Purchasing a memorial is a large investment of time and money. We recommend taking your time and giving thought when planning to purchase a memorial. These are a few things to consider before making that purchase.
First off, one very important point we would like to make is that when making plans to purchase a cemetery plot or making funeral arrangements, you are not obligated to buy a memorial from the cemetery or the funeral home. Oftentimes you will find many more options and better prices buying directly from a stone memorial manufacturer. The best way to see the available sizes and shapes is to visit our showroom. If that isn’t an option, we would gladly visit you at your home or town for convenience.
Many cemeteries have restrictions on size and type of memorial that can be placed on a specific plot. Since we work with these cemeteries every day, we have a lot of knowledge regarding the regulations of cemeteries in the area. Because of this, it can be very helpful to discuss your wishes regarding the memorial with us before purchasing the plot itself.
By working together with one of our representatives, design and layouts can be created to suit almost any need, including, custom layouts and designs. Using new technology and years of experience we can use almost any idea you have for your memorial and bring it to reality.
There are many styles of memorials to choose from, now more than ever as custom work becomes more common. The standard styles include multi-piece upright monuments, slant style, bevel style and flat markers. Please click on the personal memorials tab for a visual of the different styles.
Multi-piece upright monuments come in a wide variety of shapes and styles. Generally, this style has the most space for inscription and design making it ideal for all design ideas.
Slant markers are slightly shorter than an upright monument and are named for the angle of the face of the memorial. The slant style marker has less space for inscription and design but is still quite visible when searching a cemetery. Also known as “K” markers.
Bevel markers are shorter than slant markers. Named for the wedge shape these markers are ideal for having an above-ground marker while removing some of the cost involved. Space is available for inscription and simple designs. Due to the shape, these markers are slightly more difficult to find in the cemetery than a slant style marker. Other names for these are Hickey or pillow top markers.
Flat markers are restricted to a small surface area for design and inscription. They are usually placed with the “lay of the land” so that cemetery caretakers can mow over the top. Because of this placement, flat markers can be difficult to locate when searching a cemetery, so they are generally used at the foot of the grave, this is where the term “foot marker” comes from.
Granite is used as the material of choice due to its strength, beauty, and the variety of colors available. While there are many granites around the world, only some are suitable for use in the creation of a memorial, due to its durability and contrast when lettering. We only offer the best available granite in order to fully stand behind our work.
The color of granite dictates the style of cut used to create the designs and inscription on the memorial. This knowledge of which cut to use is one of the most important reasons why you should work with a memorialist directly. Using the wrong combination will drastically shorten the time in which the memorial design is visible once placed at the cemetery.
In the case where a company uses improper lettering techniques, they have to paint the letters to get high contrast. The paint used will only last for a short time and eventually will wear off, leaving little to no contrast between the polished stone and the letters. We have many examples, from other companies, of stones that are lettered incorrectly and are no longer legible. If you see stark white letters on a stone, beware.
Granite Memorial Costs
Size, color, design, and installation determine the cost of a monument. Prices vary from under a thousand dollars for a basic marker, to ten thousand for an extravagant upright monument. We also create large mausoleums and columbaria.
