Stone Care in the Mile High City
The sun here in Denver is brutal on stone. Because of the altitude, the UV rays just cook everything. We see markers in Fairmount and Crown Hill that are barely ten years old, but they look worn out already. The thin air gives them no protection.
Most of our work is fixing that sun damage. We restore lettering that has faded out and bronze markers that have turned brown. We also scrub off the white calcium haze left by the sprinklers. Families looking for headstone cleaning services near me call us to get the names readable again and to reset markers that moved during the winter.
High-Altitude Sun Damage
The sun up here burns the paint right out of the engravings. It turns black lettering gray until it just disappears into the background.
We can't just wash this away. We have to restore the contrast. We clean the grooves thoroughly and re-apply a specialized monument paint. This makes the name pop out against the stone again, just like it did when it was new.
Bronze Oxidation
Bronze markers at Mount Olivet or Fort Logan take a beating. The sun burns the protective lacquer right off the bronze. When that seal is gone, the metal is exposed. It starts to tarnish immediately, turning that ugly flat brown or fuzzy green color.
We strip the damaged coating right there at the grave. We polish the bronze with glass beads to bring back the gold shine. Then, we seal it with a high-performance clear coat made for high-UV environments.
Hard Water Calcium Crust
To keep the grass green in Denver's dry climate, cemeteries run sprinklers constantly. The water hits the hot stone and dries instantly, leaving behind white calcium sheets.
This stuff bonds to the stone like cement. We use a buffered cleaner that softens the mineral deposits. We scrub the haze off by hand. This reveals the mirror finish that was hiding underneath the white crust.
Tree Sap and Pitch
The old trees in Denver cemeteries drip a lot of sap. Dirt lands on it and sticks, creating hard black lumps that look like tar.
You can't just chip this off without scratching the polish. We use a chemical that dissolves the resin. Then we wash the area to remove the stickiness and any shadowing left behind.
Freeze-Thaw Displacement
We deal with huge temperature changes—60 degrees one day, snow the next. That makes the ground heave and settle constantly.
It makes flat markers sink and upright monuments lean. We lift them, pack the hole with crushed rock for drainage, and reset them so they stay level through the next freeze.
Service Costs in Denver
Restoring sun-damaged bronze is a multi-step process. Removing heavy calcium scale takes stronger cleaners and more time. We inspect the marker to see how deep the oxidation or staining goes before giving a quote.
- Bronze Refinishing: Stripping and resealing metal.
- Paint Restoration: Re-inking faded letters.
- Scale Removal: Cleaning hard water deposits.
- Leveling: Resetting stones moved by frost.