From First Visit to Final Setting: How a Monument Comes Together
Stories Etched in Stone – Article 12
Understanding the process can make an unfamiliar decision feel a little easier.
“Every life is unique. We believe every memorial should be, too.”
Welcome
Families often begin thinking about a headstone or grave marker during an already stressful time. A death can bring a long list of unfamiliar decisions, many of which must be made quickly. Funeral arrangements, cemetery choices, paperwork, family notifications, services, and countless other details can arrive all at once. Selecting a permanent monument usually does not need to be a rapid-fire decision.
My first recommendation to families is often simple:
Slow down.
Take some time to think about what you want the memorial to say, what it should look like, and what feels right for the person being remembered. Talk with other family members. Look at different styles. Ask questions. A headstone or marker will remain in place for generations. Taking a little extra time to understand how a monument comes together and make thoughtful decisions is time well spent.
That does not mean the monument itself should take months and months to complete.
There is an important difference between taking your time making the decision and waiting unnecessarily for the monument after those decisions have been made.
Take your time making the decision. Once the design is approved, the process should keep moving.
So what actually happens between the first conversation and the day the monument is set?
Start With a Conversation
You do not need to know all of the finer details of purchasing and producing a monument before walking through our door. Many families we meet have never purchased a headstone or grave marker before. They may know very little about granite colors, monument styles, cemetery requirements, foundations, engraving methods, or installation.
We usually begin with a simple conversation and questions like:
Who are we remembering?
What was important to that person?
Is there a particular photograph, symbol, hobby, occupation, military service, religious image, flower, landscape, phrase, or family tradition that should be represented?
We also talk about practical considerations, including the cemetery, available space, monument size, style preferences, and budget.
Do you have information about the cemetery and its monument requirements?
It's not expected that you will arrive with a finished idea. Helping you define and design a monument is our job.
Come let us help you explore the possibilities.
Explore the Options
Headstones and grave markers come in many forms. There are traditional upright monuments, flat markers, bevel markers, slants, benches, companion monuments, family monuments, and many variations within each category - see Choosing A Memorial.
Granite is available in different colors and finishes. Lettering can be traditional or contemporary. Designs may include carved ornamentation, laser-etched artwork, photographs, landscapes, flowers, religious symbols, military emblems, or imagery that is completely personal to the individual - see Before You Choose A Headstone.
Some families prefer a simple, traditional monument with a name and dates.
Others want a more detailed memorial that tells a life’s story. Neither approach is more correct than the other. Most importantly remember, the most expensive choice is not always the best choice.
Check the Cemetery Requirements
Cemeteries may have requirements involving monument size, height, style, base dimensions, placement, and installation. Those rules vary considerably from one cemetery to another.
Turn the Ideas Into a Design
Every monument we create is custom designed. Some families arrive with a clear vision; others begin with little more than a photograph and a few ideas. Through conversation, we develop those ideas into a design that reflects the person being remembered.
Review the Proof Carefully
Before anything permanent is done to the granite, you should receive a proof showing the proposed design. Names and dates should be checked carefully. Photographs, artwork, lettering styles, placement, proportions, and overall appearance should all be reviewed.
If something does not feel right, changes can be made. Several revisions are sometimes needed to bring everything together, and there is no reason to rush this step.
Produce the Monument
After approval, the granite is prepared and the permanent work begins. Depending on the design, this may include traditional sand-carved lettering and ornamentation, detailed laser etching, photographic etching, or a combination of techniques.
At Bolt Laserworks, much of our design and laser work is performed in-house, allowing us to maintain control over both quality and production time. While we encourage families to take the time they need before approving the design, once they approve it, we do not believe the monument should simply sit unnecessarily in a production queue.
Our focus is to complete the memorial in a timely manner while maintaining the quality the family expects.
What Happens Next Depends on Where the Memorial Will Go
Once the memorial is completed, the next step depends on how and where it will be used. If it is a granite urn, garden memorial, plaque, small marker, or another memorial that will not be installed in a cemetery, it can be picked up at our Cassopolis location or shipped directly to the family. If the monument will be placed in a cemetery, the process continues with site preparation, the foundation, transportation, and final setting.
Prepare the Cemetery Site and Foundation
While the monument is being completed, arrangements can also be made for the cemetery site. Most upright monuments and many other cemetery memorials require a proper foundation beneath them. The foundation helps support the weight of the monument and reduces movement caused by settling, freezing, and thawing.
Who performs this work depends on the cemetery. Some cemeteries pour their own foundations and set monuments themselves. Others require the work to be performed by an approved contractor.
In cemeteries where outside monument companies are permitted to perform the work, Bolt Laserworks and our contractors can handle or coordinate the foundation and setting. The important thing is that the work follows the cemetery’s requirements.
Weather May Affect Setting, Not Completion
In Michigan, Indiana, and other cold-weather areas, frozen ground, snow, saturated soil, or unsuitable concrete conditions can delay foundation work or final setting.
Those conditions may delay installation, but they do not need to delay completion of the monument itself. The stone can still be designed, engraved, etched, and completed while waiting for suitable cemetery conditions.
Transport and Setting
Granite is heavy. Even a relatively modest upright monument and base can weigh hundreds of pounds, and larger memorials can weigh considerably more. Transporting and setting them requires the proper equipment and experience. When cemetery rules allow, Bolt Laserworks and our contractors can transport and set the monument. In other cemeteries, the cemetery itself or its designated contractor may be required to perform the installation.
The monument is carefully positioned on its foundation, leveled, aligned with the gravesite, and checked before the setting is complete. It is the final physical step in a process that may have started weeks earlier with nothing more than a conversation.
Take Your Time Where It Matters
There is a difference between a thoughtful process and a slow process. Take the time you need to make the right decisions. Once those decisions are made, the monument company should do its part to keep the rest of the process moving.
Take the time to understand how a monument comes together. Then let us get to work.
A Note From Jeff
When families come to see us, they are often already burdened with other difficult decisions. That is why I remind them that decisions about a headstone do not have to be made immediately. A permanent memorial deserves a little thought.
Come in. Look around. Ask questions. Let us show you what is possible. When you are comfortable with the design, approve it.
Then it becomes our responsibility to turn that design into the finished monument and keep the process moving toward the day it is set in the cemetery.
BTW - check out our free guide to choosing a meaningful memorial at: https://BoltLaserworks.com/FamilyGuideMemorials
Jeff Nelson
Bolt Laserworks / Memorials Direct
Cassopolis, Michigan
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