Living in New Zealand: Building a Brick-Lined Gabion Retaining Wall is Another New Skill to Learn

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Having a large garden presents opportunities and associated challenges. I've never putting a retaining wall before: so I hope this works!

I have no idea whether this terracotta pipe is still being used by one of our neighbours!

The made-to-measure gabions from http://gabionworks.co.nz

My hand-dug, hand-levelled trench

I was very relieved when the two wired together boxes fitted!

Though we have over a thousand bricks around the property, it’s not enough to fill the boxes, but it is a chance to get rid of all the old bits of pipe and rubble we have.

Lots of this dirt (mainly loess and some clay) will be bagged to be put inside the gabions, like sandbags, with bricks on the exterior surfaces.

Filling the gabions is challenging (not just the shifting of bricks etc. uphill!). There are very few rocks on the property, apart from the massive volcanic ones that sit below the loess and clay.

I hope I don’t find one of those where I plan to put the shed…

Forget Kids – Get a Dog #23

Forget Kids – Get a Dog is now available in all good book stores and on Amazon.

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I’ve never seen Frozen. But I don’t have kids.

Forget Kids – Get a Dog #22

Forget Kids – Get a Dog is now available in all good book stores and on Amazon.

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When we were kids we were only given toys on birthdays and at Christmas. Now you can’t move for cheap plastic toys in some kids’ bedrooms.

Forget Kids – Get a Dog #21

Forget Kids – Get a Dog is now available in all good book stores and on Amazon.

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If only you could train children with a little patience and a lot of newspaper on the kitchen floor…