Cemetery Headstone Installation

What to Watch out for Before Flat Grave Markers or Headstones are Installed

A few months after the death of a loved one, when family and friends have long departed from their gatherings for memorial services, those who were closest to the deceased often struggle with the next stage of memorializing their loved one: installing a headstone or flat grave marker.

In ideal cases, this stage is completed beforehand because the deceased has already arranged for their headstone or grave marker to be installed. Many people across the United States still have practiced the tradition of installing headstones and flat grave markers well before their death and simply leaving instructions that their date of death be added to the grave marker after their passing.

But, in this day in which pre-need funeral and burial plans are often discouraged by consumer advocates and other experts, such arrangements are becoming less and less common. And that means family members, often still amid grief, are left with the responsibility of buying and installing a grave marker or headstone for their lost loved one.

For those whose experience of arranging a funeral and burial has been harrowing, confusing, stressful, and frustrating, dread is often the emotion most commonly felt upon realizing that a headstone must also be installed. “Will this nightmare ever end?” is how one grieving daughter expressed it recently on a blog she has maintained about her struggles in burying and properly memorializing her father.

This article aims to take some of the mystery and frustration out of the experience of installing a headstone over a loved one’s memorial.

(Please note that we cannot promise to remove all of the negative experiences. As with almost every other aspect of today’s death care industry, purchasing and installing a headstone can bring about much expense and frustration, even in the best of circumstances. We do hope to be able to help customers lessen the negative aspects, however.)

Purchasing Cemetery Headstones or Flat Grave Markers Online

Guidelines and Questions to Ask the Cemetery for a Smoother Experience

Often, we hear families are hesitant to look into purchasing cemetery headstones or memorial grave markers online, because they are not sure of the ordering process, and are concerned that they will run into issues with the cemetery.

We work very hard to keep the order process as simple as possible and contact the cemetery beforehand to ensure that there are no issues or complications in producing the marker.

Below are a few things customers should consider about purchasing grave markers online, our ordering process, and having the marker installed in the cemetery of their choice.

Also included are a few questions that we recommend asking the cemetery before ordering the memorial monument. This saves families time in knowing what the basic regulations of the cemetery are, so they are aware of those specifications when selecting the different options for their memorial.

Before your order for a headstone can be placed, we need three crucial pieces of information from the cemetery:

1. Is there a certain size the headstone must be?
2. What color of bronze and/or granite is acceptable?
3. And finally, should the grave marker be bronze on granite or granite only?

Other important questions to ask include the following:

• What are your options when choosing companion headstones?
  • Is a bronze vase that turns into a marker allowed on the headstone?
  • Are there any installation fees for the memorial?
• While we do contact the cemetery to verify the marker will meet their rules and regulations, we recommend asking your cemetery the questions above beforehand, so you are aware of any special restrictions they may have when selecting the details of your marker order.
• Some cemeteries require customers to complete a variety of forms before they will accept or give approval for a headstone. We will make every effort to complete these forms on your behalf, but in some cases that is impossible. We will help you as much as possible in making sure the correct forms are filled out correctly. We usually forward the forms to you for your information or signature either electronically or by standard mail and are happy to help if you have any questions or need assistance reviewing the forms.
• Some cemeteries require that you submit a drawing or layout of your gravestone. We can supply that to them if they request it. Upon receiving their approval for the marker, we would forward the same layout of the marker to you for your review. We do not proceed in making a marker until we have your final approval on the layout.
• Cemeteries will typically install the grave marker for a fee, but, if yours does not, you can usually find an independent installer for hire in the area. In this case, we recommend that you contract an experienced monument installer to install your headstone.
• Catholic cemeteries are all maintained by the Catholic Diocese, which has very strict rules (such as the requirement that headstones have a Christian symbol of some sort). We are familiar with these rules and will work with you, as much as possible, to make sure the cemetery accepts your headstone.
• We cannot deliver headstones to rural cemeteries, and others that do not have business offices in which someone can sign for the delivery. We can deliver the headstone to another local business or a freight company location. In this case, you would be responsible for delivering the headstone to the cemetery and for making sure the headstone meets the cemetery’s requirements. If you plan to use this delivery option, we will ask you to sign and return a special form to our office. Shipping regulations prohibit us from sending headstones to residential addresses.
• Cemeteries, regardless of what some proprietors may tell you, are required to accept headstones purchased from other companies (such as Memorials.com) so long as those headstones conform to their established policies. If you experience a problem along these lines, you should consider filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

Installing a Headstone in a Commercial Cemetery

Most headstones in our modern society are installed in commercial cemeteries run by companies that profit from burial and funeral services. So that is where we begin this look into how to install a headstone.

The first thing to know is that nearly every commercial cemetery in the United States today will not allow families to install headstones themselves. This may be confusing to some who assume that, once a family buys a plot of land in a cemetery, the family is free to do anything they wish.

That is often not the case. In almost every instance of a cemetery plot sale, the buyer signs an agreement promising to abide by the cemetery’s rules – even if those rules change between the date of sale and the time the plot is used as a gravesite.

It is often the case that the buyer does not remember signing such an agreement but such documents are typically routine parts of any cemetery plot transaction. Only in very rare cases are they not a part of the transaction with the cemetery.

The typical process for installation services of a headstone in a typical commercial cemetery is as follows (overall, from the consumer’s perspective, a very simple and easy process, even if it does not always sit well with those who would rather have a little more control over the installation):

• The family of the deceased orders a headstone from a retailer who, before production proceeds at the customer’s expense, checks with the cemetery to assure that the plans for the marker are acceptable and that the cemetery will allow (and, in most cases, provide for) its installation after the marker is delivered.
• A very important note: Cemeteries usually offer headstones for sale on a retail basis themselves, but customers should understand that they are under no obligation to purchase a headstone directly from the cemetery, even though the cemetery staff will likely not make that fact known voluntarily. They have a vested interest in keeping customers from patronizing their competitors, of course.
• Once the retailer has received written verification that the cemetery will accept the marker, the headstone order is submitted for production.
• Production is usually completed within 4 to 6 weeks of the submission, and the headstone is then delivered, usually by a special freight shipping company, to the cemetery.
• After the customer has paid the cemetery staff a special fee for installation services (this fee is known in the death care industry as a “setting fee”), the headstone is then installed by the cemetery’s ground maintenance crew, and customers can usually expect their loved one’s grave to be marked well within a month of the headstone’s delivery.

Important note about the setting fee:

Customers should realize that it violates the United States Anti-Trust rules for a cemetery to offer any customer a lower rate than others for this setting service. If a cemetery tries to discourage a customer from ordering from a competitor by offering reduced-cost (or even free) installation, customers should realize that the offer is made in violation of federal law and is, at the very least, unethical.

Though it may be tempting to accept such an offer because it ends up saving the customer some money, a more appropriate response would be for the customer to immediately consult an investigator with the Federal Trade Commission and consider contacting an attorney as well.

It would be unwise for the family to continue doing business with a company that would make an unethical and potentially illegal offer. Disinterment and re-internment in another graveyard may end up being a wise move as well.

Installing a Headstone in a Private Cemetery

Though most people in today’s memorial service market are buried in commercial cemeteries, a sizeable portion of burials is still conducted in private cemeteries run by small groups such as families, churches, or other not-for-profit organizations.

In these cases, installation may not be offered by the cemetery’s staff. This sort of cemetery very likely does not have any official staff.

The good news for a family of a deceased relative in cases such as this is that the cemetery management will likely be much less stringent than a commercial cemetery’s staff would be about enforcing rules that may conflict with a family’s plans for a headstone. The bad news, of course, is that the family would be entirely responsible for installing the flat marker.

In many cases, the person who is chiefly responsible for the private cemetery – whether it be a church pastor, a family patriarch, or the volunteer leader of a cemetery association – will likely maintain a list of qualified and competent contractors who will accept delivery of flat markers or headstones from a manufacturer and will install them at the cemetery for a fee.

These fees are often much less than the fees charged by commercial cemeteries. We will not venture to offer a thorough estimate for headstone installation service in this article since those prices vary greatly according to many factors involved in the installation. That said, it is realistic to expect that the service could cost as much as $500 or more, but it could also cost far less than $100.

In some cases – usually in very remote areas – an installation contractor will not be able to be located who can do the service for a practical fee, and that means that a family must arrange to install the grave marker on its own.

Though this may be a daunting, stressful thought to someone who is not experienced in such work, such a project is not above the skills of anyone who has access to a few hearty friends, a trailer sufficient for moving the marker to the gravesite, and a few simple tools (like steel bars, a mixing container, some wire twist ties, a tape measure and a few other handy items).

That said, for brevity’s sake, we will not go into detail about common methods for installing a grave marker at a cemetery but, rather, refer all readers to the many do-it-yourself articles and videos that are readily available on this topic on the internet. Here is one such video above, but there are dozens online.

Best Time of Year to Install Headstones and Grass Markers on a Burial Plot

A final consideration about installing a headstone over a family member’s gravesite is the timing of the installation.

In warm climates, just about any time of year is generally considered okay, given that the ground is sufficiently dry. Installing a grave marker on wet ground is considered unwise because the ground is prone to shifting as it dries, thereby leading to an unstable installation.

Headstones installed on a surface that is too wet will almost always need to be leveled (by adding dirt underneath) within a few months of the installation.

In cold climates, of course, it is almost always best to wait until the spring or summer months to install a grave marker. Installing on a surface that is covered with snow, or will be covered with snow shortly after the installation is a risky proposition in terms of assuring that the marker will remain level over the long term.

Most commercial cemeteries in regions that have snow on the ground throughout the winter months will typically not accept delivery of a headstone until spring has arrived. In these cases, manufacturers are usually equipped to store the produced marker until the cemetery is ready to accept delivery.

Frequently Asked Questions about Headstone & Military Grave Marker Installation

How much does it cost to install a headstone?

If you are in a private cemetery, it usually costs between $100 and $500 to install a headstone, but the price can vary greatly depending on the size and weight of the marker, the distance it must be transported to the cemetery, and whether or not any preparatory work needs to be done at the gravesite. Commercial cemeteries, however, can often charge a lot more. Your best option is to check with your cemetery before purchase.

How much is a concrete base for a headstone?

It depends on the size of the headstone, but a basic concrete base costs around $50-$100.

Can you install a headstone yourself?

Yes, you can install a headstone yourself but many cemeteries either require that you allow them to do it or hire a professional. Some cemeteries allow people do it themselves. All you need is a few basic tools and some knowledge of how to do it. For more information, check out one of the many videos or articles on the subject that are available online.

How much does a flat headstone weigh?

A standard headstone that is 12 inches wide, 24 inches long, and 2 inches thick will weigh between 100 and 125 pounds. Heavier stones will obviously weigh more, while lighter stones will weigh less.

How much does it cost to put letters on a headstone?

Lettering like a name, date of birth/death and the first 15 letters of a special saying with beautiful words on a Headstone or Grave Marker are all included in the price. However, you can additional lettering on top of that for a small fee per additional letter. Right now, that is $3.75 per extra letter after 15 letters.

What is the average cost of a flat grave marker?

The average cost of a grave marker is around $800 on Memorials.com. They range anywhere from $500 – $3,000+ depending on size and materials.

In Conclusion

Purchasing a bronze on granite headstone online can certainly seem like a daunting task, but we would like to assure any family interested in this option that we truly work hard to make sure the process is as easy as possible.

Our first step is to contact the cemetery to make sure the memorial ordered will abide by their regulations. Upon their approval, we forward the details of the marker or headstone to our skilled designers, so they may generate a layout of the memorial.

That layout is forwarded to you by email, for your review and approval. Once we receive your approval of the layout, we send the marker into production. The memorial does not go into production without your approval of the layout, to help ensure that all the requirements have been met.

Once the marker is produced, it is shipped directly to the cemetery or other specified recipient. We strive to meet any requests, so long as they are possible, to help create a beautifully touching tribute to a loved one, that honors their memory and celebrates their life well lived.