Five Steps to Designing Your Monument

Purchasing a headstone or monument is a personal and emotional matter. The headstone you choose will likely remain with the deceased for the rest of time, so it is an important decision that sometimes takes days, weeks, or even months to finalize, depending on the complexity and design of your project.

There are generally five factors you will need to consider when designing a monument, and each one is as important as the next:

Finish

The finish is the texture of the stone where it is not engraved. The finish determines the overall look of the monument, how it weathers over-time and the type of engraving that can be done. The three most popular finishes are: Polished, steeled and rock pitched.

  • Polished finish: A polished look provides a slick and smooth appearance that acts the same way a glass overlay would. A polished surface allows for a wide variety of art and engraving styles with high contrast between the sanded and polished surfaces. Polished surfaces are also easy to maintain, as they remain cleaner for longer and are easier to clean. If a stone is sitting under a tree, a fully polished stone will be more protected than a stone with rough surfaces.
  • Steeled finish: This type of finish is smooth but unpolished. It is a more classic, simple look akin to older monuments and veteran markers. This style favors bold lettering and art.
  • Rock pitch finish: This type of finish is a very rough finish that can be appealing to those who do not want a smooth or polished finish at all. This style creates a more natural look and is resistant to damage. The sides of most headstones are rock pitched. 

The most common finish is being polished on the engraving sides or front and back of a stone, with rock pitching on the sides.