Surry County, NC Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Surry County, NC, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Residential curfew
- 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- Other districts curfew
- 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- Emergency permit
- from County Manager, renews every 3 days
- First offense
- $100 civil penalty
- Repeat within 1 year
- $300 civil penalty
- Variance
- available via Board of Commissioners hearing
Summary
Surry County bars erecting, excavating, demolishing, altering or repairing a building between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. in residential areas, or between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. everywhere else, under § 132.01(B)(4). An urgent public-safety exception needs a County Manager permit, renewable in three-day increments while the emergency lasts.
(4) Building operations. The erection (including excavation), demolition, alteration or repair of any building in a residential area between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of any day or in any district other than a residential area between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of any day, except in the case of urgent necessity in the interest of public safety and then only with a permit from the County Manager or his or her designee, which permit may be renewed for a period of three days or less while the emergency continues;
Full Breakdown
Section 132.01(B)(4), part of the county's general noise chapter, declares building operations, meaning erection including excavation, demolition, alteration or repair of any building, to be a loud and disturbing noise violation when conducted between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in a residential area, or between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of any day in any other district. The only carve-out is for urgent necessity in the interest of public safety, and even then work requires a permit from the County Manager or a designee; that emergency permit is good for three days or less at a time but may be renewed while the emergency continues.
Enforcement and penalties run through § 132.99, the same schedule that applies to the rest of the noise chapter: a Sheriff's Deputy or Ordinance Enforcement Officer may issue a civil citation, $100 for a first violation and $300 for a repeat within one year, or a misdemeanor warrant may issue on probable cause. A contractor or property owner who believes a planned use would otherwise violate the chapter can petition the Board of Commissioners under § 132.03 for a hearing and a variance, though industrial-park projects that do not abut a residential area do not need to seek one.
Violations & Fines
Construction, excavation, demolition, alteration or repair work in a residential area between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., or in any other district between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., without an emergency permit from the County Manager, draws a $100 civil penalty for a first offense and $300 for a repeat within a year, with each day of continued after-hours work a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours is construction noise banned in Surry County?
Can a contractor ever work after hours?
What is the penalty for after-hours construction noise?
Can a business seek an exception to the noise chapter?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Surry County
How Surry County compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·Compare Surry County to another location·View the North Carolina noise ordinances overview
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