Keeping Your Gravestone Free from Stains

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Alex

A gravestone that has been very well cared for.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Wystan.

Over time, a grave can become discoloured and lose its original appearance through a variety of factors. When this does happen, and the discolouration has actually stained into the stone, then your best bet is to have any affected headstones attended to by a memorial care company, who can remove a tiny layer of stone from the surface, allowing clean stone underneath to be displayed instead.

However, you want to put this off for as long as possible by keeping your gravestones in good condition, and to do that, you need to take the time to ensure that the risk of discolouration of the stone is kept to a minimum.

The best way to go about this is rather simple: make sure you remove any debris that lands on the stone as soon as possible. This can be leaves, twigs, bird droppings, or anything else that could potentially fall onto the gravestone and stay there. This includes things that are leaning against the gravestone, so no piles of dead leaves or long grass should be allowed either.

You’ll also want to clean the stone of moss or other growths, as over time these can do just as good a job of staining the stone as dead leaves. This is also a fairly easy task.

What may be more time intensive is giving the stone a full wash, but this can get some of the best results out of the stone. It is a job that requires care and patience, as you may have to do multiple passes on one area, and can only use safe, weak cleaning products, and no strong brushes, as these can damage the stone.

Tips for Keeping your Gravestone Clean

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Alex

Looking after a gravestone doesn’t have to be a difficult task. With some simple tips and advice, you can ensure that any headstones, be they marble headstones or granite headstones look great for that much longer.

With the help of this video, we hope that you can look after memorials for loved ones with a much greater degree of success, keeping them free from weathering effects, moss and mould whilst not damaging the original stonework.

Of course, you can’t fight against the weathering effects of the elements forever, and even though these tips will certainly help you maintain your gravestone far longer, they do not provide indefinite protection. Luckily, there are professional companies that can provide memorial care to a much higher standard when it becomes necessary. Not only will they clean the stone, but can also restore lettering or other details and reattach leaded pieces.

Watch the video and learn how you can care for your memorial.

What Will You Have Added to Your Memorial?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Alex

There are loads of different options when it comes to adorning your headstone or gravestone with some things to really personalise it. You might expect that carving ornamentation onto a memorial is more common, but in plenty of cases, such as with a granite memorial for instance, you may well find that adornment rather than carving gives you a much greater range of options.

The problems with carving mainly sprout from the fact that granite and other hard stones can be very difficult and time consuming to carve. This can place very real limitations on the amount of work that can be done to a headstone within a certain budget. Even if money were no option, it’s simply much more difficult, close to impossible in some cases, to get the same level of detail on carvings in granite than it is in a softer stone, such as marble.

However, the adornments that you can get more than make up for the loss of carving options that granite offers, and these adornments take much more readily to granite than to softer stones as it will hold them much more easily; they are much less likely to loosen in granite headstones than they are in marble headstones.

And the range of adornments is huge! Even the colours vary massively. You can have something as simple as lettering, right up to images of doves, angels or something that the departed enjoyed immensely in life. You can even have full images cast and attached.

Getting Lettering on Granite Memorials

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Alex

Granite is a great material for a memorial. It’s durable, so you can be sure that the memorial will be around for a long time; comes in plenty of different colours, so you can get a memorial which you feel is right and can be carved into intricate works, even if it is harder to do so than with marble. However, a granite memorial does have one element which has caused concern for some people: lettering.

Traditionally, the lettering on gravestones was chiselled in. This is still done on plenty of gravestones, but there are ways to enhance it. This presents a problem with erosion if the gravestone isn’t properly looked after; weather damage can, over time, make the lettering unrecognisable. The previously sharp letters soften as their edges are worn away and you end up with the “melted” look that can be seen in old headstones.

The best way around this is to have leaded letters planted in the stone, which is where granite’s strength and durability is a problem as it makes getting the lettering in much harder, though not impossible. However, this technique is mostly used in marble due to the ease with which marble erodes compared to granite.

A better solution for granite is to have the lettering carved out of the stone and then painted in with gold, black or silver. This gives a lovely effect and can delay the erosion process. With a memorial care, these letters can be renewed and the lettering last far longer than just carved letters would.

Image courtesy of Flickr user treehouse1977.

Granite – The Noble Stone

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Alex

I feel that the first thing which should be addressed in this blog post is that I am not referring to granite as noble in the scientific sense. Granite is, of course, durable, but it does not approach a level of low-reactivity that would qualify it for the term. As a metaphor for its longevity, however, it is useful. The main definition of granite as noble here is to describe the dignity and solemnity that a granite memorial or granite headstones bring to a cemetery.

Although granite is now available in a variety of colours, colours which can be emphasised through careful smoothing and polishing, they still tend to have a darker tone than other stone used for memorials. The typically dark colours of granite are still prevalent in cemeteries through theUKas well, lending them the more respectful, dignified looks that colourful patchworks of gravestones lack.

The ability of granite to stay true to its original carving so much longer than, say, marble also contributes to its appeal. Where as softer stones will wear away over time, losing their detail and colour, granite will remain in its intended form much longer. It will begin to degrade eventually, of course, but not before it has seen out other gravestones created at the same time. This means that the solemn, unflinching dignity of a granite memorial goes on and on and on.

You should also recognise that even when wear and tear does take place, granite memorials remain excellent gravestones. Though the details of carvings and even names may disappear from their surface, they are indisputably recognised as the marker of a grave.

Picture courtesy of Flickr user he-ryan.

How to Keep a Memorial Looking New

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Dave

Memorial headstones and gravestones that are exposed to the elements (as virtually all of them are) will eventually begin to show signs of weathering and erosion from wind and rain. They may have begun to show discolouration as moss and mould takes root on them, or nearby trees shed their leaves over them. This process can be slowed a lot with the correct memorial care such as removing anything that attaches to the surface of the stone quickly and not picking a plot that is sheltered from the worst of the weather.

Eventually, however, all gravestones and memorials will begin to show signs of their age, which is when the time comes to perform a full renovation. Due to modern techniques and the expert care that is available during renovations, a gravestone can end up looking as good as new with an infinitesimally small loss of material or structure.

Discolouration can be treated by the smallest layer of the surface being removed and the underlying stone being re-polished. The tools that are used allow the finest of details to be maintained on memorials, so inscriptions, carvings and motifs can all remain in place. Any lettering that has faded over time is easy to replace as well, regardless of whether it is inscribed, painted, embossed or a variety of other techniques.

Memorial care packages may well cost less than you think too, and the cost is further reduced by doing easy, basic and quick checks on the gravestones you which to maintain yourself.

Choosing an Inscription for your Headstone

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Geoffrey

Making a decision on what to display on your marble gravestone can be a very difficult and lengthy process. You might go through loads of different ideas before finding one that you like, and could end up scrapping that a few days later. It’s important to think about it though, as if your nearest and dearest know what you would like on a headstone, it’s much easier for them to get on with the process and reduces the emotional stress and pain that they’ll be going through.

As for what to actually put on your gravestone, you have the entire wealth of all languages ever to choose from, which can be a little overwhelming. If you would like to go for a traditional choice, biblical quotes are always popular, as are fond remembrances of the family role you filled (“Beloved Husband, Cherished Father, Dutiful Son” for instance).

Or you could decide to go down a different route, perhaps with a humorous or witty epitaph to bring a smile to people who see your grave? There are plenty of funny little poems or messages on gravestones all over the world. One classic that has cropped up in a number of places is “I told you I was sick/ill”.

Another of my favourites is:

“Reader –if cash thou art in want of any,
Dig four feet deep and find a Penny.”
Epitaph of John Penny, Wimborne, England.

Of course, once you have decided on a gravestone epitaph, you’ll want to ensure that it’s maintained for future generations, so a proper system of memorial care is important.

Marble versus Granite for Memorials

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Geoffrey

When looking into memorial headstones for yourself or somebody close to you that has recently passed away you’ll find yourself having to deliberate between a variety of different options, but the material used for the headstone is easily the most important choice you will have to make.

The two most popular choices for modern memorials are granite headstones and marble headstones. Each have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, and ultimately which one you choose will come down to what is most suitable for the deceased’s wishes and the location that the memorial is to be placed.

Memorials made of granite will last much longer and keep their detail for a greater period of time than a marble equivalent. Details such as lettering will remain visible far into the future meaning that the memorial can be seen by generation after generation and serve as a long-lasting memory of the deceased. Granite is also available in a variety of colours and can have either a polished or matte finish to customise it even further. Unfortunately, the exact qualities that lend granite to being so durable also make it harder to shape, meaning the intricate designs that are possible with marble are much harder with granite.

Marble gives you the ability to create a truly stunning memorial should you want to. It is a softer stone and can be much more easily shaped. Inscriptions and lettering are easier, making individual flourishes possible, and lead-lettering (able to last a lot longer than an engraving) will fit to marble far more easily than it will granite. These come at the cost of increased ageing though. Marble will weather more quickly and the porous stone will stain much more readily than a granite equivalent.

Exhumations

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Dave

Although exhumations are widely considered taboo or sacrilege in most countries and cultures that bury their dead there are certain situations that result in bodies being exhumed and UK Headstones being disturbed. If for example, there are suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of a person the police may try and get the body exhumed for further investigations and to try and determine the cause of death.

In some cultures, graves are opened after a certain period of death. Southern China exhumes a body after a period of so many years and the bones are removed, cleaned and dried. They are then placed in either a ceramic pot for reburial or in a smaller coffin which can then be taken home by the rest of the family.

Remains may be moved if the cemetery in question is being located somewhere else, this would only occur after local planning and religious requirements have been met. In some rare cases exhumation may occur to help with the study of dissection, gibbeting or posthumous execution like Oliver Cromwell.

Many notable individuals have been exhumed to help with study and for public display; the most prominent of these figures are mummies from Ancient Egypt. In Hong Kong where property is at a premium, government run cemeteries exhume burials after 6 years under an order. The remains are then either privately collected for cremation or reburied in an urn or a niche.

Jewish Law forbids the exhumation of a corpse and other cultures continue to have differences and conflict regarding exhumation rules.

Boy sells his toys to pay for his Dad’s Headstone

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Dave

It’s a sobering tale that left many with a tear in their eye. A young nine year old boy in America had been saving his pennies for an iPod or iTouch until the day his Dad tragically died and the family couldn’t afford any Headstones.

The boy’s father who was a keen outdoorsman and loved nothing better than camping and hunting with his son died of an abdominal aneurysm, leaving his young family devastated. Like many young families, making ends meet is a challenge each and every week so having the luxury of disposable income is a far cry from reality.

The young boy, Blake, used some of his favourite toys to mark where his father had been buried and whilst he was busy saving any penny he had to buy an iPod or iTouch, he decided that he would hold a garage sale comprising of his old toys and any money made would go towards paying for his dad’s Gravestones.

Touched by his enormous selflessness, his mother agreed to try and match what he made to contribute to the headstone. Blake contacted his local radio station to generate some interest in the garage sale and as you can imagine, was inundated with people touched by the story. People flocked from far and wide to attend and left donations. The response became overwhelming and the young family managed to raise far more money than was needed for his father’s gravestone.

All the money left after the gravestone had been bought has gone into an account and is to help Blake with his education in the future.

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