Long Delivery Times for Gravestones
Discussion
Common advice seems to suggest leaving graves to settle 6-12 months before erecting a gravestone. This was good advice for me because the grave I am tending needed a good eight inches of infilling a few months later to bring it back level.
I then expected to visit a stonemason, point at a stone, say 'that one' and have it delivered a few weeks later.
I had no idea so many gravestones spend months on the boat from China, and times from order to installation can easily reach twelve months, so here I am dithering at the browsing stage and facing another year of waiting.
If anyone else is biding their time for a grave to settle I would heartily recommend you nonetheless get browsing and ordering straight away.
I then expected to visit a stonemason, point at a stone, say 'that one' and have it delivered a few weeks later.
I had no idea so many gravestones spend months on the boat from China, and times from order to installation can easily reach twelve months, so here I am dithering at the browsing stage and facing another year of waiting.
If anyone else is biding their time for a grave to settle I would heartily recommend you nonetheless get browsing and ordering straight away.
Many, many years ago I had a summer job with a stonemason, Lloyds of Bedwyn. I recall helping Ben, the mason, measure up for headstones and the other fancy bits then, on returning the following summer, help erect that stone work.
He would say people settle quite a bit when they are put in the ground.
He would say people settle quite a bit when they are put in the ground.
Guess it depends where you are & your local stonemason.
Local to us & in other towns nearby there are yards full of stones to pick from.
When erecting the stone our council insists on creating a cement plinth at the head of each grave to provide a good solid foundation (at a cost obviously). I was told this removed the requirement to wait nowadays.
Local to us & in other towns nearby there are yards full of stones to pick from.
When erecting the stone our council insists on creating a cement plinth at the head of each grave to provide a good solid foundation (at a cost obviously). I was told this removed the requirement to wait nowadays.
Just checked with the other half, who works for a Funeral Director. They advise their customers of how long it takes to get a head stone from the local supplier and how long to wait before erecting etc. Normally 6 months from order for stone but can be longer depending on what sort of stone, and wait about 6 months before erecting.
steviebabes said:
Common advice seems to suggest leaving graves to settle 6-12 months before erecting a gravestone. This was good advice for me because the grave I am tending needed a good eight inches of infilling a few months later to bring it back level.
I then expected to visit a stonemason, point at a stone, say 'that one' and have it delivered a few weeks later.
I had no idea so many gravestones spend months on the boat from China, and times from order to installation can easily reach twelve months, so here I am dithering at the browsing stage and facing another year of waiting.
If anyone else is biding their time for a grave to settle I would heartily recommend you nonetheless get browsing and ordering straight away.
It's been a few years since I ordered one but I'm sure it was something like 6 weeks from ordering to installationI then expected to visit a stonemason, point at a stone, say 'that one' and have it delivered a few weeks later.
I had no idea so many gravestones spend months on the boat from China, and times from order to installation can easily reach twelve months, so here I am dithering at the browsing stage and facing another year of waiting.
If anyone else is biding their time for a grave to settle I would heartily recommend you nonetheless get browsing and ordering straight away.
Unfortunately I have just had to do this but 9 weeks from order to install. A tablet rather than an upright stone, just over three months from interment to having the stone installed
I used a local company who ordered in the completed stone which was a surprise as they describe themselves as monumental masons but I don’t think it came from China
I used a local company who ordered in the completed stone which was a surprise as they describe themselves as monumental masons but I don’t think it came from China
I think it was a 90 day wait for my FIL's headstone, at the time I was told "we're so busy" it was during Covid.
Might have arrived from China I suppose. The suplier is "BRAMM Approved" and claim "Intengrity, Tradition, Craftsmanship".
I don't know how I feel about it being imported, it looks good, does it matter if it was hand carved by a mason in the UK, or fed through a machine in China and put on a boat? It cost £1k, which is a lot of money for a bit of stone if the labour is chineese or done by machine.
Might have arrived from China I suppose. The suplier is "BRAMM Approved" and claim "Intengrity, Tradition, Craftsmanship".
I don't know how I feel about it being imported, it looks good, does it matter if it was hand carved by a mason in the UK, or fed through a machine in China and put on a boat? It cost £1k, which is a lot of money for a bit of stone if the labour is chineese or done by machine.
When my Dad died a couple of years after my Mum and was buried in the same plot, he was lowered on top but the other way round so that his feet were over her face and nearest the headstone. All I could think of as I watched was that she'd have to suffer his smelly feet for eternity...
CoolHands said:
I wonder if there’s a market for secondhand ones. Sounds gruesome but if you think about it the stone faces could be ground off and it’d be like new.
Where would used gravestones come from? It's not like the original owners (or users) are any less dead after a few years.My mother in law asked a local stonemason to do one, had used them in the past, proper family business
Had changed and outsources it to India or China or similar, arrived wrong, they were fecking use,as at resolving, had to give up
Similar story from my folks, grandad dies let’s say 10 years ago, was a shared plot waiting for granny to arrive, original stonemason now outsourced it all and wouldnt take back the original stone to add granny onto
Had changed and outsources it to India or China or similar, arrived wrong, they were fecking use,as at resolving, had to give up
Similar story from my folks, grandad dies let’s say 10 years ago, was a shared plot waiting for granny to arrive, original stonemason now outsourced it all and wouldnt take back the original stone to add granny onto
Thanks for at least giving me the comfort that I'm not just contacting the wrong half-dozen stonemasons. I feel bad for making the family wait another year while I faff around but if China/India is the majority source these days then I expect I will really struggle to find anyone with UK stone.
boyse7en said:
CoolHands said:
I wonder if there’s a market for secondhand ones. Sounds gruesome but if you think about it the stone faces could be ground off and it’d be like new.
Where would used gravestones come from? It's not like the original owners (or users) are any less dead after a few years.I think this is a relatively new thing so it'll be a while before there's a fresh supply of used headstones, one careful owner, never raced or rallied etc.
steviebabes said:
Thanks for at least giving me the comfort that I'm not just contacting the wrong half-dozen stonemasons. I feel bad for making the family wait another year while I faff around but if China/India is the majority source these days then I expect I will really struggle to find anyone with UK stone.
Where are you based, one of the posters for whom it didn’t take that long may be able to help Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff