Sandbags For Flood Control

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The Garrison sandbag is manufactured using high quality 6mm thick, Polypropylene material with a 10x10 fabric weave.

All Garrison sandbags are UV protected for 1,600 hours to protect against material degradation.

Garrison™ sandbags are 26”L x 14”W x 4”H (when filled).

Each sandbag has a traditional sand bag “pillow” shape.

Weight when filled to recommended Capacity is 35-40 lbs.

Weight of the sandbag when full is 60-75 lbs (We recommend only partially filling bags, rather than overfilling to capacity, to allow better stacking and to prevent gaps that will allow seepage of water).

It typically takes 600 bags to build a 100ft wall that is 1ft tall (using a base width of 2-3 sandbags).

Depending on the strength of the wall needed, you can build walls using a base that is 2x or 3x the height desired. So a 2ft high wall at 100ft long, would require 2100 sandbags at 3x the height and 1700 sandbags at 2x the height.

For more detail calculations, you can visit our instructions and charts HERE

For erosion control applications, we suggest using gravel, however for flood control applications, sand is considered the best fill material.

1 cubic yard of sand will fill approximately 100 - 14” x 26” sandbags. Each sandbag will hold about 0.4 cubic feet of sand when filled to the recommended amount.

Sand is typically available at local home improvement centers as well as at local masonry and construction supply stores, rock quarries, landscaping centers, and crushed stone suppliers. For larger applications, local suppliers will usually be able to deliver sand or gravel in bulk, using a dump truck.

We recommend using a #2 rounded point shovel, with a D grip and a straight shaft as this fits best with the opening size of the sandbags.

We suggest always using gloves when filling sandbags, to protect your hands.

Two people, using a shovel, can usually fill and tie off between 12-15 bags per hour. Mechanical bag filling machines can usually fill approximately 5,000 bags per hour.

For more instructions, visit our instructions page HERE

The sandbag itself is water permeable, but the sand fill contained in the bag is effective at stopping and redirecting water. When stacked, sandbags are extremely heavy and are able to withstand the rush of oncoming water and storm surges. The key to an effective sandbag levee, dike, or dam is to stack bags with a base 2x-3x the height of the wall needed. For extreme flood protection applications, it is ideal to create as wide a base as is practical.

Yes! Sandbags are ideal for weighting down the legs of temporary fencing, holding tarps in place, and providing additional ballast for signage, tents and more.

An Earthbag house is a structure built with sandbags. Earthbag construction starts with using fill material found at the construction site to create structures which are both strong and can be quickly built.

Two people working together with a shovel and tying off the bag (assuming integrated ties) can usually fill and position 12-15 sandbags per hour. It would take 2 people between 45-50 hours to fill and position enough bags to build a 100ft long dike that is 1ft high with a recommended 2ft width (or 2 bags wide).

For more instructions, visit our instructions page HERE

When a Garrison™ sandbag is filled to the recommended capacity, it should weight between 35-40 lbs. If filled full each bag will weight between 60-75 lbs.

Note: We recommend only partially filling bags, rather than overfilling to capacity, to prevent gaps that will allow water leakage.