Charlotte Temporary Fence Rental

The cranes and the sidewalks

Anyone who works in Uptown knows the drill: a lane closed for a crane, a sidewalk detoured through a covered walkway. Fence on those jobs has to do more than mark a boundary. It keeps pedestrians away from a pit and holds the screen with the contractor's name on it.

A covered pedestrian walkway is a different product from fence, and not every fence provider supplies it. Ask what is included and what is not. If you need both, say so.

Red clay and afternoon storms

Charlotte sits on red Piedmont clay, and clay does two things to a fence crew. When it is dry, it is hard enough to bend a post. When a summer storm drops an inch of rain in an hour, it turns into slick paste that will not hold a ballast bag in place. Most of the fence you will see on construction sites here is stand-mounted, and the better crews carry extra weight for the wet weeks.

Silt fence and fence panel often end up on the same job, since the same crew that is protecting the site from erosion is also guarding it from trespassers. If you need both, tell the dispatcher so the two are set out in the right order.

A site in Charlotte that has been graded and left bare for a month is the likeliest place to see a fence get pushed by runoff. Ask your provider whether to place the line a little uphill of the drainage path.

Uptown, South End and the ring

Uptown and South End have been a row of cranes for years. Tower and hotel work there means sidewalk closures, and the light rail runs close by. Fence for those jobs has to be quick to move and, often, topped with screen so passers-by do not stare into a pit.

Out in the ring, the picture changes. Huntersville, up toward Lake Norman, has office parks and warehouses. Matthews, Mint Hill and Indian Trail on the southeast side are all subdivision and retail, and Monroe has industrial work with a different feel. Concord, to the northeast, has the speedway and a big retail and distribution base, and the construction that goes with it.

The airport on the west side keeps expanding, and jobs around it usually come with site security procedures. Ask a provider whether they have worked there before you book.

Small things hold up jobs in the ring, like a utility locate that arrives a week late. A fence provider cannot fix that, but a good one will rebook your delivery date without penalty if the ground is not ready. Ask before you sign.

If a power line or another utility crosses your site, point it out on the call. Gates sometimes have to sit where a meter or a pole is, and the crew would rather know before the truck is loaded.

Event weeks

The football stadium and the NASCAR races bring crowd barricade into heavy use. Charlotte Motor Speedway, in Concord, runs several big weekends a year, and Uptown has marathon, parade and festival closures. If you run an event, ask for barricade with solid feet and ask whether a truck will be nearby for a quick fix.

Event work is often a one-night rental. Say so, and say when the crowd leaves, since you want the fence picked up the next morning and not on a vague Tuesday.

The northern and eastern edges of the metro grow in jumps. A distribution building goes up in Concord, then a retail center on the highway beside it, then a block of apartments behind. Each phase needs its own fence, and each might be a different contractor.

What to say on the phone

Tell the dispatcher the address, the cross street, the footage, the gate count and the ground. If the site is in a municipality outside Charlotte, such as Matthews or Huntersville, name it, since a different town hall may be involved if the fence touches a public street. Ask about delivery windows. Traffic on I-77 and I-485 can turn an hour trip into two.

For a long rental, ask how the provider handles a monthly invoice, and whether a move of the fence within the site counts as a new delivery.

Charlotte's growth also means more than one contractor may be working a block. If your fence line joins a neighbor's, say so, and ask the provider to coordinate the gate positions so the two sites do not trap each other's trucks.

Who picks up the phone at six

On a site that runs a year, the rental rate is not what hurts. The call at six in the morning does, when a panel is down and the superintendent is waiting. Ask how quickly the crew can get to a second visit, and listen to how they answer. If it is vague, keep calling.

On a long Charlotte job the fence is the one rental that never leaves. The provider who answers at six is worth more than a lower rate from one who does not.

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