GOOD FINDS
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STORY AND PHOTOS BY RICHARD DUPERTUIS
YARD
k r o W k
V I C H A N N A N ’ S O N E - STO P L A N D S C A P I N G S H O P
WHEN YOU MIX cement powder with rock, sand or gravel, you get concrete, used as a solid foundation for anything from a retaining wall to a house. When you mix rock, sand and gravel with Vic Hannan, you get Vic Hannan Landscape Materials, a bedrock business that’s been supplying contractors and homeowners from its Anderson yard location for 28 years. And when you mix all of the above with 42 years of experience in sand, gravel and rock supply, you end up with a landscaping expert managing the largest California supply yard this side of Sacramento. “People wish there was someone they could ask about their projects,” says Hannan, seated in his back office. “I take questions all the time, give technical advice. I keep plans on a lot of projects that I give out for free, so someone who wants to do it himself can get the job done for, say, $300 instead of having to pay $3,000.” Hannan’s expertise shows as he describes a couple of the more popular products he sells. For example, to make one of
his custom soils, he starts with sandy loam and mixes in organic mushroom compost. “That’s the most evenly balanced compost on the market,” he says. “Put it down as-is and people can grow 10-foot tomato plants out of it.” Hannan emphasizes that every ingredient in his soils is natural. “I don’t use any kind of chemical in anything I mix,” he declares. In his front office, Hannan runs his hands through samples of pebble, a wide variety of gravel and decorative rock from as far away as Mexico. He hauls up to 10 cubic yards at a time from San Francisco in his own trucks. “A cubic yard of pebble will weigh 1.35 tons, or about 2,800 to 2,900 pounds. It “I DON’T USE depends on the density,” he says. ANY KIND OF “And you can legally haul 80,000 CHEMICAL IN pounds down the highway.” ANYTHING Hannan delivers orders with his I M I X .” fleet as well, using a dump truck with4 continued on page 70
MARCH 2020
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