Stone Care in the Wiregrass
Dothan is built on sand. The ground here is loose and shifts easily. In cemeteries like Memory Hill and the City Cemetery, the soil doesn't hold heavy weight well.
We deal with markers that sink deep into the soft ground. We also fight the heavy agricultural dust that coats everything in the Wiregrass. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to lift these sunken stones and scrub off the black field grime that hides the names.
Sinking in Sandy Loam
Rain moves the sandy soil here quickly. It washes out from under the foundations.
Heavy granite monuments sink straight down. We find flat markers buried under inches of dirt. Upright stones tip over as the ground erodes. We dig the marker out. We backfill the hole with angular gravel. It locks together and stops the marker from sinking again.
Agricultural Dust and Pollen
Fields surround the city. The wind coats everything in peanut dust and yellow pollen.
Morning dew mixes with the dirt to form a black cement. Standard washing just pushes it around. It bonds to the lettering. We use industrial detergents and stiff brushes. We scrub the letters until the grime releases.
Fire Ant Damage
Fire ants thrive in Dothan’s sandy soil. They build mounds against the headstones and tunnel underneath them.
These tunnels create hollow spots. The weight of the stone causes the ground to collapse, and the monument tips over. We remove the ants. We fill the tunnels with stone dust and gravel. Ants can't dig through the rock, so the foundation stays solid.
Lichen on Granite
The hot Wiregrass sun heats up granite markers. This environment is perfect for crusty lichen. It creates round, gray-green patches on the stone.
The lichen roots dig into the granite surface. Scraping them off leaves pits in the stone. We use a biological cleaner to kill the plant. The chemical loosens the roots, and the dead lichen rinses off without damaging the polish.
Bronze Corrosion (Memory Hill)
Memory Hill has acres of flat bronze markers. The humidity and lawn chemicals attack the metal.
The clear coat peels, and the bronze oxidizes to a chalky green. We restore these markers on-site. We strip the failed coating. We clean the metal with glass beads to remove the corrosion. Then we apply a heavy-duty clear coat to seal the bronze against the weather.
Mold on Marble
Older marble stones in the City Cemetery are porous. They soak up rain and humidity. This keeps the stone wet enough for black mold to grow inside the stone.
The stone looks dirty and gray. You can't wash it off because the mold is growing inside the surface. We use a biocide that soaks into the rock. It kills the mold at the root. The stone turns white again as the dead growth washes out.
Mower Damage
Because the sandy soil is soft, flat markers settle quickly. They end up sitting low in the grass.
Lawn mowers run over them, chipping the granite edges and gouging the bronze. We lift these markers. We set them flush with the ground on a stable base. This keeps them visible and safe from the blades.
Service Costs in Dothan
Lifting stones in sandy soil is common work here. Restoring oxidized bronze takes specialized tools. We inspect the site to check the soil conditions and the stone material before giving a quote.
- Marker Leveling: Raising stones in sandy soil.
- Dust Removal: Cleaning baked-on agricultural grime.
- Bronze Restoration: Refinishing corroded metal plaques.
- Ant Repair: Filling voids caused by fire ants.
