No different than purchasing any other items, the more you know about the products offered the best decisions you can make to help control costs and overall satisfaction with the final installation. There are many variables to consider from sizing, material, design, font etc and we'll discuss them below. If you have questions, we're here to help and happy to provide any quotes and information requested for you and your family. Purchasing and designing a monument is a very personal experience and one that's best handled by a local company with a proven reputation. At Martin Monument Company, we handle every aspect of the process from, initial contact, design, engraving, installation and service after the sale. Our staff will work with you one on one and create your design while you're with us in the office.
If there are any questions not answered or included below, let us know and Contact Us Today!
Sizing Options:
Other than the material / color choice, the size would be the other largest determining factor when it comes to pricing. Please make sure when you're comparing pricing from multiple monument companies that you're comparing apples to apples. You may visit one company and they quote you on a monument that measures 24 in. wide by 8 in. thick and 24 in. tall and if you take that same size and pricing information to another company, to undercut or match the pricing they may tell you they can sell you a 24 in. wide stone for several hundred dollars lower or match the price when in fact the monument you will receive will measure 24 in. wide by 6 in. thick and 18 in. tall monument which is considerably smaller. It may not sound like a lot on paper but when set in the cemetery you will notice the difference especially if you're matching existing monuments in a family lot. If you request a quote from us, we'll provide all of those details for you so that you'll know exactly the sizing and details quoted.
Material / Color Options:
There are many choices available across our industry and they're quarried throughout the world. It can be confusing at times when you visit one website it may list the color as Jet Black and another as Absolute or India Black among many other variations. At times there are subtle and extreme differences between the colors and sometimes suppliers and/or monument companies will rename a color to create a proprietary color to help distinguish items offered from it's competitors. Just because you see one color or another monument company's website and it may be listed differently on ours, we can match the colors offered even though we may call it the industry standard given name. Most of the time, color granite, marble and imported items are going to cost more than the traditional Georgia Grey with some costing more than others mainly depending on where in the world it's quarried along with tariff and shipping expenses.
Finish Options - To Polish or Not:
Polish 2, 3, 5, rock pitch, steeled, all rock, ?..%>?? I'm confused now! Hopefully we can help you decipher the options available. Some companies charge more for certain finishes and some companies it has no affect on the pricing.
- Polish of course refers to a shiny, smooth, slick surface .
- Rock Pitch is hand pitched with a hammer and chisel that gives it a rock textured feel and appearance.
- Steeled is no polish on the surface giving it a brighter, lighter lightly textured appearance and feel.
- Sawn gives it a smooth non polished surface typically used on sides not visible after installation.
- Polish 2 (Polished Front and Back)
- Polish 3 (Polished Front, Back and Top)
- Polish 5 (Polished Front, Back, Top and Sides)
Laser Etching:
Interested in laser etching? This has become more and more popular and laser etching adds another element to a monument that's clean, modern and opens up the possibilities when it comes to designs, font sizing etc. This service costs more than standard sandblast engraving but it certainly does look nice in the cemetery. A few things to consider; if the person(s) aren't both deceased at the time of purchase, we recommend laser etching your design while using traditional sandblast engraving for the names and dates so that when death does occur, the date(s) can easily be added in the cemetery with minimal cost versus removing the monument to have the laser etched date completed off-site. You can have actual photos engraved and the options are wide open on the elements that can be added and incorporated in the design. Another item to note is color versus black and white etching. Over time, color etchings will fade to black and white. Some may last for twenty years and others may last eight and this depends greatly on the amount of direct sunlight received daily to the elements etc in your location. You may opt to go with black and white instead of the color option and that's completely up to the family. We offer laser and hand etching options.
Accessory Options:
Everything from vases, photographs, QR electronic tags, concrete borders, lights emblems and more. Every family is different and every cemetery is different on what items they will allow. If you're looking to add a granite, marble or metal vase on one side or both sides of a monument you have many options of materials and designs to choose from. A beautiful option is a porcelain photo which will allow you to add a photo to just about any monument or smooth surface. One of the newest options is the ability to have a QR code places on the monument where visitors can scan, read, leave messages, view photos and videos all with one simple scanned code. Some cemeteries require a concrete border / apron around the base of the monument and some families like the look. The price for this service can vary from company to company and some pour the border in the cemetery and others may use a granite pad. The granite pad will last longer over time however if you're on a hillside, one side of the pad will not be flush with the ground as it must be installed level, this is where a poured concrete border would be best. 98% of our borders are poured right in the cemetery on the day of installation conforming to the land slope in the cemetery.
Additional Costs:
What else could possibly affect the price of a monument? Again this is dependent on the particular monument company as some will have limitations on the amount of text, number of design elements such as emblems, quotes, installation and travel fees etc. Some companies handle their own engraving and can help control those costs whereas some companies have the engraving completed by their supplier or another company. At Martin Monument, we handle all engraving here at our location so we're able to help control those costs. We do not process laser etchings here because in order to receive a quality product, you need the best of the best when it comes to laser equipment. To avoid having to increase our pricing to offer this service, we rely on a trusted partner that handles this for us and their knowledge of laser etching ensures we can provide you with a quality product in a timely manner. Another popular question we receive is: "When my time comes, is the cost of adding my date of death included in the price"? For us this is not included in the price of any monument we install and the reason is because if we were to sell our business or if we were to cease to exist, those services could not be guaranteed. To avoid this and to protect you and your family, we charge that fee at the time of the indvidual passing.
Service After the Sale:
What's included after the sale and installation of the monument? We provide the highest quality products and we stand behind our monuments and products against normal wear and tear. We take precautions when installing our monuments to help keep future maintenance issues at a minimum for our families as well as for us a company by installing it the correct way the first time. If you purchase a monument from Martin Monument and you notice that the monument begins to lean, shift or move from the ground settling, simply give us a call and when we're in the area, we'll take care of correcting that for you. Also if you purchase a vase and if it were to ever loosen from the base, give us a call and we'd be happy to re-attach the vase for you. We cannot warranty any damage received in the cemetery from equipment, vandalism, other persons, accessories added by families and acts of God but we'd still be happy to help correct any issues that may arise should you need our assistance.
Online Monument Companies:
Purchasing and designing a monument is a very personal experience and one that's best handled by a local company with a proven reputation. A company where you can walk into the front door and talk face to face with the employees or owners themselves. Be careful when considering purchasing a monument from an online only dealer. We will say that most dealers are small business owners and they're most likely honest people however you will probably run into issues having your monument installed as most local monument companies don't have the time or desire to install another monument company's product and you will most likely pay a much higher installation fee. For most online companies they sell you the product and handle the shipping process but you will need someone to take delivery of the product and be responsible for damages, installation and and logistics for an item they didn't sell. Even if you do not choose Martin Monument as your monument professional, we recommend finding a local business in your community to handle this process for you.
