Manufacturing the Goods of TomorrowManufacturing the Goods of Tomorrow

If you are charged with taking care of roads in an area with lots of rocky mountains, or if you have rocky slopes on your own property, you may want to use industrial-strength nets to prevent rockslides. In the worst situations, rockslides can be deadly or injurious, and even if no one gets hurt, falling rocks may block roadways or disrupt other activities.

Here is a look at some of the types of nets you can use to keep rocks in their place.

1. Debris Flow Barriers

These sturdy nets are ideal in places where you need to prevent rocks from sliding down a hillside due to rushing water or mud. They offer protection for both static and dynamic loads. That means that the nets can stop rocks and other materials as they are rushing toward the nets, but they can also work once they are full.

In essence, the nets stop materials from rushing past them, but they can also withstand the pressure of other materials heaping on top of the original load.

2. Cable Net Drapery

If you're dealing with lots of rocks rather than mud and debris, you may want cable net drapery. This is ideal for rocky hillsides where you are worried about big rocks falling off, but the issue isn't particularly driven by mud or torrents of water.

Basically, the nets are manufactured out of sturdy cables, and they are held in place by heavy rocks (that are positioned so you don't have to worry about falling) or even by bits of soil. This solution doesn't need to be anchored. As a result, it works well in situations where you can't easily get anchors into the surrounding ground.

3. Hexagonal Mesh Nets

This type of netting can work for both debris flow barriers and cable netting drapes, but it needs to be anchored down. Typically, the anchors are large screws or stakes that get pressed into the ground.  

However, this type of net is differentiated by its unique shape. Each opening in the net is hexagonal shaped, and the associated strands are double twisted. That prevents the net from snapping under pressure.

Additionally, this style of netting allows the rocks to move once they are inside the netting. This is ideal in situations where you have a hillside full of rocks that is constantly shifting due to vibrations from nearby activity or for any geological reasons.