Five Things You Should Know Before Buying a Headstone
by Lee Crook and Drew Bott
If you're like most people, you've probably never purchased a memorial before. With seamingly endless options, from internet-only retailers to your local mom-and-pop businesses, where do you turn? What should you look for? Where do you start?
Here's a brief list of important factors that will help you avoid some common pitfalls and empower you as the consumer:
1. Cemetery Regulations
Cemeteries have different rules about headstones; some even go as far as regulating what type of materials can be used. A reputable monument company should be able to educate you on local cemetery regulations and willingly abide by them. It should never be your assignment to ensure that your memorial conforms to cemetery regulations.
2. Sprinkler Systems
Arid climates rely on irrigation systems to keep their cemeteries green. The irrigation water deposits hard water scale on your stone, and over time the buildup makes for an unsightly presentation. Some cities use drinking water to irrigate, others pull muddy water straight out of a ditch. Visit the cemetery you wish to be interred in and take a look around at other headstones. This will give you an idea of the concentration of mineral content as well as irrigating method, all which will impact how your stone will look over time. General rule of thumb: the darker your stone, the more visible the hard water will be, and the more you will have to clean it.
3. Know Your Stone
The cost of granite has as much to do with quality as it does craftsmanship and availability. Granite covers more than 90% of the earth's continental crust, but not all of it is accessible, some of it is superior to others, and some forms of granite are rare and difficult to quarry. For this reason, Wisconsin Red is going to cost more than India Red. Below is map showing the origins of different granites, as well as their rarity. A general rule of thumb: the further away you are from the quarry, the longer it will take to receive the stone (e.g. North America: 3-5 weeks, Asia: 3-4 months).
Once a stone is quarried, it must be cut down to the right shape. Granite is very hard, and requires special cutting tools. Just like a diamond, the cut color and size will be the most significant factors in the price of the stone.
4. Quality of Engraving.
A headstone always looks best the day it is set. But what about ten, twenty, or even fifty years down the road? Blasting letters deep in the granite is time consuming, but is necessary for a stone to be readable down the road. When lettering is engraved to the necessary depth, it will cast its own shadow. Some monument companies will opt to do a shallow engraving, and then spray the lettering with Lithochrome. Lithochrome adds a nice finishing touch to a completed monument, but when used in excess it will eventually fade away. If it is not blown deeply, it will be difficult to read.
5. Scope of Service.
There are many aspects to purchasing a stone. One frequently overlooked is setting the stone in the cemetery. A headstone requires either a concrete or granite foundation. Concrete is cheaper, but is likely to crack over time as the ground shifts. An inexpensive granite is quarried in Canada or Georgia specifically for foundations. Ask your monument provider if they carry granite foundations. If they do, check to see if they include it in the price of the headstone.
A properly set stone will not move. Find out if your monument provider does their own setting. Cemetery workers do not have the equipment to set headstones larger than 200 pounds, and you will need to find somebody local to set it properly. This cost alone eat up any savings online-based headstone retailers offer.
