cheap(er) epiweb substitute? and engineered 'composites'

[gnathaniel]

Has anyone tried that stuff they sell at Lowe's and HD for foundation protection as a sub for Epi/Ecoweb? I was talking to my Dad about Epiweb mounting as a substitute for treefern and he mentioned seeing that stuff at Lowe's. He wasn't sure what it's made of but told me that the stuff he's seen is kind of a yellowish color. I'm about to head out to pick up some other stuff anyway and thought I'd check it out, but just wanted to see if anyone else has had experience with it. My biggest concern is that it's made of some kind of plastic that might leach or off-gas something harmful to plants, or that it might be treated w/ some kind of fungicide or algicide that's not good for plants.

Also, given what I've read about the low water retention of epiweb-type products, I was thinking of experimenting with 'sandwiching' the plastic web with thin slices of florist foam or something similar, then stitching it together with monofilament. I think this might produce a good inert mounting surface with a water reservoir for the plant while maintaining the high aeration benefits of plastic web products. Anyone have experience/thoughts/suggestions/critiques to share about this idea? Thanks!

--Nat