Geosynthetics — Geotextiles, Geomembranes & Geocomposites — Arizona

Geosynthetics are engineered fabrics and sheets used underground or under fill to perform a specific function that soil alone can't. The three functions that come up on nearly every Arizona civil site are separation, filtration and containment, and the right product depends entirely on which of those you need.

These materials are inexpensive relative to the earthwork and structure they protect, but the wrong spec — wrong permittivity, wrong puncture resistance, wrong liner thickness — shows up years later as a washed-out road section or a leaking basin. We size the product to the load, soil and hydraulic condition, and we install it, so failure isn't a callback problem for someone else.

• Geotextiles — woven or nonwoven fabric for separation, filtration and reinforcement
• Geomembranes — impermeable sheet liners for ponds, basins and containment
• Geocomposites — drainage cores or liners bonded with a geotextile for combined function
• Basin and pond liners — HDPE or LLDPE sheet, seamed and anchored on grade

Separation geotextiles keep dissimilar materials — subgrade soil and base aggregate, for instance — from mixing under load and cyclic traffic. Without a separation layer, fines pump up into the base course and the road section loses strength over a few wet seasons; with one, the aggregate stays clean and the design section holds.

Filtration geotextiles let water pass while holding soil particles back — used behind retaining walls, in French drains, under riprap, and wrapped around subdrain pipe. The fabric's opening size and permittivity have to be matched to the soil gradation on your site or it will either clog or let fines through.

Containment geomembranes are impermeable liners used where water or leachate cannot be allowed to migrate into the ground — retention and detention basins, lined ponds, and containment berms. Liner thickness, seam welding method and anchor trench detail are all spec items we coordinate with the engineer of record.

Selection starts with the function, then the numbers: for separation and stabilization, subgrade CBR or soaked strength drives fabric class and sometimes points toward a geogrid instead of or in addition to a geotextile. For filtration, the soil's percent passing the No. 200 sieve sets the apparent opening size you need. For containment, hydraulic head, chemical exposure and expected service life set liner material and thickness.

Arizona conditions add their own wrinkles: UV exposure on temporarily uncovered liners degrades some polymers faster than spec sheets assume in milder climates, expansive clay pockets can telegraph through thin liners over time, and monsoon-driven flow spikes mean drainage geocomposites need real hydraulic capacity, not just nominal transmissivity. We size for your actual soils and flows, not a generic table.

• Match fabric class to subgrade CBR and expected traffic
• Match apparent opening size to native soil gradation for filtration
• Specify liner thickness and seam method to hydraulic head and exposure
• Confirm project-specific specs with the engineer of record before ordering

Geotextile installation is straightforward but detail-sensitive: proper overlap at seams, no wrinkles or bridging, protection from puncture during aggregate placement, and pinning on slopes so wind or equipment traffic can't displace the fabric before cover material goes down. Geomembrane installation is more exacting — panels are deployed, seamed by hot wedge or extrusion welding depending on material, and every seam is tested before backfill or water is introduced.

We supply material by the roll or panel for crews installing their own, or we install complete systems, including anchor trenches, penetration boots at pipe outlets, and post-installation seam testing on liner work.