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 There is a secret within the monument industry that needs to be dealt with head on! Some of my competitors are so focused on being the low-cost leaders that they are forgetting about the quality of foundations they construct within the cemetery. In the computer world, we say, “garbage in, garbage out.” In architecture and construction, we might say, “a house is only as strong as its foundation.”
The Typical Method
After watching the installation of a monument by a well-known monument builder’s company, I started thinking about the “typical” method, described as: dig a trench, pour in bags of Quickrete, spray on some water, level it off, and place the base on the Quickrete.
The Quickrete is not thoroughly wet or mixed, and the emphasis seems to be on completing the job in a haphazard, time-efficient, and cheap manner over a professional and higher quality. If quality costs, then, surely, sloppiness does too. What are we as an industry if we operate in a manner where the sloppiest work is employed by the monument builder who emphasizes profit over quality? The results of a poor foundation are not immediately detectable, but they certainly are over the long term.
Obtaining Informed Consent
 I had my brother-in-law assist me to build a professional foundation for Mrs. Laverne Bembry in the Live Oak Cemetery. At the outset, I gave Mrs. Bembry two options: Option 1: “typical,” interpreted as sloppy, and cheap, or Option 2: “professional,” with forms, premixed concrete, rebar and a higher price. The differences were explained, and she was given her choice. It was my responsibility to educate her so she gave her informed consent.
Fortunately, Mrs. Bembry chose Option 2. We will not install a monument using option 1 without a full disclosure to the client and clear communication that they are receiving an inferior quality foundation by the “typical” method used by some within the industry.
Proper Foundation Dimensions
The Bembry Memorial is a double memorial, 6-8 x 1-2 x 0-8, necessitating a foundation that is 7-2 x 1-8 x 0-8, or 7 feet 2 inches long, 20 inches wide, and 8 inches deep.
First, we determined is necessary to build a foundation that was 6 inches longer and 6 inches wider than the base, thus allowing the monument to have a foundation that was 3 inches beyond the base on each end and each side, providing additional protection for the base. The foundation was constructed at ground level or at grade. Foundations poured at or above grade discourage the “wicking” of water into the base. Wicking stains the common grey granite, as the stone is porous.
Square Foundation/Rebar
 Second, we dug a square hole approximately 8 ½ inches deep. Then, we added forms to the sides of the hole. Rebar was then placed inside the hole that ran both length, width, and crosswise. The rebar was braced and installed so it would not drop to the bottom of the hole as concrete was poured. It is important that the trench be square, as a round trench provides less support and can “rock” loose.
Quickrete Concrete/Better Foundations Are Time Consuming And Require Greater Resources
Then, we thoroughly mixed 15 bags of concrete at $3.50 per bag, plus tax. A deeper, longer, wider foundation costs more money in terms of labor, materials, concrete and cleanup. It took two hard-working persons 4 hours just to dig the hole, form the frame, mix, pour, and level the concrete.
The Typical Method Versus The Professional Method
The “typical” method would have taken less than 20 minutes with installation of the monument occurring on the same day. The professional method will require a second or third trip to remove the forms and then a delay of several days, perhaps two weeks, before the foundation is stressed with the weight of a monument. Concrete needs time to “cure” before use.
Additional time was required to prepare and disembark, plus to return to the site to remove the framing. I watched both my brother-in-law and my niece as they worked hard throughout the entire process. Since the hole was deeper, wider and longer, the amount of dirt that will be removed from the site is considerably greater than would occur with the “typical” method.
Mrs. Bembry now has a foundation that should last centuries. Monuments that have been installed only a short time ago are already askew because of sloppy work. It should be an industry practice that foundations are built to a particular standard without shortcuts. There are no shortcuts to building a quality foundation. Think about it! Which would you rather have for your family? Option 1 or Option 2? Clearly, Option 2 is the right thing to do!
As part of my review of monument practices, I contacted members of the Georgia Monument Builders Association and some of my industry colleagues, expressing concern about the best practices for building foundations for memorials.
Cemeteries May Control The Options Available
One of my colleagues, Lisa Fisher of Birkmeier & Sons in Fort Wayne Indiana gave me her views regarding foundations that I share below:
“Because we are located in a northern state (Indiana) with severe winter weather, our foundations need to be well below the frost line which is 30-36 inches deep. All above ground markers in this area have a foundation with a 4-inch margin and a depth well below the frost line to prevent any shifting during freezing and thawing. This work is done by hand, and clay is often the material we are working with. It is grueling and time-consuming work and, with today’s cost of concrete and lumber, materials are not cheap.”
“Most of the cemeteries in our area are owned by SCI whose standards are well-below what we deem acceptable. One of the cemeteries which they own recently adopted a new policy that we feel is NOT in the best interest of the families served.”
“Until all parties are deceased, this cemetery will place a ‘temporary’ foundation on the graves, regardless of the size of the marker. The fee they charge for this is 50 cents per square inch! If you do the math, you will see that a family with a 6-foot base is required to pay $504 for a ‘foundation.’ The foundation consists of a 4-inch deep hole with a thin layer of pea gravel. There is little to no margin.”
“Last year I was required to place a 6-foot monument on a temporary foundation after the family’s teenage son died. The marker was a triple marker with the parent’s names – they are in their early 40s. Obviously, these people could live another 50 years. Our concern is not only that the ‘foundation’ will not hold up until all parties are deceased, but whether or not the cemetery will ever pour a permanent foundation without charging the family again.”
“Unfortunately, we have no control over this, nor does the family. Our families are required to sign a disclosure stating they were made aware of this and that the monument company is not liable.”
“What do we tell our families? We simply state the facts – they are making a large investment requiring a stable foundation. In cemeteries where we are permitted to pour the foundations, we professionally install to protect their investment, and there is no choice for them to make. So far, our families have all appreciated the high standards and quality work we have placed upon ourselves. We earn their trust, respect, and loyalty for our honesty.”
Dry Bed Versus Formed/Poured Foundations
 Clinton J. Dye is the president of 3-D StoneWorks, Inc. He graciously shared his installation experiences with me as follows:
“I do offer foundation options. However, I will guarantee either of them, as long as I put them in myself or have them put in by someone with my approval. We offer dry bed foundations or formed/poured foundations. The dry bed, of course, costs less. It is not necessarily what is put in, but how it is put in.”
“In some cases, a dry bed foundation may in fact hold up better. There is an art to putting in a foundation. I would say that it is the single most important step in building any monument. It takes time, skill, and caring.”
Clint went on to state, “I have seen poured foundations ‘pop’ under pressure, while I have seen dry bed foundations so substantial that a new base was required to restore a monument.”
“It is all about the lengths you are willing to go to provide your customer with top quality service. When I put in a dry bed, I do it just like I would put in a poured. I never pour water on the foundation itself. That is a mistake as far as I am concerned. The dry bed draws its strength from the slow curing process. As in any good foundation time is the key.”
“It is also important to have high quality mix. I have recently been complaining to our local distributors about the quality of the concrete mix. There is simply no gravel in it any more. Without gravel, you might as well just set the thing on packed soil. I personally try to always have access to extra gravel on a job site. Remember the word ‘OVERKILL.’"
“Rebar is also an important strengthening agent. If a monument shifts in any way the pressure can be enough to fracture the foundation. Any steel-like rebar only decreases the odds of such an occurrence.”
“The size of the foundation is left up to the rules of the cemetery, followed by the rules of the installer. I decide on every monument that [we] install, [and] what size the foundation should be unless the cemetery informs [us] of their own requirements. My personal requirements have never been exceeded by those of a cemetery. I am not surprised by the comment regarding the requirements of cemeteries belonging to SCI.”
“It is obvious when passing a cemetery just how important a proper foundation really is. I will guarantee that any shifted monument that is inspected will have an insufficient foundation underneath it 95% of the time. It is just another reason why monument installation should be handled by professionals.”
The Granite Foundation Option
 Ronald Bohman of Genesis Granite was gracious to provide his thoughts regarding another option, the granite foundation.
Ron agreed that, “some foundations are done very poorly. In my opinion, anyone who prepares a foundation per [a dry foundation] should leave the industry. They do the consumer no favors and the work they do will fail quickly. To me [a dry foundation] is not an option. However we also do not choose [a wet concrete foundation]. We use granite foundations under all our monuments. To me they give several advantages over poured-in-place concrete:
“1. The biggest is that you can tell the customer that the foundation will last as long as the monument since it is an all granite monument. Even concrete in the best of circumstances will fail after some years. You are doing the customer a favor by giving him/her the very best.”
“2. The labor involved in pour-in-place more than covers the cost of the granite foundation. If you really work the numbers I think you'll find that you do no worse money wise and sometimes better with a granite foundation. Dig your hole, add some sand or whatever to level the bottom, drop in the granite and leave. One guy, one hour. If you want to, come back after some days and check that it is still level and solid.”
“3. A granite foundation gives you one more means of making you stand out from your competition.”
“4. If you ever have to glue something to the foundation (a vase or even the base) you can glue to something strong not just the top chip of concrete.”
“5. If you ever have to ‘adjust’ the placement of the monument it is fairly easy to do, since the bottom is flat and can be dragged a couple of inches. This is easier to do on smaller monuments of course, but you cannot do this with pour-in-place at any size.”
“If absolutely necessary, you can pour-in-place under the foundation, if you have to meet frost depth requirements or whatever, but then you are back to your [wet poured concrete foundation option].”
“We use foundation ‘caps’ that are 3 to 4 inches thick. This will usually give you the strength of concrete twice as thick. This is also a big help when it comes to setting a monument in less than ideal conditions. When it is cold (say it's freezing at night) or raining pigs and chickens, it is miserable to pour outside, and the quality can suffer. You can place the granite foundation in much less time under poor conditions and with a better quality placement (and it can still freeze that night). It's also quicker. If your customer can't get a competitor to pour the foundation because winter is coming, you may be able to say, ‘We can.’ Just grab a piece of foundation stock and place it. We always keep an oversize piece in stock so when that happens we can just pitch it down to whatever we need, and go.”
“We make our foundation caps 1 foot wider and longer than the base. This gives us a larger base against the ground and provides a larger ‘mowing strip’ so the cemetery mowers stay a little further away.”
“On most of our small monuments we'll set the whole thing in one trip. Set the foundation, make sure it is nice and level and stable, and plop the rest on like tinker toys. The larger foundation gives us a little bigger margin of safety.”
“Of course, it not quite as easy as pie, and there are always things that come up, but overall we'll never go back to poured-in-place.”
“We do get a little carried away with our monuments I suppose, but we feel we are in the business to give our customers the very best we can without compromise. We epoxy our bases to the foundation, we drill and pin our tablets to the base and when appropriate, we'll epoxy the tablet to the base. But that's probably another story...”
Preformed Slabs Are Another Option
John Matthews, Sales Manager for Tingley Monuments Ltd., states:
“We deliver to the three Maritime Provinces of Canada - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. We experience every kind of ground condition from solid rock to sand and winter frost up to 4'-0 deep.”
“We use to pour cement foundations 4'-0 to 6'-0 deep but found that even these would sometimes move as the grave settled and as frost worked on them. As Mother Nature is like Revenue Canada in that she makes her own rules and doesn't always tell you what they are, we decided to work with nature rather than against it.”
“So, about 30 years ago, we switched to 4-inch thick reinforced one-piece concrete pads with much better results. They move with the frost and generally settle back level. If they do not, it is a small matter to bar them back into shape. Foundations are rarely used under flat markers.”
“We have the slabs poured into our forms at a local cement plant. They like it because when a mixer returns with some excess concrete or the block plant has some excess, they can fill our forms and get the use of the concrete rather than dumping the excess. As a result, the price is favorable.”
John added that his company does not use hooks. “We use belts and hoist them off or slide them off and roll them to the site on a monument cart. Steel hooks equal rust stains, so we avoid them.
Note also—the slabs have angled edges and a chamfered top edge to dress them up and reduce chipping in transit.”
Compaction of Soil Is Critical To Long-Term Foundation Support
Fred Smith of FAS Monumental Erectors gave his views on foundations that I have edited, as follows:
“Burton, on the subject of foundations, first of all, the soil beneath the foundation should be compacted to a minimum of 2500 pounds per square foot. Unpacked ground will not support any type foundation.”
“Wet or dry, rebar serves as tinsel strength, not compression strength. A dry set is substantially weaker than a wet set.”
“However, if you dry set you can dig holes on each end of the foundation. When I dry set, I first get my elevation to desired height. Then dig the holes, and place 12 x 12 x 2 inch concrete pavers on top of post holes. These can be purchased at local Wal-Mart for about $1.50 each. I go one step further.”
“I drill a 5/8th-inch hole in the center of the squares and place a 12-inch long piece of rebar in the hole. This stabilizes the square in the posthole filled with concrete.”
“Then I place Quickrete concrete between the squares. I then place epoxy on the squares and set the base.”
“The epoxy will let you move the base into proper alignment. When the epoxy dries you have a stable foundation.”
“As far as just pouring dry mix as a foundation, you're asking for trouble in the future, unless the mix has moisture to cure it all the way through. Otherwise, slow moisture tends to leave dry pockets in the mix.”
“If you're in an area where the frost line is 24 inches below grade, I recommend a wet set with posthole method at least 16 to 20 inches below the frost line.
Remember: Always compact to foundation soil.”
Thank you Fred, I learned valuable tips from you on some of the alternatives for monument installation. As always, I appreciate the feedback.
Metropolitan New York City
John W Hakola, President, Brooklyn Monument Co., Inc., states:
“Here in the metropolitan New York City area we monument retailers do not build foundations; the cemeteries build them and charge us (or rather the consumer) for the foundation. It is an income source for the cemetery. Most cemeteries require the foundation go down to the depth of the deepest burial in the grave of the burial and all adjacent graves. Since we commonly bury three in a grave, that means nine or ten feet deep as a maximum. For instance, in the cemetery across the street, in a two grave plot (6 burial rights), if the first burial is in grave 1 at nine feet, and the monument size of Die 3-0 x 0-8 x 2-10 and Base 3-8 x 1-0 x 0-10, the foundation is dug by the cemetery as 3-8 x 1-0 x 9-0 deep (no mowing strips up here) at a charge of $1238.00 (33 cubic feet of concrete @ $37.50 ). This is to ensure that if grave 2 is opened for the second burial to a depth of nine feet later, you will see a solid wall of concrete nine feet deep footed on untouched soil, preventing cave-in of the foundation and monument. Incidentally, if, instead of an upright monument, the family only had flush marker rights (4-0 x 1-0 x 0-6), the foundation would still go down nine feet for a cost of $1350.00. A 2-0 x 1-0 x 9-0 foundation is half that, at $675.00.”
“Where plots and single graves are laid out in neat rows, most cemeteries use pier foundations running the length of the row, going down to nine or ten feet every 10 to 20 feet, with a top cap of concrete and rebar of about 2 to 3 feet thick. These foundations are a bit cheaper (e.g. for a 4-0 x 1-0 inches only $1177.00).”
“Naturally, each cemetery has its own rate schedule approved by the New York State Division of Cemeteries. The example cemetery I’ve used above is almost the largest (470 acres) and most expensive in the area, dating back to 1838. It is a ‘natural’ cemetery, on rolling hills, and sometimes when they dig a foundation or grave they come across boulders half the size of a car. Therefore their costs of digging take the rare worst case into consideration. I hope that retailers who dig their own foundations also factor a worst case into their calculations.”
Summary:
My Thoughts
The foundation must be appropriate for the weight or stresses placed upon it. Rebar does not strengthen concrete. It keeps the concrete together when the concrete cracks.
As concrete cures, there is a chemical reaction that interacts with the granite. Spacers do not work on top of dry concrete mix, so wicking is possible when the concrete is not set and allowed to cure in advance.
It seems that some monument builders use the “dry” method, not adding any water to the foundation. Others spray water on the concrete while it is in the hole. Still, others mix the concrete in the hole. A fourth group mixes the concrete in a wheelbarrow or mixer and then pours wet concrete into the hole. Which method is appropriate for maximum monument life? Which methods, if any, are not appropriate? These are questions that the monument industry needs to sort out for itself.
I hope this helps to put other approaches to foundations in perspective. The proper foundation will vary depending upon the environment, size of the monument, cemetery regulations and consumer preferences.
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