems like building on a flood plain would be safer.

It's true that a fool and his money are soon parted. It would benefit me greatly to find out how a fool and his money get together in the first place.

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protocalldesign.com

I'm loving that "roll up window wall" on the 2nd floor landing, must be nice in good weather. Like a lot of folks I'm working on amassing that 2nd $million, the 1st one ain't ever happenin'. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Even galvanized wire will rust, eventually. Or a no-account with a pair of wire cutters could play havoc with someone's foundation. I don't think I'm that trusting of a wire cage to hold my house glued to a wall. Especially if it had to be in California. They have earthquakes and tremors all the time.

Not I, sezamee. I've seen some pretty questionable structures built on some very steep hill (appalachian mountain sized hills) sides in eastern KY that I wouldn't want to live in. An a lot of them are built on cedar posts.

An identical caged rocks system are used in Washington state. They make up a rock catching wall alongside the highways in areas prone to rocks tumbling down the hill sides and out onto the highway. They do work.

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U.S. Coast Guard, retired CPO

At our lake in the Laurel Highlands of Pa. we're using 2X2X6ft poured concrete blocks that interlock to build retaining walls and dock recessed into the banks.

Our lake is easy .... the upper lake has steep and high lots..... lots of $$$$ to build anything. Mine dock and side walls are 3 block high (6') 86 feet of wall. including excavation Im in the low $20K

Those would probably be OK to use in California, because a house in the woods, like the one pictured, would would be more likely to burn down long before an earthquake hit.

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What, me worry?

More than a decade ago they were making that wire caged rock walls on the side of mountains where the interstate cut through, I think in New Jersey.

Interesting construction technology. With a couple of million dollar cost it will keep down unwanted neighbors.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

If the Corp of engineers had started sooner we could have prevented the Grand Canyon

I first encountered these "rock baskets" (Gabion Walls) back in 1978 when I bought my first house.

The house sat along side of a creek bend where a considerable amount of bank erosion was occurring.

At the time, St. Louis county was splitting the cost of installation of the gabion walls with homeowners who lived along the creek.

They were usually stacked about three high and some of my neighbors were on their second installation as they only lasted 10-12 years.

Possibly in a location where they are not subjected to flowing water, they might be more durable?

I did not avail myself of the 50/50 cost sharing because I had enough land, and then a few years later, St. Louis County converted the creek to a concrete channel and brought in much more dirt than I had ever lost, and expanded my property, all at no cost to me.

IMHO, gabion walls are a temporary solution, at best.

John

Can't help but wonder if an engineer signed off on this or did homer hoe-handle and his crew of beer guzzling hands dream it up

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triggers dog-pile egomaniacs

We don't have rocks down here south of I-10. Pretty much all black sediment compressed over the years. Ain't got no hills either.

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Forum consigliere

I built mine out of hog wire to have a step down terrace rather than a slope down yard. It worked well. Thankfully a friend ranches and they have 8 piles of rocks 1/4 mile long and 12 feet high. Most are about 5"-8" across.

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Front sight and squeeze