Erosion Control & Slope Cover in Raleigh, NC

Erosion control and slope cover is what we do when grass alone will not hold the ground fast enough: a fresh cut bank behind a house, a swale that carries the whole street's runoff, a ditch line, a pond side slope, or a yard that drops toward a creek. Raleigh's gently rolling hills mean a lot of lots have some grade to them, and the Cecil soil common on the Piedmont uplands runs from flat to 25 percent slopes, with medium surface runoff and a red clay subsoil that sheds water once the topsoil is gone. We match the cover to the slope and the amount of water crossing it.

Matching the cover to the slope

• Hydromulch is standard wood or paper fiber mulch sprayed with the seed. It works on gentle slopes and flat ground that sees ordinary rain.
• Bonded fiber matrix (BFM) is a heavier hydro mulching product with a binder that sets into a continuous mat. It holds on steeper banks where plain mulch would slide or wash.
• Straw erosion control blankets come on a roll: a layer of straw inside netting, unrolled and staked over seeded ground. They suit long slopes and swale sides.
• Coir and straw-coir blankets last longer and stand up to more flow, for channels and the steepest banks.

Raleigh rain and timing

The city averages about 46 inches of rain a year, with September the wettest month and tropical systems most likely from late summer to early October. Several inches can fall on a fresh seedbed in one event. On the slopes we treat in that season, we lean toward BFM or blankets even where hydromulch might do the rest of the year, because losing the seed and the topsoil under it costs more than doing it right the first time.

Swales, ditches and channels

Water moving in a channel cuts harder than rain on a slope. We look at how much area drains through a swale and how steep it runs, then line it with blankets pinned to the soil and seeded under, so the grass roots through the mat. Where flow is too fast for grass alone, we will tell you that the channel needs stone or a design change, not just seed.

Slope stabilization on home lots

Many erosion problems on residential lots start with a bank cut too steep during construction or a downspout aimed at bare dirt. Before we cover a slope, we look at what is feeding water to it. Sometimes the fix is a small diversion, a downspout extension or a regrade at the top before any blanket goes down. Our grading crew can handle that dirt work as part of the same job.

Erosion control for sites

For builders and site contractors we install slope treatments called for on an approved erosion control plan, and recommend options where the plan leaves the choice open. We can pair the work with silt fence and inlet protection, so the whole sediment control package comes from one set of erosion control contractors.

Get a free estimate or call (919) 980-5784 with photos of the slope and a rough length and height.