What to put on the grave? Tips for choosing a tombstone. What are monuments made of? Materials for making tombstones What material is more practical to make a tombstone from?

Mistake #1

It lies in the fact that most often people start to worry about monument almost immediately before its planned installation on the grave. That is, they come to the company’s office and ask to do monument as quickly as possible, almost within a week. At the same time, such customers are very surprised when they are denied a deadline, they even take offense at the company: after all, they are in a hurry, before memorial days There is little time left, and they don’t want to meet them halfway. It is sometimes impossible to explain to such people what a short time no good company monument won't do it. Judge for yourself: The average order production time is 2 months, and if monumentnot typical, then more. Customers in a hurry don’t want to hear anything about the queue to order. But in good agencies there are always a lot of customers, so the queues are long.

In short, I realized thatmonument to the graveIt is best to order about six months before its installation. Moreover, decent funeral companies always have warehouses for finished products, and they are stored until the required period for free. Therefore, try to take care of the order monument a few months before installation, and you won’t have to worry in the spring.

Mistake #2

- This unsuccessful choicecompanies. To avoid this, you need to take into account several factors and check a few things. Firstly, O When you contact an agency, immediately find out whether it has its own granite workshop. If not, it’s better to look for another funeral company, otherwise you won’t have any problems.

After all, no one is immune from defective finished products. Whereas an agency with a workshop will eliminate the defect itself. It’s especially good, of course, if the company has not only its own workshops, but also quarries . This doesn't happen often, but it does happen. With these, I found out the quality of the stone is always better and the price is

monuments below. And of course, pay attention to different stock ! Reputable companies often conduct them. For example, promotional discounts are announced formonuments They are usually very good. This is understandable: in winter there are few orders from funeral agencies, people are unemployed. So promotions are being announced to spur consumer demand during this difficult time for sales. So here, as in the proverb: prepare a sleigh in the summer, and a cart in the winter. That is in winter monumentit's much more profitable to buy than at other times of the year, and even more so in the spring, when funeral firms have a lot of clients.

Mistake #3

People often make mistakes when. For example, they do not take into account the climatic features of the area where the cemetery and, accordingly, the grave are located. And yet, we haven’t figured out the characteristics of the stone.

Let's say we chose You marble monument. You can’t say anything, marble is a beautiful and noble material. Monument done, installed, you are happy with everything. But after a year and a half you suddenly notice that, firstly, lost its original shine, Secondly, Vengraved photos and inscriptions somehow “blurred”. And in general, on your marble tombstone mold has appeared! All this means that, firstly, you did not take into account the air humidity in your region. High humidity is the cause of fungus on marble. Secondly, marble, indeed, fades over time, and the images on it become more cloudy.

Me myself when I ordered monument, plate and other accessories to the grave , stopped at granite. It is beautiful, has different color shades and is durable. Granite monument My great-grandfather’s grave has been on it for over 40 years, and it’s practically like new.

Mistake #4

She's tied up with the wrong one choosing a portrait for the monument. Sometimes people order e.g. too much a large portrait, which either hardly fits into the overall dimensions, or prevents it from being placed wisely and beautifully on the body monument necessary and symbols. Sometimes there is another extreme: relatives want to have a full-length image on a small tombstone. But we must understand that such choice only suitable for very large monuments , otherwise the face in the portrait will come out too small.

But disappointment – large.

When will you choose photo for portrait,try not to make it group. Of course, modern computer technology will easily allow you to separate the desired image from the group. But now imagine the feelings of those acquaintances of the deceased from the photograph who will understand that it was she who was used as a prototype. After all, many of us are superstitious, prone to prejudices and would hardly want such a discovery. One more thing. In order not to make a mistake in When choosing, bring the artist several possible photos, and let him choose the appropriate one during the process of making the portrait.

Mistake #5

Many people do it based on purchase monumentcheaper. The desire to save money is quite understandable. Most of us are not rich people. Some unscrupulous funeral companies play on this. They sell cheap promotional discounts are announced for from surrogate materials, passing off artificial stone as natural. And after a short time monument on the grave begins to crumble. This can be both costly and offensive.

Remember, my dears, that real granite, marble or other quarry stone is not cheap. Hence, comparatively high price blanks for a truly durable tombstone. So save wisely: Better use promotions and discounts offered by agencies.

These are my observations and conclusions regarding how NOT to choose a monument for the grave and what to consider in order to avoid mistakes in this complex matter and not add unpleasant disappointments to yourself. I hope my experience is useful to someone!

A person’s loved ones are faced with the sad but necessary task of ordering and installing a monument to a grave.

In many cases this causes heated discussions among family members or, on the contrary, general confusion - because no one has encountered this issue before, and no one knows what is really important and what you can avoid overpaying for...

The site will try to give objective advice.

Why are some monuments more expensive than others?

There are three significant factors influencing the price:

• Material.
• Dimensions and presence of additional objects near the tombstone. A set of a monument, a fence, a bench, a table and other items made in uniform style, is called a memorial complex.
• The uniqueness of the project. Ready-made “stamped” monuments, to which a plaque is only screwed or engraved, are fundamentally cheaper than monuments made for special orders - with statues, portrait busts or bas-reliefs, non-standard shape etc.

As for the material, the most expensive are tombstones made of natural solid stone (granite or marble). Bronze and brass are even more expensive, but casting an entire monument from them is so unreasonably expensive that such things are done extremely rarely.

“Budget” materials are polymer granite, artificial stone with the addition of marble chips and, of course, the most ordinary concrete.

Is an expensive monument necessary?

This question, of course, will arise at a family council, but... In our mentality, attempts to save on rituals and ritual items are still considered something shameful, something awkward to discuss...

It is not uncommon that a family spends a truly significant amount on a memorial complex or an elaborate designer monument, guided by the motives “to be like people,” “to be worthy,” etc., but in fact, deep down everyone understands that These costs had no practical meaning, and the memory of the deceased in no way depends on the cost of that piece of stone that is placed in the cemetery plot...

More expensive and durable monuments are often ordered in the following cases:

• For family or couple headstones. If there is a family plot in a cemetery where several generations of relatives are already buried, or, for example, the graves of grandparents are nearby, then it is worth erecting one monument instead of several monuments of different ages (and varying degrees of preservation). Indicate on it all those buried in this area and, perhaps, leave space for the subsequent entry of new names...
• If the family is large and all family members respect the custom " parent's day“—that is, the cemetery plot will probably be regularly visited for many decades to come big amount relatives, for whom both benches and a table will be useful...
• If the deceased was a public person, his grave will certainly be visited by both relatives and various strangers, and subsequently, perhaps, will become of cultural and historical interest.

Now let's talk about purely practical aspects.

Durability

The most durable monuments are made of granite (they can stand intact for several centuries!) and marble (marble is less durable, but in the climate of central Russia it will probably last a hundred or two hundred years with dignity). Concrete-based monuments last for several decades.

Modern materials such as polymer granite are also theoretically capable of standing for about half a century or even longer, but in practice this has not yet been tested - the material is new, and the oldest graves with such tombstones are now about 20 years old.

So, is it still worth stretching your financial capabilities and purchasing a granite monument “for centuries”? Not necessary!

Are you sure (objectively, without “rose-colored glasses”) that all these centuries the grave will be regularly visited by descendants, that the monument will be important and necessary for them? After all, those people for whom the burial place of a relative is really very important are those who found him alive: you, perhaps your children, that is, one or two generations.

Statistics show that the majority of Europeans and Russians, our contemporaries, do not visit the graves of great-grandparents (and even more so distant great-great...), and often do not know where they are buried. And for one human life , for one generation, a tombstone made of artificial stone is quite enough. In the end, if this grave is as important to descendants as it is to you, they will certainly be able to replace the crumbling one. old monument

something new.

The need for maintenance and restoration In general, it will not be possible to do without maintenance - even polished stone to maintain a decent appearance

You will have to wash and clean it at least once a year. It is customary to tint concrete once every couple of years so that there are no streaks or stains left on it.

You may ask - why then, every spring, almost the entire population of the country goes to cemeteries with rather large buckets of paint, what can be painted there?.. It’s simple - cast metal fences, benches and tables require constant touch-up - last year’s peeling paint looks terrible, and unpainted metal rusts.

If you don’t want to tint, order wrought-iron fences (but they are more expensive!).

Double or single monument?

Here you need to show maximum tact. For example, if the deceased was married several times, then should he stand together with one of the ex-spouses

, how will children from previous marriages and/or a widow look at this? If he/she had a child who died and was buried before his/her death, is it worth having a common headstone - what do the living children and the widow or widower think about it (after all, the widow/widower may want to indicate in your own will request to bury her/him next to your previously deceased spouse)?

In general, there can be a lot of subtleties - and this is a question where you should not neglect the opinion of your relatives.

Religion Requirements

If the deceased was religious, be sure to study all the canons of his religion before ordering a monument. For example, Catholics allow figures of mourning angels to be placed over graves, but an Orthodox tombstone is only a simple cross without any statues!

Muslims consider statues, portraits, and plaques with photo ceramics blasphemy.

Cemetery requirements

In general, the advice of the site “Beautiful and Successful” is this: look at the problem from different angles, listen to different opinions, look for information about materials, technologies, prices and design options - but remember that you are buying only a monument, and not the memory of the deceased a loved one!

The size, quality and cost of a headstone do not show your love and grief - they only show the amount of money that the family was able to allocate for the headstone.

Seven aspects that need to be clarified before ordering a monument.

1. In which cemetery will the deceased be buried?

This question is much more important than it might seem at first glance:

• In addition to the general regulations for the installation of tombstones, there are own regulations. Everyone has the right to put forward their demands. They touch stele dimensions, options to install fence, limit plot dimensions and even installation crews.
• It is necessary to take into account the age of the cemetery and the degree of its maintenance. An elegant fragile monument, for example, in an old and abandoned cemetery can become victim of a number of circumstances- careless handling, destruction of neighboring tombstones, falling branches from trees and, alas, including vandalism or theft.
• It also matters how it will be look like a monument among others. A modern, expensive and flashy tombstone may look out of place and garish against the background of old and modest steles, or simply get lost in the general background if the cemetery is cramped and overgrown with trees.

2. For how long is this tombstone erected?

This question seems strange only at first glance. Many people first put it on the grave temporary gravestones, so that after a few years you can change it to a permanent, more reliable one.

• It's one thing if it's monument on the grave of an elderly person, a distant relative, the last in the family. Then the tombstone should be installed “once and for all”, and it should be made, if simple, then as durable as possible.
• Otherwise, if they also bury in the same area other family members, and provision is made for the monument to be replaced over time during subsequent burials.
• You can stop at a family memorial, but you especially need to think about this in advance.

3. Will the monument and grave be maintained regularly?

If you do not plan to visit the grave at least twice a year, then it is better to abandon plans for large-scale landscaping and limit yourself to unpretentious ones. And if the grave is expected to remain unattended for a year or more, then perhaps it is not worth planting flowers on it at all, and instead of a flower garden, put a tombstone or lay out the area with gravel or tiles.

The condition of the monument itself depends on the regularity of care. Some tombstones - for example - perfectly withstand any impact environment and the vagaries of the weather. For others (such as marble tombstones), annual treatment is recommended to protect the pores of the stone from moisture and dust, and ultimately from dirt and cracks. Think about whether someone will be able to in a few years.

4. What are your financial capabilities?

They can differ tenfold. In addition, other costs are added to the cost of the tombstone itself - delivery, installation, decoration, etc.

• There are enough opportunities save money in the production of the monument without compromising the final result. This includes early (autumn and winter) purchase of a standard tombstone, rejection of complex forms and minimization self made in finishing - for example, choice instead of manual. Delivery and installation a simple monument You can also do it yourself if necessary.
• But not everything is worth saving on. First of all, it's the material. Tombstones are cheaper than those made from natural stone. But it is very likely that in just a few seasons you will face additional investments in restoration, or even replacement of the stele.
• There is no need to save on site preparation For . Large and heavy tombstones and steles of non-standard shape with a displaced center of gravity require a high-quality and reliable foundation, and it is better not to neglect this.

5. What monument would the deceased choose and what are the expectations of loved ones?

When choosing a monument, the customer tries to honorably fulfill his last duty to the deceased, demonstrate respect, or even simply do “not worse, but better” than others.

• It's logical when gravestones reflect the personality of the deceased, not the customer. In this regard, there may be a specific will of the deceased, which must be respected. Someone wants a simple stone to stand on his grave, but his relatives don’t want to; someone orders you to depict your favorite car on a stele or musical instrument- and this is everyone’s right.
• On the other hand, one must also take into account the feelings of those who will visit the grave. In the case of a modest elderly person without relatives, it may not be worthwhile to “show off” with the complex shape of the monument or expensive material. But if the deceased was a young man, had many friends and relatives and died untimely, then excessive asceticism in the design may cause misunderstanding among visitors to the graveyard.
• This also applies religious monuments : in some cases, the relatives of the deceased will consider design elements, for example, or tombstones, to be appropriate.

6. What image should be on the monument?

Photography for a portrait must comply not only with technical requirements, but also with its purpose: to cause bright memories of the deceased. You should not use photographs that are too late or those that the deceased himself considered unsuccessful. If colored granite or gray marble is used for the stele, then the portrait should be either engraved on a separate granite insert - a portrait tablet.

The image on the monument may be not only a portrait: In fact, you can place a . But if the deceased was a person, this must be taken into account when decorating the monument with images. So, Orthodox Church, while not prohibiting anything, still approves of modesty, and the canons of Sharia do not allow images of living beings to be placed on tombstones. You can also refuse to apply images, limiting yourself only to the name of the deceased and the dates of his life.

Tombstones can be individualize and in other ways: for example, using bas-relief or ceramic inserts, combining different materials using forged elements. When ordering a finished monument, you can make it special with additional accessories, bronze letters and symbols. The more urgent the personalization of a tombstone, the more important it is to obtain and approve a layout or 3D model of the complex before its production.

7. What accessories will decorate the monument and ennoble the grave?

You are not obligated to erect anything other than a monument at the burial site - not even . But they do not only decorative, but also utilitarian functions. The benches and tables are obviously convenient for visitors. Icons and lamps are appropriate if believers can pray there. Vases, flower pots, flowerpots and pergolas will decorate the grave. But on the contrary, they can worsen the impression if they have withered flowers or are empty. Provide in advance which of these will be used, and what about just standing around doing nothing? Complete your production order tombstone useful accessories, and the grave will look “more alive” and more well-groomed by caring relatives and friends.

A monument is placed on a grave to preserve the memory of a person. Stone is a durable material and does not deteriorate for centuries.

The inscription on it - name, dates of life, epitaph - reminds of the person. As long as the memory of the deceased lives, he is alive. A century or a hundred years was perceived by our ancestors as an eternity. Hence the expression – “perpetuation” of memory. Memory is nourished not only by memories, but also by deeds. Visiting the grave, meeting at memorial days

, publication of archives and care of the grave - all these are matters that preserve and enhance the memory of the deceased. Monuments serve as a material expression of memory and at the same time as an instrument for preserving memory.

Monument in a cemetery - price of monuments for a grave The cost of a monument depends on the rock from which it is made, size, design and other factors. A monument in a cemetery may be made of expensive stone, such as marble. Buying a granite monument is much cheaper. The choice is influenced

national traditions

, wallet, faith and funeral rite. When to place a monument on a grave? Act immediately! When, over time, it settles

burial mound

and the pain of loss dulls, the time comes to worry about the improvement of the grave. And the first questions that arise are related to the monument: what will it be like, who will make it, when to erect it?

There is a widespread belief that until the ground settles, there is no point in installing a monument. This is not entirely true.

It is better to begin preparations immediately after 40 days - select and order a monument, strengthen the site. We recommend not to waste a year and not to put off for the future what can be done today. The only limitation when choosing the time to install the monument is that work must begin in the warm season.

We advise you to take into account that purchasing a monument in the cold season will cost much less, as seasonal discounts apply. At the same time, there is time for detailed coordination of the project and production of the monument.

Strengthen the area

Begin work on strengthening the grave immediately after spring warmth sets in. The grave is covered with reinforced concrete beams, the edges of which rest on solid ground, and a concrete base is laid on top of the beams. After this, you can erect a monument - it is securely strengthened and protected from ground subsidence and distortion.

You can choose a ready-made monument. The website service (CJSC Ritual-Service) offers big choice options, and the likelihood that you will settle on one of them is high. Having chosen the one you like, all you have to do is order a gravestone inscription (epitaph) and a portrait. After two weeks, everything will be ready for installation on the grave.

Monument according to an individual project

What to do, if ready-made option didn't suit? Order a monument by individual project. It will cost more, but will be unique - the way you see it. the site will offer for free several options for 3D projects developed based on your wishes, thanks to which you can discuss the future monument in family circle and make adjustments. Once the project is approved, stone cutters will begin work.

Epitaph and portrait

Important elements of the monument are the epitaph and the portrait. The site will help you select a gravestone inscription and apply it to the monument.

Installation of a monument on a grave

The site delivers the monument to the grave for free. Our installation service will professionally carry out on a turn-key basis all work on preparing the site and installing a tombstone in any cemetery in Moscow and the surrounding Moscow region.

Grave care

In addition to making monuments, the site provides services for improving and caring for the grave. Order them to us, and the grave of your loved ones will always be neat and well-groomed.

Do you want to order a monument but don’t know what material it will be made of, granite or marble?

Granite or marble- what stone better For making a monument?

Let's look at which material is more suitable for our climate.

European monuments to the grave:

When deciding whether to order a monument made of granite or marble at a funeral home or workshop, many decide in favor of natural stones for monuments. Most often this granite or marble. Both of these materials are excellent for making a monument and have a number of significant advantages over cheaper options. However, these stones for monuments are very different from each other. Therefore, before ordering a tombstone, you need to understand what their differences are. If you want to buy a monument made of granite or marble, be sure to contact professionals.

When it comes to erecting a monument - reliable and durable, and therefore made of natural stone - two eternally competing materials enter the arena - marble and granite. And here it begins, which of them is more beautiful, stronger, more reliable and (which is important, by the way) more noble.

Finding information online about what is better and preferable, marble or granite, is almost impossible. Not because it doesn't exist. Quite the contrary, it exists and is abundant. But because every seller (and you may note that articles of similar content are located on the websites of sellers of products of the same name) praises exactly the stone that he needs to sell to his reader. What kind of objectivity is there if information from different, seemingly authoritative sources is absolutely contradictory? Here they say granite is better, there - marble. Here they will tell you that granite is more expensive, and there they say the same about marble. In general, we decided to put everything together and make (perhaps for the first time in the history of the Internet) the most unbiased analysis, understanding not only the difference between marble and granite, but also the practical value of each of them.

GRANITE

Granite- this is an igneous rock;

Marble is a metamorphic rock.

That's the difference. It means that both stones are natural rocks. Marble is not pressed shells, as granite sellers claim, and granite, in turn, is not quartz, although to some extent the latter is contained in the stone. Both materials are natural and natural, both contain natural impurities, and their specific composition and characteristics depend on the deposit.

Which is better for a gravestone, granite or marble?

Go ahead. Density. Granite is indeed harder and therefore more durable than marble. On the one hand, this characteristic does not allow craftsmen to carve fine detail from such a hard stone and create truly masterpiece sculptures, like from marble. But on the other hand, in combination with some other features (which will be discussed below), this makes granite more durable.

MARBLE

By the way, about durability. In several places I have seen that a granite monument will last about 600 years without changes, and a marble one - about 150. Yes, the difference is noticeable. But let's be honest. When we lose someone close, we erect a monument not for descendants or even for the deceased. We need this first and foremost. We pay our last respects, we keep the final resting place of a dear relative clean and tidy, we arrange wakes and farewells - all this maintains the broken connection in us and gives at least some consolation. Therefore, answer the question: which is better - 600 or 150 years? As for me, there is not much difference. 150 years is, of course, not 600, but in comparison with the several dozen that monuments made of synthetic materials are “capable” of, this is very, very worthy.

Now let's figure it out What is more expensive - granite or marble? But we will not be able to understand the difference in cost, because the formulation of the question itself is incorrect. The fact is that it is possible to distinguish the value, and as a result, the price of one or another stone in comparison with another, only by taking into account its deposit, type and method of extraction. Add here the pricing policy of the seller from whom you are purchasing the monument. So, Italian marble of an elite type naturally It will be more expensive than some Chinese granite. Conversely, high-quality, expensive granite will outperform low-quality marble from Egypt in price. So my advice to you is to focus not on the stone, but on your own financial capabilities.

And finally, let's remember a few myths about marble and granite that monument sellers skillfully use:

1. Granite is radioactive and dangerous. This is the favorite “horror story” of marble fans. Actually anyone natural stone has a certain radioactive background, which is absolutely safe for humans. In the case of granite, everything depends on the place where it was mined. Each deposit, before receiving official permission to extract raw materials from it, undergoes mandatory radiation testing. And if you buy certified products, then there is nothing to be afraid of. The only danger that granite can pose to a person can occur if the monument is dropped on someone's foot.
2. The marble becomes stained and turns yellow. Everything gets stained if you don't take care of it. This stone is actually less resistant to weather conditions than granite and may suffer more externally. But I assure you, if you take care of the monument, at least occasionally wiping it, then even after many years it will be almost impossible to distinguish it from new.
3. Only primitive shapes can be made from granite. And again by. Of course, granite “succeeds” best in rectangles, but, even if not as detailed, beautiful compositions from this stone are still obtained. I saw granite angels, and all sorts of flowers, and drapes. Of course, this would be more thoroughly executed in marble, but granite, believe me, looks very decent.
4. Marble becomes moldy. Unfortunately, this happens. But not only with marble, but with any stone if it has microscopic cracks. It's a pity, but it's impossible to predict this moment. The only way to reinsure yourself is to inquire about the method of extracting raw materials for the monument. If an explosion was used, the stone will “bloom”, as if covered with a greenish film. If the raw materials have been cut, then there is nothing to worry about.

Summarize: my friends, choose the material that you like best. Perhaps, in memory of a young innocent girl, delicate, white marble would be more suitable, while a strict and reserved man would be worthily remembered with a granite monument. One way or another, both granite and marble are a good and justified choice….

You can order a monument made of granite or marble by calling: +7 499 391 59 04 ; +7 916 099 92 88