Services
Our Cemetery Services
01.
Cleaning
We will visit the grave site and evaluate the material and condition of the memorial.
Based on what we learn, we’ll use appropriate tools and cleaning agents to remove any soiling or biological growth, always following the principle of “do no harm.”
In the case of particularly fragile stones, it may be necessary to treat the stone with a biological cleaner and walk away. These cleaners will do the job, but may require weeks or months to fully take effect.
We’ll send you before and after pictures and revisit the site if necessary for retreatment.
02.
Resetting
Stones often become detached from their base because of accidents or adhesive failures.
Provided nothing is broken, this could be as simple as cleaning the surfaces to join and setting them back in place with historic mortar or an epoxy based putty.
It becomes more complicated when the stone is large, the base is unlevel, or either the stone or base is damaged.Â
Large stones require lifting with a hoist and tripod which adds time and potential risk.
Leveling and/or repairing broken memorials are additional services.
03.
Leveling
If a memorial is leaning, it’s almost always because the base is no longer level. Over time, the ground on which a base is resting will subside, causing the base to sink. It seldom sinks uniformly, so the base becomes unlevel and the whole memorial leans.
If that isn’t fixed, the stone eventually will topple. This can damage property or cause injury.
Leveling a base involves separating the stone from the base, digging the base free, lifting it from the hole, leveling the soil, backfilling with crushed stone, leveling the stone, and putting it all back together.
In most cases a mechanical lift is necessary.
04.
Restoration
If a memorial is seriously damaged and broken, full restoration is likely to require most or all of these services.
If the base is missing or sunken, we will try to locate it. If we can’t find it or it’s broken beyond repair, we’ll make a new one.Â
The new or repaired base is then set and leveled.
The broken stone is pieced together and the pieces are set with a high-grade epoxy adhesive. Sometimes a stone must be reinforced from future breakage with aluminum braces.
Finally, the stone is set on the base and everything is cleaned.
05.
Documentation
Every stone we visit is photographed and we make sure that the photo, GPS location, and immediate family members (if known) are documented in FindAGrave.
If you have photos of your loved one, we’ll add it to their FindAGrave memorial as well.
If you want us to manage their memorial, we will, or we can assign management to you or whoever you specify.
(You can learn about managing FindAGrave memorials here.)
06.
Decoration
Many people would like to place flowers or other decorations on their loved one’s graves, especially around special dates, like Christmas, Memorial Day, or their birthday. But unless you live nearby or are making a visit in person, this can be hard.
We can buy and place items for you, or if you’d rather ship items to us, we will place them for you.
Any visit for decoration purposes will include tidying the grave site, making sure that old flowers are removed, grass is neatly trimmed and clippings are cleaned away.
See sample arrangements and approximate pricing here.