What to Check When Purchasing Silt Curtain

Silt Curtains, also known as Turbidity Barriers, Silt Barriers, Silt Screens etc., come in many different sizes and prices!

We are painfully aware of cheap silt curtains in the market place and are also painfully aware of stress caused to clients when repair/replacement is required due to product failure, so it is always important when considering buying a silt curtain.

The quality our silt curtain offers is second to none… Alternative curtains are often shoddily put together and fall apart when put under stress from currents or tides. Argyle curtains are ready to deploy when they reach site, no assembly required!! Chain, floats and curtain are all included – not additional items you have to purchase separately!!

When purchasing a silt curtain, you need to take in a whole range of factors which may affect the curtains performance.  You need to look at the connections, and overall integrity of the product.  For instance, they may say the curtain is sewed with industrial grade thread – this may be the fact, however when it is sewed with industrial grade can that is used on jeans, with only 1 row of stitching, it doesn’t take long for the curtain to come apart!

A fact that you may find interesting:

There was a project a few years back where a company (the Water Delivery Alliance – Sydney Desalinization Plant Project) decided to purchase a cheap curtain over our high quality one.  They didn’t look at the specs or anything.  Within the month of delivery, the site had been closed down by the EPA because the curtain had failed, and they ended up getting it replaced and repaired to our curtains specifications.

Our silt curtain is supplied in 15m lengths either in individual sections or pre-joined for quick installation.

Specifications of the silt curtain are detailed below:

Skirt Fabric - 270 gsm non-woven polypropylene

Flotation - Closed cell PE foam block encased in 600gsm PVC coated polyester, with additional reinforcement in 2 of 30kN webbing above and below float

Ballast - ASTM962 boom connectors, 10mm heavy duty marine zipper and 10mm S/S D-rings & shackles

Joiners - 6mm Galvanised Chain encased in 30kN webbing reinforced PVC sleeve

This is an extremely heavy duty silt curtain, with webbings and multiple rows of stitching, and is used extensively around the country on major construction jobs.  Come clients include:

• Thiess
• MacMahon
• John Holland
• McConnell Dowell
• Abigroup

Remember:  Quality is Often Remembered Long After Price is Forgotten