Custom monuments and memorial care in Traverse City
Traverse City is outside our cleaning routes, which run out of Davison through Genesee, Lapeer, and Sanilac counties. Monument work reaches further than a cleaning van does, so a memorial for Oakwood is still worth a conversation. Oakwood Cemetery runs under Administrative Order #32, adopted in October 2010, and that order is unusually blunt about what the city will and will not do. Perpetual care is defined as watering, mowing, and the raising of sunken graves when the city decides it is necessary — cleaning the stone is not on the list, and never has been.
Cemeteries we work in in Traverse City
Oakwood Cemetery
Traverse City, MI — governed by Administrative Order #32, Oakwood Cemetery Rules (October 2010)
City of Traverse City, 400 Boardman Avenue, Traverse City, MI 49684, 231-922-4700; foundation permits are issued by the Sexton.
Not the cemetery you need? We work at cemeteries across Grand Traverse County — name yours when you book or ask, and we confirm the office's requirements with them directly.
What Traverse City requires, and how we meet it
Perpetual care does not include the stone
The order limits perpetual care to watering, mowing, and the raising of sunken graves when determined by the city as necessary. Grandfathered plantings already in place are expressly not maintained by the city, and beyond burial day the city is not responsible for floral pieces, baskets, or the frames they are attached to — staff remove funeral designs as soon as they become unsightly and assume no responsibility for their return.
Monuments are capped at 36 inches, 40 inches long for a single space
For work installed after June 1, 1995: the base may be no smaller than 10 by 8 inches, the monument no more than 40 inches long over a single space or 80 over a double, no more than 18 inches wide, and no more than 36 inches tall including the above-ground base, though the City Manager may approve taller on written request. In the Third Addition Block the maximum is 12 by 24 inches. Materials must be durable granite, marble, bronze, or something approved in advance.
Foundations need two weeks' notice and are not poured in winter
City-installed foundation orders require a minimum of two weeks' notice, and none are placed in winter. Outside installers need a permit from the Sexton plus the site location fee before starting, must have size, type, and location approved, are financially responsible for damage to turf or markers, and may be required to show liability and workers' compensation insurance. Monuments are not delivered until perpetual care and foundations are paid in full.
Containers, hooks, and flags each have a published size
Containers are limited to 18 inches at the widest point and 24 inches tall, in bronze, concrete, steel, clay, copper, marble, or granite, placed at the head of the grave beside the marker on a slab no larger than 18 by 18 inches — one per marked occupied grave, two with a double headstone. Shepherd hooks are one per gravesite, flush to the marker. Flags may not exceed 12 by 18 inches or 36 inches in total height. Third Addition Block A allows one 12-inch container and no shepherd hooks.
Plots are cleared to bare ground for half the year
Articles must be off plots by October 1 and cannot be placed again before May 7. Unused containers and hooks are tagged and removed after June 15, and unclaimed items are treated as abandoned after six months. Winter wreaths up to 24 inches wide are allowed December 1 through March 31, on a tripod where possible. Through the long stretch when the plot is bare, the marker is the only thing there is to look at.
Rules as published by the City of Traverse City Administrative Order #32, Oakwood Cemetery Rules (see the current text). Cemetery requirements do change, so we confirm them with the office before we cut a base or set a stone.
Stones that have leaned, sunk, or come off their base
Monument and headstone resetting and levelling is quoted rather than priced from a list, because the work depends on the size of the stone, the base beneath it, and the ground it has settled into. Send photographs and the cemetery name and we will tell you what it involves.
Monuments drawn, etched, and set in Traverse City
Drawn first, then cut in-house
Flat markers from $400, bevels from $600, slants from $1,250, uprights from $1,500, benches from $2,750, and family or estate monuments from $6,500.
Custom shapes are a specialty
Hearts, crosses, angels and wings, open books, obelisks and columns, tree and rustic rock-pitch stones, children's shapes, and hobby silhouettes, quoted per project after a free consultation.
Laser etching from $400
Etched in-house on Jet Black granite. Other colors are sandblasted instead.
Cemetery requirements handled
We coordinate the cemetery's rules, permits, and foundation work as part of the project.
Questions from families in Traverse City
Does Traverse City clean the headstones at Oakwood Cemetery?
No. Administrative Order #32 defines perpetual care at Oakwood as watering, mowing, and the raising of sunken graves when the city determines it is necessary. Cleaning or repairing a marker is not included, and the city is expressly not responsible for grandfathered plantings or for floral pieces after burial day. Keeping the stone legible is the family's to arrange.
How tall can a monument be at Oakwood Cemetery?
For anything installed after June 1, 1995, no more than 36 inches including the above-ground base, and the City Manager may approve taller only on written request. Length is capped at 40 inches over a single space and 80 over a double, width at 18 inches, with a base no smaller than 10 by 8 inches. The Third Addition Block caps out at 12 by 24 inches. We design to those limits before cutting so nothing is rejected on delivery.
How far ahead does a foundation have to be ordered in Traverse City?
City-installed foundations need a minimum of two weeks' notice and are not placed in winter at all, and a monument is not delivered until perpetual care and the foundation are paid in full. If the foundation is set by an outside installer, the Sexton has to issue a permit and approve the size, type, and location first, and the site location fee is paid before work begins. We handle that permitting as part of an installation.
When is the wait for a Traverse City cleaning, and is there a travel charge?
Traverse City is outside our regular cleaning area and we will not pretend otherwise. Monuments and laser etching are sold statewide throughout Michigan, northern Michigan included. For cleaning, contact us — a request here may be available based on routing and availability, and if it is not we would rather point you toward someone local than take a booking we cannot run.
Do you clean headstones in Traverse City?
Routine cleaning runs through Genesee, Lapeer, Sanilac, Huron counties, with selected northern Oakland and Macomb routes, so Traverse City is outside the routine schedule. Custom monuments, laser-etched artwork, and monument resetting are still quoted here. Call 586-404-5869 and a person will tell you plainly what we can do at that cemetery.
Do you set monuments in Traverse City?
Yes. Custom monuments are drawn, etched, and set for cemeteries in Traverse City. We draw it first, you approve the drawing, then we cut, and nothing is ordered until you have seen it and know the price. Consultations are free, and we coordinate the cemetery's requirements with the office directly.
Can you reset a stone that has leaned or sunk in Traverse City?
Yes. Monument and headstone resetting and leveling is quoted rather than priced from a list, because what a stone needs depends on its size, its base, and the ground under it. Send photographs with a reset assessment request and we will tell you what the work involves.
Start the memorial
Tell us the cemetery, the kind of memorial you have in mind, and how to reach you. We draw it first, you approve the drawing, then we cut.