Construction Debris Netting

Construction debris netting is the mesh you hang on scaffolds, building perimeters, and overhead work areas to keep tools, cut-offs, dust, and demolition debris from leaving the jobsite. US Netting stocks it two ways: fabricated panels with a webbing border and grommets for fast hanging, and bulk fire-retardant rolls for long scaffold runs and building wraps. This page helps you pick the right one for your site. Custom panel sizes are available.

Illustration: a full scaffold wrap in high-visibility debris netting keeps material off the covered sidewalk below.

Which debris netting for your jobsite?

Start with the mesh opening. A 1/4" mesh stops the debris most crews worry about at a lower cost. A 1/16" mesh cuts down on the escape of fine material such as grinding dust and sand-blast media, and contains small hardware. Then decide between panels (hang, move, re-use) and rolls (wrap long runs, cut to length).

Side-by-side comparison

	Standard Duty Panel	Heavy Duty Panel	Standard Duty FR Roll	Heavy Duty FR Roll
Mesh opening	1/4"	1/16"	1/4"	1/16"
Material	High-tenacity polypropylene	Knitted high-density polyethylene	Fire-retardant knitted polyethylene	Fire-retardant knitted polyethylene
Fire retardant	Yes (treatment)	Yes (treatment)	Yes: NFPA 701 Test Method 2	Yes: NFPA 701 Test Method 2
Fastening	2" border, brass grommets every 18"	2" webbing border, grommets every 18"	Reinforced edge (use clips)	Button holes every 3"
Sizes	Standard from 10' x 20'; custom sizes	Standard from 10' x 20'; custom sizes	4' to 15' wide x 150'	4' to 15' wide x 150'; 10' and 12' x 300'
Colors	Black, white, green, blue, gray, orange	Black, white, green	Black, blue, gray, green, orange, red, red/white/blue, white, yellow	Black, blue, green, orange, tan, white

Standard Duty Panel

Heavy Duty Panel

Standard Duty FR Roll

Heavy Duty FR Roll

Mesh opening

1/4"

1/16"

1/4"

1/16"

Material

High-tenacity polypropylene

Knitted high-density polyethylene

Fire-retardant knitted polyethylene

Fire retardant

Yes (treatment)

Yes: NFPA 701 Test Method 2

Fastening

2" border, brass grommets every 18"

2" webbing border, grommets every 18"

Reinforced edge (use clips)

Button holes every 3"

Sizes

Standard from 10' x 20'; custom sizes

4' to 15' wide x 150'

4' to 15' wide x 150'; 10' and 12' x 300'

Colors

Black, white, green, blue, gray, orange

Black, white, green

Black, blue, gray, green, orange, red, red/white/blue, white, yellow

Black, blue, green, orange, tan, white

Vertical debris netting (perimeter and scaffold)

Hung on the outside of scaffolding or along a building face, vertical debris netting keeps material inside the work zone and screens the site from the street. Rolls are the economical choice for long, continuous runs; panels are faster to hang and move on smaller enclosures, short-term guardrail infill, and openings. For scaffold wraps that must carry a fire-retardant certificate, use the FR rolls.

Horizontal debris netting (overhead catch)

Rigged flat below elevated work, horizontal netting catches small dropped items before they reach people or finished floors. Debris net panels handle tools, hardware, and light debris. If the net must also arrest a falling worker or heavy material, that is a fall-protection system: see our personnel fall safety netting, which is available with a debris liner.

OSHA and local code requirements

OSHA's scaffold standard, 29 CFR 1926.451(h), requires that workers on a scaffold be protected from falling hand tools, debris, and other small objects, and lists debris nets alongside toeboards, screens, guardrail systems, catch platforms, and canopies as acceptable methods, in addition to hard hats. Where workers below could be struck, 1926.451(h)(2) adds that a debris net, canopy, or catch platform must be strong enough to withstand the impact of what it is meant to stop. Away from scaffolds, OSHA's general construction rule (29 CFR 1926.501(c) and 1926.502(j)) covers falling objects with toeboards, screens, guardrails, canopies, or barricades and does not name debris nets. On a scaffold, a debris net is one of OSHA's listed ways to protect against small falling objects; it is never a substitute for the guardrails and/or personal fall arrest that 1926.451(g) requires for the workers themselves.

Cities add their own rules. Both of our fire-retardant rolls are tested to NFPA 701 Test Method 2, the flame-retardant standard cities such as New York reference for scaffold netting (spec sheets often call this "Local Law 61" netting). Boston's Fire Prevention Division approves temporary enclosure materials per location; ask us for the flame-retardant certificate to submit with that application. On our rolls, an orange stripe in the hem shows that the fire-retardant coating has been applied; the certificate, not the stripe, documents compliance.

Sizing and custom panels

Stock panels start at 10' x 20' and run up to larger standard sizes; both standard and heavy duty panels are also made to custom dimensions when your bay or opening does not match a stock size. Rolls come 4' to 15' wide in 150' lengths, and the heavy duty roll adds 10' and 12' x 300' options for tall wraps. Measure the height and length of each run and add overlap at seams; order the next width up rather than splicing.

Installation and accessories

Illustration of gloved hands hooking a bungee clip through a brass grommet on the webbing border of an orange debris net panel

Panels hang from the grommets spaced every 18" around the border using bungee clips or tie wire. Rolls fasten to scaffold frames with scaffold clips or through the heavy duty roll's button holes every 3". Our debris netting accessories include 12" hook-and-barrel bungee clips (100 per carton), nylon secure clips (50 per carton), and 11" scaffold clips (100 per carton) rated for cold weather. For a step-by-step walkthrough, read how to install debris netting and where to place debris netting on a jobsite.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between debris netting and safety netting?

Debris netting contains small objects, dust, and material. Safety netting (personnel netting) is engineered and drop-tested to catch a falling worker. Some jobs need both: a personnel net with a debris liner does both jobs in one system.

Panels or rolls for a scaffold?

Rolls for long continuous wraps and anywhere a fire-retardant certificate is required. Panels when you need to hang, move, and re-hang sections quickly, or to close a specific opening. Sizing a full wrap? See our scaffold debris netting guide.

Is construction debris netting fire retardant?

All four options on this page are fire-retardant treated. The two rolls are additionally tested to NFPA 701 Test Method 2, the flame-retardant standard cities such as New York reference for scaffold netting.

Which color should I choose?

Orange for visibility where the public passes, black or green for a low-profile screen on longer projects, white to keep light in the work area. Colors do not change the mesh or strength.