After 20 years in The Valley I discovered, and learned to love gabion walls but, never had the need for one. Now I'm in Arkansas, the people here also construct gabion walls as the two major Arkansan crops are "rocks n' ticks". I eagerly await personal stories.

PS "Crap ton" seems to be an official measurement Nationwide.

No, I have no experience with them, but I have seen squares stacked on the freeway sides for erosion control. Instead of one humungous long wall, maybe you could do it in modules. 2 foot squares? they could be stacked in interesting ways, even interspersed with wood panels.

I've done a LOT of research on this (of which there isn't much info, so I had to dig into sub-categories for more info on how to accomplish this myself). I will be making my own wall this summer. I just bought some of the supplies but not all of them, so I won't have any photos or input until later this summer.

That said, to start prepping I bought basic remesh panels and a 1/2" mesh galvanized welded wire roll at the Home Depot this weekend. Normally I prefer to support local business, however, the 2 gabon suppliers within 4 hours drive of me will not return my calls or emails, and the gabion makers in California cost too much for my needs in regards to the freight. So, Home Depot and DIY it is for this project!

I will paint the remesh panels with black rust-proofing paint. The smaller galvanized wire I will leave as-is. I plan to build the frames for shape and strength with the remesh panels but then add the galvanized mesh wire to the insides of the 'boxes' so that I can fill the 'boxes' with smaller sized rock (which will be easier for me to wheel barrow in batches around my yard. As well, the black and galvanized coloring of the two metals and mesh sizes should create an interesting look.

I also plan to add some sort of lighting into the wall, but haven't finished that part of my planning yet. ;-)

Hope this helps!

To specifically answer your question, my reason for doing this is:

A) Looks earthy but modern

B) I was quoted between $6,000 and $12,000 for a brick wall at the length of wall I need for the bi-level yard I have

C) I'm a perfectionist designer so having total control over a job is ideal

D) I'll be able to extend my upper level yard to a more usable space for a very minimal cost

E) I welcome hard labor, so long as I can work at my own pace and spread a task out for as long as I need to ;-)

The wall you show looks like it has a thick gas pipe for the vertical support - probably a few feet deep into a concrete footing. That will be a lot of work depending on what your dirt or land is like. (Well, to me, a 40-ish year old female, that seems like a lot of work - I have no desire to rent augers to dig out holes).

Keep in mind the rock wall will be heavy, even if it is thin - and therefore will need proper support. The one I am building is going to be 1/2 as thick as it is tall, with one level set back a little into a banking of fill, so that it it is self-supporting. The privacy wall you show above is super cool, but will need some significant support down into the ground to keep it from falling over, especially in high winds and storms and such. (You may have already thought of all that, given what you wrote above about your DIY skills, just wanted to mention). :-)