Health and safety are a major concern when it comes to installing tombstones and memorials in a cemetery and other settings across the UK. Professional, high quality installation is required to extend the working life of headstones and make sure they do not fall over, potentially causing injury. The National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM) has created rules to be followed when a headstone is being installed.
There are two main methods of installing headstones: dowel and monolith fixings. The monolith method involves part of the headstone being buried into the ground and then set in pre-cast concrete shoes. On the other hand, dowel fixing is a process where the tombstone is made with a stainless-steel pen that is fixed to the concrete base as ground anchors. For help choosing just the right Headstones, visit a site like Abbey Memorials, specialists in Headstones.
A headstone will definitely move over the years as soil shifts. It will make the stone lean and twist and sometimes completely fall over. Sometimes if a stone is set too early and is still sinking, it will lean forward at an alarming angle. For this reason, the legislation must be adhered to when installing headstones.
The monolith method involves 1/4 – 1/3 of the total length of the stone being buried under the ground, and then set into precast concrete shoes.
A fixing dowel is where the stone is fixed with stainless steel pen to the base of the same material as the headstone. The base will then be fixed to the concrete base.