When you choose Martin Monument Company to handle your stone design and installation, you will find our team is dedicated to providing you with quality products, prompt and courteous customer service along with the best pricing of any local competitor. In business since 1977 we're a small family owned business and we understand the importance of customer satisfaction and we value every order with each family we serve.

When ordering from us, we will provide you with a sketch of your monument that's designed right here in our office and you don't have to wait days or weeks to see your design. We also provide you with an honest installation expectation time frame. We're happy to work with you in person, over the phone and via email. We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee along with our lowest price promise. We strive to stand by our slogan, "Excellence Etched in Stone" and we thank you for considering our services for your next stone purchase.

We recommend designing the stone around the personality of the individual(s) to be included. Did they have a favorite hobby or sports team? We can include logos, emblems and items such as musical instruments, woodworking tools, quilting designs and the possibilities are endless. Did they tend to keep things simple or did they like to go all out? Use the monument as a tribute and show the things they loved and let it be a true reflection on their personality. We also recommend that you not try to squeeze too much information as you don't want to crowd the stone and take away from the beauty of your design. We do our best to include every aspect you'd like but we will also make recommendations to avoid overcrowding. We can also include a cameo/photograph on the monument if desired and they're available in various sizes.

Many times we work with a family and they're still grieving over the loss of a loved one and the simpliest items are easy to miss, forget or get wrong so be sure to gather and confirm all details such as full name, date of birth and date of death, anniverary dates if wanting to include that for the individual(s) you're purchasing the stone. We will need the cemetery that you'd like the stone installed and we know the regulations for most area cemeteries and we can provide you with that information if needed.

Another very important detail is placement, which side of the stone (left or right) should each person be listed? In order to determine the correct placement, standing at the foot of the grave and looking to where the stone will be placed, should the husband or wife be placed on the left or the right? Tradtionally the husband would be placed on the left however this can change due to various reasons.

Sizing would depend on a few factors! Are you purchasing a stone for an individual or a couple, does your cemetery have certain regulations that determine the size of your stone or specifications that require it be flat with the ground, are you wanting to match the size of other stones in the lot?  We can recommend sizing based on the information above. Secondly would be your planned design as certain things work best on larger surfaces and not recommended to size them down to avoid not making the design aspect legible on the stone.

You may hear our staff refer to a stone size as a 3-6 or 2-0 for example for a standard 1-8 stone at Martin translates to 1-8 x 0-6 x 2-0 which simply means the stone size is one foot eight inches wide (left to right) by six inches thick (front to back) by two feet tall (top to bottom).

Many times when monument companies are attempting to underprice a competitor, they will sell you the same size width stone but the depth and/or height will be less so be careful if price shopping and compare exactly what you're getting for your money. You may not notice the difference during the design process but once installed in the cemetery around other stones, you will notice. Also we do not charge per letter or word so do not be concerned that putting more will cost additional because that's not the case with Martin Monument. Most upright monuments that you see are two or more pieces and they consist of a die (top piece) and a base. When determining sizing as referenced above, that would be the sizing of the die.
 

You may already have an idea of the color you're looking for and if not we can show you all of the available options. If you're wanting to match a specific color of another stone in your lot, you can bring us a photograph so that we can identify the color/material of the current stone you're looking to match. We have a list of the available colors here on our website if you'd like to view them.

When choosing your monument you will need to decide on the finish and polish options for the front back and sides of the monument. You have the following options:

• Steel Finish
• Polish 2 (rock pitch top and sides)
• Polish 3 (polished top with rock pitch sides)
• Polish 5 (polished top and sides)

We have thousands of possibilities when it comes to the design of your monument. Everything from scrolls, bibles, ribbons and more are all available and it would be impossible to list them all here. If you've seen a design or panel on an existing stone we're able to easily match an existing design and of course you're also able to sit with us and see the available options and start a new design from scratch for a completely custom design. Some prefer a panel but only include the border and not frost the entire panel area. Some individuals prefer to not include a panel but choose to process their stone (straight in the polish) in their design and you may have seen this on a colored stone with white or another color lithichrome highlighting the letters.