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In This Issue
he Idaho Botanical Garden's is pleased to invite you
For a good laugh, check out these...
Build Drystack Walls That Last
Holiday Decorating and Winter Maintenance Supplies Now in Stock
Coming Events
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Greetings!
   

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

In the Spirit of the Season, and on behalf of our customers and employees, Silver Creek Supply has made a generous donation to a local Food Bank. We are blessed to be able to share the Joy of the Holidays with those less fortunate. Thank you for helping make this gift possible.

 

Terry Hammons Announced as Boise Branch Manager

Terry Hammons will take the reigns as the Boise Branch Manager beginning January 1st. Terry has dedicated the last 23 years to the irrigation and landscape industry. His long list of loyal customers and the friendships he has forged along the way, gives testimony to his commitment of understanding our customer's needs. In his new role, Terry is looking forward to promoting his "Customer Comes First" attitude to all aspects of the Boise operation. Congratulations Terry!!.... Well deserved.

 
Greetings from the Garden

The Idaho Botanical Garden's is pleased to invite you to the 17th annual Winter Garden aGlow. This is your chance to join those who make Winter Garden aGlow a must-do holiday tradition! During this busy time, what better way to slow down than by strolling through the light-filled Garden on a crisp winter evening?

 

Staff and volunteers have been working since September to get this sparkling event ready to welcome Garden members and visitors. You will not want to miss the chance to gaze deep into the magical forest from the new treehouses high above the forest floor. Reconnect with friends and family while you listen to local choirs with your hands wrapped around a cup of hot cocoa. Warm yourself by a fire barrel after enjoying the music of the model trains at the holiday railroad. There are many reasons you should not miss this event, but did you know that Winter Garden aGlow is the Garden's largest fundraiser? When you visit, you experience this uniquely Idaho offering and support the nonprofit Garden. Winter Garden aGlow allows the Idaho Botanical Garden to offer activities for children and families all year long. The Garden thanks you for helping fulfill their mission to cultivate, educate, and celebrate life in Idaho.

 

See you at the Garden!

 

 -Julia Rundberg   

For a good laugh, check out these  

Silver Creek Employees at their  

Holiday best!!

Merry Christmas From Silver Creek Supply
Merry Christmas From
Silver Creek Supply

Build Drystack Walls That Last

Apply an old technique for long-term results.

by Barry Sacher

 

'Drystack' or 'Dry Set', walls are constructed without mortar (cement) to hold them together. This is one of the oldest wall construction techniques on earth, and uses stone, or in some cases broken pieces of concrete or other blocky materials, to retain soil. Even though this is a simple and thus relatively inexpensive wall building practice, there are some principles that must be followed to ensure successful, long-lasting retaining walls.

  

Footing

Properly built walls include a footing, a portion of the wall which lies below the top of the adjacent surface (grade). With most drystack walls, at least 1 course (horizontal layer) of stone is buried to create the footing. The ultimate height of your wall will determine the depth of the footing- a taller wall requires a deeper footing to support it. Even curbs or edgings will have a few inches of the stone buried below grade.

  

Construction

A drystack wall is constructed using the principles of gravity and friction. Larger stones, or a mix of sizes, are preferable to small stones in order to maximize both principles. Vertical seams will weaken a wall, so proper wall construction overlaps joints as much as possible. The flattest side of each stone is what you

see, so the 'face' of the wall has a uniform look. Angular types of stone will fit together tighter, with smaller joints, and will actually become stronger as the wall settles. Rounded stones obviously tougher to stack- don't have as much surface contact within the wall, so there is less friction. One great advantage to drystack walls is that they drain naturally. Water weeps through the small openings (joints) between stones, relieving pressure behind the wall. Other types of walls require additional components to ensure drainage, because water pressure can severely compromise wall strength.  

 

Battering

Unlike most mortared, poured, or pier-supported walls, which are constructed to be upright (plumb) drystack walls are battered. They are built with a slight tilt against the soil being retained, which reduces force on the wall. So, if you were looking at the wall from the side it would appear to slant just a bit towards the retained area. This allows the wall to settle over time without compromising stability and time will compact the soil above the wall. If a drystack wall is properly built,  patios, paths, even driveways can be constructed near the retaining wall. However, a more structural retaining wall may be a better choice in some landscapes, depending on the conditions and to ensure longevity.If the earth moves enough, even a perfect wall could fail.

  

Retaining Soil

For slopes, creating flat spaces often means moving soil. Removing soil from a site can be extremely time-consuming, and costly. If you can keep soil on site and utilize it to enhance your landscape instead of removing it, you can streamline your construction project. 'Cut and fill' means cutting (removing) soil from part of your landscape, and using it to level depressions or infill low areas elsewhere. Here's where retaining walls come in. We can take sloped areas and use retaining walls along with cut and fill to create level spaces. There are a couple of important things to remember with cut and fill. First, the cut soil expands as you move it, which needs to be taken into account when you're calculating how much soil to is being relocated. The material gets broken up into pieces when it is cut, and gets fluffy. To prevent it from settling too much and disturbing the retaining wall holding it up, it must be compacted. Even with careful compaction, fill soil is less stable than native soil, and less stable than it was before cutting. For this reason, we don't use drystack walls as often to retain fill. Reinforced or mortared stone walls are likely better suited to holding filled soil.

 

 

Style

Because so many types of stone are available to use in wall construction these days, drystack walls can vary significantly in appearance. Some stones are very monochromatic, while others are quite colorful. Some have an angular, blocky appearance, while others have more rounded edges or are longer and flatter. When improperly built, any drystack retaining wall will appear sloppy. In some landscapes, a sleeker look is preferable, so even a perfectly constructed drystack wall may not fit the bill. But drystack is simpler to build and less expensive than constructing other types of walls, so the technique in itself shouldn't be written off. There is probably a material out there that would suit your design aesthetic, even if you lean towards a contemporary style. And stone isn't the only option- brick can also be used in drystack wall construction.

 

Today's designers recommend certain materials or construction techniques over others because we want the landscape to mesh with our client's home or building, while meeting our budget goals. Charming drystack stone walls are budget-friendly and naturally draining and can serve multiple purposes to level spaces and create architectural focal point in the landscape at the same time.

Holiday Decor and Winter Supplies Now in Stock 

followup

 
To help boost your winter season sales, Silver Creek is offering a
 complete line of professional grade Holiday decorations, Ice Melt, Gloves, and Snow Shovels.  Whether you are working on your own home, or offering a service to your customer, come see us for the quality products and discount pricing you are accustomed to.  Be sure to grab a copy of the 2014 Seasonal Source catalog at a branch near you.

Coming Events


Christmas in Meridian Holiday Parade & Tree Lighting

Friday, December 6th

6:30 - 8pm

www.meridiancity.org 


Idaho Irrigation Equipment Association Show
January 15-16 Burley, Idaho
www.idahoirrigationequipmentassociation.org 

 

Idaho Nursery & Landscape Association Conference

Jan 22-24, The Grove, Boise

www.inlagrow.org

 

   
Winter
Product
Specials

Stop by Silver Creek Supply to Stock up on Professional Grade  Winter Supplies

   
Purple Heat Ice Melter 50lb. bag
Mag-Chloride
6.79 p/bag (contractor pricing) 

Ice Crusher Ice Melt 50lb. Bag
Calcium-Chloride
6.79 p/bag (contractor pricing)
 








pusher Midwest 24" Poly Snow Pusher

$24.99 each