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John I think the point was that those same little holes allow some of the more industrious weeds to grow through the fabric, unless you are putting down gortex, and that anything with a tight enough weave to prevent that is going to prevent more than just weeds from getting through. This is a general statement that is obviously less true of some products than others. Most weed fabric does not hurt plants but also does not do much to stop weeds from growing. The stuff you use probably works a lot better than what most people use but it still only works for a short time until the mulch starts to break down. Then you've got soil forming ON TOP of your fabric with plenty of weed seeds in it and plenty of airborn weeds to grow in your mulch. Yeah it may take a couple of extra years but your going to end up with the same stand of weeds or brush or whatever if it isn't maintained well and the fact is that most clients who are interested in having fabric put down want it because they don't want to have to maintain it well. The only difference over time is that one weedy yard will have landscape fabric six or eight inches under the soil and mulch while the other will not which will make it easier to clean up the mess. The fabric is a short term solution to a long term problem that can only really be dealt with through good maintenance practices.
As for freeze/ thaw...I disagree. Freezing causes the soil surface to heave unevenly, creating high spots and low spots over time. Mulch, soil or whatever will creep off the high spots and settle into the low spots. It happens slow but eventually you've got exposed fabric everywhere. And yeah you can keep piling mulch on it but because it is breaking down slower that's not a very good idea either.
I agree that there are rare occasions where putting the stuff down makes sense, like trying to choke out a buch of nasty invasive stuff that was just cut, and I agree that using the best products and installing them well will maximize how long and how well it works but I still think that at least nine out of ten times weed fabric is an unnecessary expense and a long term liability.
As for the common knowledge...you would think it would be but I don't think all the people I see spreading black plastic sheeting in landscape beds got the memo. I'm pretty sure though that my expert (I didn't say he was one...but he is) knows that that is not usually a good idea since it is not permeable like landscape fabric.
I haven't been in this business for too long and I could be wrong. There are many things that I don't know enough about but until someone shows me a landscape with a fabric weed barrier that is more than five years old where I don't SEE the fabric I'm sticking to my guns on this one.
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