What You Need to Consider When Picking a Headstone

Death is never something that is easy to deal with. When a loved one passes away, it can feel like a part of you has gone as well, and there will always be a hole inside you where that person used to be.

As a result, many want their loved ones to be laid to rest in the best way possible. This includes having their graves look and feel special. This way, they can easily be kept in people’s memory and remembered for many years to come.

An essential consideration when planning how a grave will look like is choosing the right headstone. Headstones serve as a marker indicating where a person is buried, meaning that it must be easily identifiable with the deceased. Because of this need for customization, there are many gravestone makers that offer their services in Ogden, Utah, and throughout the country.

When picking the right headstone, here are the main things you have to decide on:

Types of headstones

There are three categories of headstones to choose from. The first is the upright headstone, which is also the most traditional one. These resemble the typical tombstone that we have come to associate with cemeteries, standing at around 45 inches tall, and being fixed to the ground through a concrete base.

The second is flat headstone. Unlike an upright headstone, there is nothing protruding from the ground. Instead, the flat headstone simply consists of a small plaque on the ground. They may be flatly fixed at ground level, or slightly slanted at an angle or raised a few centimeters off the ground.

Lastly, curbed headstones are full length and lie flat at ground level. They are usually a minimum of four inches thick, making them resemble a coffin as well. Typically, they are used in conjunction with upright headstones as well.

Headstone materials and finishes

All three types of headstones each can be made of various materials and come in different colors. The most common materials to construct headstones from are granite, limestone, marble, and bronze. Granite is the most adaptable, flexible, and durable material, not to mention one of the cheapest and most widely available, making it the most popular as well.

Limestone also remains popular due to its traditional and classic look. However, they are not as durable as granite. Marble, on the other hand, has a very good finish, but due to its fragility is not permitted in many burial grounds. Bronze also boasts a lustrous finish and is incredibly durable and easy to maintain, but is also quite pricey.

After choosing the material, you will have to select the finish, which can have a great impact on the final appearance of the headstone. Polished finishes are smooth and shiny, but also require a good bit of maintenance, and look out of place in traditional burial sites. Part-polished finishes place emphasis on the inscriptions, as it is only here that the stone is polished. Honed finishes are smooth, but not shiny, while pitched finishes give the headstone an aged or traditional look.

Headstone inscriptions

Last but definitely not least, you will always need an inscription on a headstone to mark where the person is buried. This involves selecting the fonts and colors of the text, as well as possible images. Of course, the text itself is very important, as this should be able to encapsulate the life of the person who had just passed.

Cheryl Wheeler