Ordering a New Headstone
This guide is designed to take you through the various stages of a typical commission from our initial meeting at our workshop to the finished installed memorial.
The steps set out below are not ‘set in stone’ and the order we work through them may vary slightly in practice depending on your individual requirements.
If you need help or have any questions please use our Contact Form
Completely unique and Initial Meeting
The best way to start the process is to arrange an appointment so we can have an initial meeting at our workshop.
The family members who will be involved in the decision making process should
be present.
This is a chance for me to get a feel for exactly what your requirements and
expectations are for the memorial – I will show you our portfolio and stone samples.
We can then discuss your preferences and generally have an exchange of ideas.
In many ways this stage is the most important as it can clarify the way forward.
We may or may not have agreed on the wording by the end of this meeting.
Sometimes you may feel it is necessary to go away and contemplate things in order to cement your ideas before giving me a more detailed outline of what you require.
If all decisions are made at this meeting then often we are able to provide firm costing but sometimes when there is much still to be decided or the memorial is very elaborate we may only be able talk about approximate costs. I will provide a detailed costing when I know all I need to know.
If at the end of the meeting you wish to proceed to the next stage then we will ask for an initial deposit payment of £100.
Drawings
The second stage is we often produce drawings for your approval.
Designs & Costings for a new Headstone
When you have considered the drawings and we are clear about the contents and style of the memorial if we have not already done so then we will now provide an estimate. At this stage I will ask for a deposit payment of 25% of the total cost.
The Paperwork Required for Erecting a new Headstone
We will submit the application to the cemetery and order the stone (sometimes we will need to wait for permission from the cemetery before ordering the stone.)
Time Scale for Ordering a New Headstone
I will make every attempt to ensure work is completed within the agreed time scale.
Installation & Payment
Once the memorial is engraved we will invite you to inspect the memorial & pay the balance of the cost prior to the memorial being installed at the cemetery.
Guide Prices for New Headstones
As a very rough guide, very small basic memorials normally cost between £700 – £1000, after this standard memorials are in the next price range is maybe £1000 – £1500 after that more bespoke and special memorials may cost £15000 – £3000.Completely unique and elaborate headstones may cost upward of £3000.
We have memorials to suit all price ranges abd can give you an accurate price when we know exactly what is required within the design.