When a Granite Memorial Should Be Restored

Families often come to us unsure whether a memorial needs work or simply needs cleaning. It is a fair question. Granite is one of the most durable materials on earth, and a well-made monument will outlast everyone who remembers the person it commemorates.

Durable is not the same as unchanging. Decades outdoors leave marks, and some of them matter more than others. Here is how to tell the difference.

Surface growth and staining, which is usually cosmetic

The most common change is the least serious. Lichen, moss and algae accumulate on stone in a wet climate, and Vancouver provides ideal conditions. A memorial that looked dark and polished when it was installed may be substantially covered after twenty or thirty years.

Organic growth is unsightly rather than structural, and in most cases the stone underneath is untouched. The caution is in the removal. Pressure washing, wire brushes and household cleaners including bleach can etch a polished surface permanently, and once a polish is damaged it cannot simply be reapplied in place.

Gentle cleaning by hand with water and an appropriate product is the right approach. If growth has been left for decades, professional cleaning will restore the finish safely where scrubbing will not.

Lettering that has become difficult to read

This is the change families notice most, and the one that usually prompts the call.

Older memorials were often hand cut and then painted or gilded in the recesses of the letters. That paint or leaf weathers away over time, so the inscription loses contrast and becomes hard to read at a distance even though the carving itself is intact. Repainting or regilding restores it completely.

On very old stones, the carving itself may have worn shallow. That is a different job requiring recutting rather than refinishing, and it needs to be done by someone able to match the original letter style. Work of this kind sits alongside inscription additions, where a new name or date is added to an existing memorial and has to look as though it was always there.

Movement, settling and lean

This category is the one worth acting on promptly, because it is a safety matter as well as an appearance one.

Ground beneath a memorial shifts over decades. Soil settles, moisture cycles through freeze and thaw, and roots grow. An upright monument that has begun to lean, or a base that has tilted or dropped at one corner, is telling you the foundation has moved.

Left alone, it continues. A leaning upright eventually becomes unstable, and a monument that falls can be damaged beyond repair and can injure someone. Resetting a piece on a corrected foundation is straightforward work when it is done early and a much larger job once the stone has moved significantly.

Separation at the joints

Upright memorials are assembled from separate pieces, typically a die set on a base, sometimes with additional elements. Those joints are sealed, and the sealant does not last as long as the granite.

When a visible gap opens between the die and the base, water enters. In our climate it then freezes, expands, and works the joint wider each winter. Resealing a joint is minor work. Repairing a cracked base caused by years of water intrusion is not, and the sequence between those two outcomes is entirely predictable.

Bronze on a granite base

Many memorials pair a bronze plaque with a granite base, and the bronze ages on a different schedule. It darkens and develops patina, which some families like and others do not, and the original finish can be restored.

More important is the mounting. Bronze and granite expand at different rates, and over decades the fixings can loosen. A plaque that moves when touched, or that has begun to lift at a corner, should be attended to before it detaches.

The changes worth a professional opinion

If you notice any of the following on a family memorial, it is worth having someone look at it:

• The monument leaning, or the base sitting visibly out of level
• A gap opening between the die and the base, or between any two pieces
• Cracks in the stone, particularly near joints or the base
• A bronze plaque that moves, rattles, or has lifted at an edge
• Lettering that can no longer be read from a normal standing distance
• Deep staining that has not responded to gentle cleaning
• Chips or damage along edges and corners

Timing and expectations

Restoration work on site is seasonal. Cleaning, resetting and inscription work are done during the warm, dry months, because the materials involved need dry conditions to cure and bond properly. Planning in winter for spring work is sensible.

It is also worth knowing that restoration aims to stabilize and clarify rather than to make a piece look new. A century-old memorial should still read as a century old memorial. Bringing back the legibility of the inscription and the integrity of the stone while leaving its age visible is usually what families want once they see the options.

Talk to us about a family memorial

J.B. Newall Memorials has operated from the same Vancouver location since 1909, and seven generations of our family have worked on memorials across British Columbia. Our restoration and maintenance work includes granite marker and monument restoration, cleaning, resetting and inscription work in cemeteries throughout the province.

If you are unsure what a piece needs, send us photographs and we will tell you honestly. Call 604.327.1312 or request a quote.