Grave markers: flat, bevel, slant and bronze

What is a marker for a gravesite?

It is the stone or plaque that marks a grave, usually a low one. One city’s cemetery rules define a grave marker as any grave identification “other than a monument,” and say permanent markers “are typically installed flush with the surface of the ground” (City of Troy, Ohio). Most are granite, or bronze on a granite base.

The studio has three grave markers to letter: a flat marker, a bevel and a slant, all in light grey granite, with room for one person or two.

What’s the difference between a gravestone and a grave marker?

Mostly height, and how the words are used. Empathy puts it this way: “A headstone typically stands vertically at the head of a grave. A grave marker is a broader term that includes flat plaques laid horizontally on a stone base.” Gravestone, tombstone and headstone are used almost the same way. In everyday speech, a marker usually means a low stone, and a headstone or monument a taller one.

Types of grave markers

• Flat marker. A slab set level with the grass, so a mower passes over it. Also called a flush, grass or lawn marker.
• Bevel marker. A low block that is a little higher at the back, so the top slopes toward you. Some sellers call it a pillow marker.
• Slant marker. A wedge with its face cut at an angle, often on a base. It stands above the grass, so some cemeteries count it as an upright.
• Bronze marker. A cast bronze plaque fixed to a granite or concrete base, set flat in the lawn.
• Companion marker. One marker for two people, often a couple, either a longer stone or both names on one.

Here are the studio’s three. The flat marker is about 24 x 12 inches and 4 inches thick. The bevel is about 24 x 12 inches and 6 inches tall, with a sloped top and sawn sides. The slant stands on a base, about 24 inches wide, 10 deep and 16 tall, with a lettering face of about 21 x 12 inches. All three are light grey granite, and the cut letters read darker than the stone. They are demonstration stones, so the sizes are estimates.

Try the flat marker Try the bevel Try the slant

What is a flat headstone called?

A flat marker goes by several names. One seller, Headstone Deals, says flat grave markers are “also called as Grass markers, Flush Markers and Flat Tombstones.” Lawn marker and lawn-level marker mean the same thing. A cemetery where every marker is flat is sometimes called a memorial park (Dignity Memorial).

Flat grave marker sizes

There is no national size. Each cemetery sets its own, often section by section. The Canton Cemetery Association in Ohio says “the most common size is 24” by 12” over one grave space,” and that is also the size of the VA’s flat marker. Here is what some real rules allow:

Sources: VA National Cemetery Administration, Calvary Cemetery, New Park Cemetery, City of Bellevue, Hanford, Tulare, Selma. Two graves means one marker across two side-by-side graves.

Thickness matters too. Calvary and New Park ask for granite at least 4 inches thick, while Selma’s only size is 3 inches thick. Many sellers sell both, so a 3 inch stone can be turned away at some cemeteries. Ask for the rules in writing before you order.

How much do flat headstones cost?

On the price lists we read, a single flat granite marker starts at $199 for a small 16 x 8 inch stone, and the common 24 x 12 x 4 inch size runs $489 to $749 in grey, before it is set. A flat marker for two costs more, and bronze costs the most.

Online prices include the engraving and usually the shipping, but not setting the stone or the cemetery’s fees. A local monument company’s price usually includes more. Rock of Ages, a granite maker, gives dealer averages of $1,000 to $2,000 for a flat marker, $1,500 to $2,000 for a bevel, and $2,000 to $4,000 for a slant with a base.

What is the average cost of a grave marker?

The national guides put a single flat marker at $200 to $1,000, a bevel at $500 to $1,500 and a slant at $1,000 to $2,500 (Memorials.com, Empathy). Dignity Memorial gives $500 for a simple grey granite flush marker, and $1,200 to $5,000 for a flush bronze or a flush companion granite marker.

Then come the fees for setting it. Memorials.com puts installation at $100 to $500 and a concrete foundation at $100 to $300. Cemeteries set their own: one charges 26 cents per square inch of ground the marker covers (New Park Cemetery), and one in Maryland lists $360 to install a 14 x 24 inch bronze, plus $710 for perpetual maintenance and $220 for layout and inspection (Judean Memorial Gardens). For every type of headstone, see our guide to headstone cost.

Bronze or granite flat markers

Granite is cut and lettered in one piece. Grey costs the least, and darker colors cost more: the same 24 x 12 x 4 inch flat marker is $749 in grey and $849 in black on one price list.

Bronze is a cast plaque fixed to a base. Cemeteries that allow it often say how. New Park Cemetery says bronze “must be mounted on a granite base with at least a two inch border” (New Park), and sellers size their bases to match: a 24 x 12 inch bronze on a 28 x 16 x 4 inch granite base (Memorials.com). A cemetery in Texas also allows a concrete or marble base (City of Cleburne).

• Cost. “In general, bronze markers are more expensive than comparably sized stone markers” (Dignity Memorial). On today’s lists, a 24 x 12 inch bronze on granite starts at $1,797.95, against $489 to $749 for a grey granite flat marker of the same size.
• Time. Bronze takes longer: 6 to 8 weeks after approval at Everlife, and 60 to 120 days for one bronze at Legacy Headstones.
• Where you buy it. Matthews, a bronze maker, sells only through cemeteries and monument companies (Matthews).
• Rules. Some cemeteries require bronze so the markers match (Memorials.com). Calvary Cemetery in Dayton allows only granite or bronze (Calvary).
• Age. Old bronze darkens. The VA says bronze made before the 1970s was not sealed and has a blue-green patina that cleaning will not remove.

Bevel and slant markers

A bevel marker lies with its front flush with the ground and its back raised, “from six to eight inches” at the Canton Cemetery Association. One California district uses the shape for its cremation section: 24 x 12 inches, 4 inches high in front and 6 in back (Hanford). New Park allows bevels in some gardens if the thickest part is no more than 6 inches, but not in its flat-only gardens, and Calvary in Dayton allows no bevels or slants at all.

A slant marker has a “slanted polished face” with “a straight back,” set on a concrete foundation or a granite base (Headstone Deals). The same seller says slants are also used to mount a bronze VA marker on the back, with the family’s lettering on the front. Because it stands up, some cemeteries count it as an upright: Provo, Utah, says “all other markers are upright (ie. slant or wedge)” (Provo City Cemetery). Canton says not all slant markers are allowed on its marker spaces.

So a bevel or slant that is “almost flat” can still be turned away in a flush section. Ask before you order.

Cemetery rules for lawn markers

Lawn cemeteries keep markers flat for the look and the mowing. Calvary’s rules exist “to provide a more uniform and uncluttered appearance and to provide for better and more efficient maintenance practices” (Calvary), and Troy, Ohio, says anything placed in the ground can “interfere with mowing graves and trimming, and risk being damaged” (Troy). The rules we read covered:

• Level. “All markers must be set at grass level” (Calvary).
• Foundation. Often required, and often built by the cemetery. Hanford’s district builds every foundation itself (Hanford); Tulare asks for concrete at least 6 inches thick (Tulare); Provo uses an 8 inch wide border (Provo).
• Timing. New Park sets markers no sooner than 45 days after a burial, “to insure settling of the grave site” (New Park).
• Pictures and edges. Cleburne, Texas, allows no new pictures in grass-level markers (Cleburne), and New Park allows no laser etching and asks for a rocked edge on flat markers.
• Approval and fees. Many ask to approve the design first, and some charge for it: Provo’s maintenance and inspection fee for a flush marker is $100.

Some cemeteries insist you buy the marker from them, or charge an inspection fee for one bought elsewhere. The Funeral Consumers Alliance calls this “legally questionable,” but it happens, so ask first.

Can you install your own grave marker?

Usually not in a cemetery. One online seller says “many customers install their own memorials” (Upstate Stoneworks), which can suit a family plot. But in the cemetery rules we read, staff or an approved company set the stone. New Park says installation “shall only be made by the staff” (New Park). Selma allows no one but district employees (Selma). Tulare will not even accept delivery of a marker, a veteran’s included, and sends families to the one local monument company it allows (Tulare). Ask the cemetery office who sets markers there before you buy.

What is the cheapest way to mark a grave?

For an eligible veteran, the VA marker is free (see below). Otherwise, a small flat grey granite marker costs the least of the stones we priced: $199 for 16 x 8 x 3 inches on one online list. Check the cemetery’s minimum first, though. New Park’s flat-only gardens require at least 28 x 14 x 4 inches.

The marker a funeral home leaves at the burial is meant to be temporary. Troy, Ohio, says so in its rules, and Tulare removes temporary markers 12 months after the burial (Troy, Tulare).

What to write on a grave marker?

Most markers carry the name, the dates and a short line. There is less room than on an upright, and people read a flat marker looking down, so keep it short. Some sellers set limits: one online seller’s 20 x 10 inch marker allows 15 characters for a first name and 20 for the line of words (Markers & Headstones).

On the studio’s 24 x 12 inch flat marker, a family name like Johnson cuts about 1.7 inches tall, the first names about 0.85 inch, and the dates about 0.68 inch, with one or two people. Those are the studio’s estimates; your monument company sets the final sizes. For the words, browse our headstone sayings.

How long does it take to get a grave marker from the VA?

The VA does not give a fixed time. It says to call its Applicant Assistance Unit if more than 30 days have passed since the claim was sent, and if more than 60 days have passed and the grave is still not marked, to contact the cemetery, funeral home or whoever accepts the delivery (VA). The number is 1-800-697-6947.

The VA flat marker is 24 x 12 x 4 inches in granite or marble, about 130 pounds, or a 24 x 12 inch bronze of about 18 pounds. The VA supplies the bolts for a bronze but “does not furnish a base” (VA). The marker is free, but in a private cemetery “all setting fees are at private expense,” and the style must be one the cemetery allows (VA). A private cemetery “may charge setting, placement, maintenance, or other fees” (VA.gov). For who qualifies, see the VA’s questions page.

How to clean a flat grave marker?

Gently, with clean water and a soft natural or nylon brush. The VA says most headstones and markers can be cleaned with water alone, and it does not allow the public to power wash its markers. Trim the grass back from the edges by hand. The full steps, and what never to use, are in how to clean a headstone.