Geotextile fabric is any permeable textile placed in the ground to separate, stabilize, filter, or drain. The two families do different jobs: woven geotextile carries load under gravel and pavers, non-woven geotextile filters and drains in French drains and behind walls. This page explains the difference and points you to the right DOTDAY fabric and weight. Free US shipping, no minimum.
Free US shipping, no minimum · Published data sheets · Woven and non-woven in stock
| Property | Woven geotextile (SHIELD, XBAR dual-layer) | Non-woven geotextile (TERRA) |
|---|---|---|
| How it is made | Flat polypropylene tapes woven over and under, like a basket | Polypropylene fibers needle-punched into a felt-like mat |
| What it does best | Separation, stabilization, blocking light | Filtration, drainage, separation, cushioning |
| How water moves | Through the gaps in the weave | Through the thickness of the mat, in every direction |
| Strength profile | High tensile for its weight; XBAR adds a needle-punched backing for puncture | Grab and puncture climb with weight: 4, 6, 8 oz |
| Where it fails | In a drain: the flat face blinds over with silt | As a weed barrier: weeds root into the felt |
| DOTDAY fabric | SHIELD 3.2 oz for beds; XBAR 5 oz dual-layer for gravel, pavers, driveways | TERRA 4, 6, or 8 oz for French drains, walls, road base, erosion control |
Non woven geotextile fabric is made by needle-punching polypropylene fibers into a felt-like mat. Water moves through the thickness of the mat in every direction while silt and soil fines stay behind, which is what filtration and drainage jobs need: French drains, footing drains, retaining wall backfill, dry wells, and separation on soft, wet subgrade. It is also called non woven landscape fabric, filter fabric, and drainage fabric. DOTDAY TERRA is the non woven geotextile, in 4 oz (100/100 lb grab, 300 lb CBR), 6 oz (160/160 lb, 400 lb) and 8 oz (205/205 lb, 500 lb). It is the wrong pick for weed control under mulch, where weeds root into the felt.
Woven geotextile fabric is made from flat polypropylene tapes crossed over and under like a basket. The weave is strong in the plane of the sheet, blocks light, and lets water and air through the gaps, so it separates and stabilizes while holding weeds down. DOTDAY makes two: SHIELD, a 3.2 oz woven for garden beds, farm rows and nurseries (180/105 lb grab tensile), and XBAR, a 5 oz dual-layer that bonds a woven top to a needle-punched backing for gravel, pavers and driveways (96/68 lb grab, 332 lb CBR puncture). Woven geotextile is the wrong pick inside a drain, where the flat face blinds over with silt.
Geotextile is the umbrella word. Suppliers and engineers then name the fabric by the job it does. Here is the map from term to fabric.
Flat-tape polypropylene woven tight. Strong in the plane of the sheet, so it carries load and separates layers. SHIELD is the 3.2 oz woven for weed control; XBAR is the 5 oz dual-layer woven for gravel and pavers.
Needle-punched fibers that water passes through in every direction while fines stay behind. TERRA 4, 6, and 8 oz. The fabric for drains, walls, and soft wet subgrade.
A geotextile placed between subgrade and base stone so the base does not sink and the surface does not rut. XBAR under gravel driveways and pads; TERRA 8 oz where an engineer specifies non-woven separation on soft ground.
A non-woven geotextile that lines a trench or wraps stone so water passes and silt does not. TERRA 4 or 6 oz in French drains, 6 oz behind retaining walls, 8 oz in deep or loaded trenches.
Any geotextile whose only job is to keep two materials from mixing. Woven where the layer above is load-bearing and needs light blocked; non-woven where water must also move through.
Landscape fabric is a geotextile sold for weed control. A 3.2 oz woven like SHIELD blocks light under mulch; heavier woven and all non-woven fabrics are geotextiles bought for load or water. Same family, different jobs.
Ounces per square yard tell you how much fabric is there, not what kind. Read the weight inside the right construction: woven for load and light, non-woven for water.
Shallow French drains, yard drainage, filtration
See TERRA 4 ozFooting drains, retaining walls, paver base separation
See TERRA 6 ozRoad base, deep drains, erosion control, soft wet subgrade
See TERRA 8 ozWeights are nominal ounces per square yard from the DOTDAY technical data sheets (Rev 1.0, September 2026).
| Property | XBAR 5 oz | TERRA 4 oz | TERRA 6 oz | TERRA 8 oz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | Woven top, needle-punched backing | Non-woven needle-punched | Non-woven needle-punched | Non-woven needle-punched |
| Grab tensile MD / CD (ASTM D4632) | 96 / 68 lb | 100 / 100 lb | 160 / 160 lb | 205 / 205 lb |
| CBR puncture (ASTM D6241) | 332 lb | 300 lb | 400 lb | 500 lb |
| Built for | Gravel, pavers, driveways, hardscape | Shallow drains, filtration | French drains, retaining walls | Road base, deep drains, erosion control |
| Roll size | 3, 4, and 6 ft widths | 3 ft x 50 ft | 3 ft x 50 ft | 6 ft x 50 ft |
Line the trench and wrap the stone and pipe in non-woven TERRA so silt stays out and water keeps moving.
See French drain fabricA woven geotextile face under the base course spreads wheel load and keeps stone out of the subgrade. XBAR 5 oz dual-layer.
See driveway fabricSeparation plus weed control under decorative stone. XBAR keeps the gravel up and the soil down.
See landscape fabric for gravelNon-woven TERRA 6 oz between backfill and drainage stone filters water so pressure never builds behind the wall.
Read the retaining wall guideGeotextile below the compacted aggregate base keeps the base from mixing into the subsoil so pavers stay level.
Read the paver guideWhere the job is weed control under mulch or planting rows, the woven geotextile is SHIELD 3.2 oz, not a heavier drainage fabric.
See landscape fabric for farms
Okie Hauling & Dirtworx put nine rolls of XBAR under a shop pad and the gravel driveway to it, then brought crushed rock straight over the fabric with an end dump and a skid-steer. The dual-layer fabric doing the separation and stabilization job under vehicle load.
Jeff St Pierre builds granite walls and paver walkways in Maine. He rolled non-woven TERRA 8 oz over the prepared base before setting the walkway, so the base stays separated from the subgrade and water keeps moving through under the stone.
DOTDAY Field Team
The long version of the table above: how each construction is made, what it does in the ground, and the mistake that ruins either one.
Read the field guide
A permeable textile placed in or on soil to separate layers, stabilize a base, filter fines, or drain water. It comes in two families: woven, made from crossed polypropylene tapes, and non-woven, made from needle-punched fibers. DOTDAY sells both: SHIELD and XBAR are woven, TERRA is non-woven.
Choose by what the ground is doing. If the fabric carries stone, pavers, or traffic and needs to block light, use a woven face like XBAR. If water has to pass through the fabric while silt stays behind, as in a French drain or behind a retaining wall, use non-woven TERRA.
Landscape fabric is a geotextile sold for weed control, usually a light woven like SHIELD 3.2 oz. Heavier woven fabric for driveways and all non-woven fabric for drainage are also geotextiles, bought for load or water rather than weeds. Same family, different jobs and weights.
Match the weight to the load and the construction to the job. Under gravel, pavers, and driveways, XBAR 5 oz dual-layer. In French drains, TERRA 4 or 6 oz. Behind retaining walls, TERRA 6 oz. Under road base, in deep or clay trenches, and for erosion control, TERRA 8 oz. Under mulch in beds, SHIELD 3.2 oz.
A woven face that separates and spreads load: XBAR 5 oz dual-layer, laid on compacted subgrade below the base course. Where an engineer specifies non-woven separation on very soft, wet subgrade, TERRA 8 oz is the non-woven option. The driveway fabric page covers the build.
Non-woven only. TERRA 4 oz for shallow yard drains, 6 oz for footing drains and most residential French drains, 8 oz for deep, clay, or loaded trenches. Woven fabric blinds over with silt inside a drain and stops passing water.
Yes, both kinds are permeable, but differently. Woven fabric passes water through the gaps in the weave, enough for beds and gravel surfaces to drain. Non-woven fabric passes water through the whole thickness of the mat in every direction, which is what filtration and drainage jobs need.
Every DOTDAY fabric has a published technical data sheet with grab tensile, CBR puncture, water flow, and apparent opening size to the ASTM test methods. Download the SHIELD, XBAR, and TERRA 4, 6, and 8 oz sheets from the technical data sheets page linked below.
The non-woven filter layer behind a wall, where it sits in the build, and the weight for the backfill.
Read article
Which oz weight matches which job, from light garden runs to heavy drainage and load.
Read article
Compact, roll, overlap, pin, cover in lifts: the geotextile install sequence for any gravel surface.
Read articleTell us what is going on top of the fabric, what is under it, and where the water goes, and we will spec woven or non-woven and the weight. Contractors, ask about bulk pricing on XBAR and TERRA.
