Silt Fence Installation in Greensboro, NC

Silt fence installation in Greensboro is usually the first thing a building lot needs and the last thing anyone thinks about. North Carolina's sediment law is performance-based: NC DEQ explains that it prohibits visible off-site sedimentation from construction sites and requires enough control measures to keep sediment within the site's boundaries. We install the silt fence, inlet protection and related sediment control that do that job, then seed the ground so the fence can eventually come out.

The job silt fence is built for, and its limits

Silt fence is a geotextile fabric set in a trench and fastened to stakes along the low side of disturbed ground. Runoff ponds behind it, slows down, and drops the soil it is carrying before the water seeps through. It is meant for sheet flow from a limited area. It is not built to stop a concentrated stream from a ditch or pipe, and it fails when it is installed across a channel, left untrenched, or allowed to fill with sediment. On red clay sites, fine particles stay suspended longer than sand, so fence placement and maintenance matter even more.

How we install it

We dig a trench, bury the bottom of the fabric, backfill and compact against it, and drive stakes on the downhill side at close spacing. Where a run follows the contour of a slope, both ends get hooked back up the hill so runoff has no path around the fabric. On steeper or longer slopes, or where a plan calls for it, we use wire-backed or stabilized fence, which holds more water and sediment without bowing. Our crew works as silt fence contractors for builders, homeowners and site companies, and we install to the details on your approved plan when there is one.

Inlet protection

Curb inlets and yard drains downhill from a site are where sediment leaves for good. Storm drains carry that water toward creeks, and NC DEQ notes that sediment clogs storm drains, which increases flooding risk, and harms aquatic life once it reaches streams. We protect inlets with fabric barriers, gravel and mesh, sandbags or manufactured inserts; a yard drain, a parking lot grate and a street curb inlet each call for a different choice.

Maintenance is part of the job

The person financially responsible for the site development is responsible for keeping erosion and sediment controls working during construction, according to NC DEQ. After heavy rain, silt fence needs to be checked, cleaned out once sediment builds up, and repaired where it has sagged or been run over. Piedmont Triad International Airport averages over four inches of rain in each month from June through September, so summer maintenance is constant. We offer inspections and repairs after storms, not just installation.

When the fence comes out

Silt fence is temporary. Once the ground above it has a permanent cover, with grass established or the area paved, the fence and stakes can be removed and the trench line seeded. We usually handle that at the end of a project together with final seeding, so the lot is left clean.

Local rules

Guilford County and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County run their own delegated erosion and sediment control programs, and local requirements can be stricter than the state's. If your project has an approved plan, the plan's details control. If it does not, we place fence where it will actually catch runoff, not just along the property line. Get a free estimate

Common silt fence mistakes we fix

A lot of the fence we see on Triad lots is not doing anything. Fabric laid flat on the ground with a few rocks on top lets water run straight underneath. Fence run straight downhill acts like a gutter instead of a barrier. Fence installed across a driveway path gets flattened by the first concrete truck and is never put back. And fence that is half full of red mud has no storage left, so the next storm goes over the top. When we take over an existing site, we walk the fence line, mark what is failing, and give you a short list of repairs before the next forecast rain.

Before a hurricane or tropical storm

NC DEQ's guidance for construction sites before a hurricane includes stopping new grading that cannot be stabilized in time, cleaning out inlets and ditches, and repairing damaged controls afterward so they work as the plan intended. We help sites get ready for named storms and come back afterward to clean out and restore the fence and inlet protection.

Fence and seed work together

Silt fence catches what leaves bare ground; it does not stop erosion where it starts. The faster the ground above it is covered, the less sediment the fence has to hold and the sooner it can come out. That is why we pair fence with temporary or permanent seeding on almost every job.