Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in West Des Moines

Lifting Sunken Bronze and Removing Hard Water Scale in West Des Moines

West Des Moines has a specific soil problem. The ground is heavy clay loam. It holds moisture. In the spring, it turns soft. This is bad news for the thousands of flat markers in Resthaven Cemetery. Gravity takes over. The heavy granite and bronze markers push the soft mud aside and sink. We often find them buried under two or three inches of sod. You can walk right over a family plot and not know it is there.

Summer brings a different issue. The memorial parks irrigate constantly. The local water is extremely hard. It leaves heavy calcium deposits on the stone. You see a thick white line across the bottom of the granite that looks like chalk. It ruins the finish and hides the lettering. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to raise their sunken flat markers and to chemically dissolve that stubborn irrigation scale.

Lifting Sunken Flat Markers

Prying a marker up and shoving dirt underneath is a temporary fix. The dirt washes out, and the stone drops right back down.

We fix the base permanently. We cut the sod back. We pry the heavy marker out of the mud. We dig out the clay and replace it with crushed, angular gravel. We pack it tight. Rock doesn't turn soft when it gets wet. It locks together. We reset the stone flush with the grass. It stays visible because it sits on a solid, draining foundation.

Refinishing Oxidized Bronze

Flat bronze markers face the harshest weather. Snow sits on them all winter. Wet leaves cover them in the fall. The moisture eats the clear coat factory finish. The bronze oxidizes and turns a chalky green.

We restore them in the field. We strip the green corrosion and the dead lacquer down to bare metal. We sand the highlights to bring back the contrast. We heat the bronze with a torch to drive out moisture. We spray a new industrial clear coat on the hot metal. It bonds instantly. The plaque looks dark and rich again.

Dissolving Irrigation Scale

The white haze on the bottom of the stone is calcium carbonate. It bonds to the granite crystals. Scrubbing with soap won't touch it.

We remove this with a buffered acid. We brush the cleaner onto the white crust. It reacts with the calcium and breaks the bond. We scrub the residue away and flush the stone with water. The granite comes out dark and shiny, without the white fog.

Fixing Frost-Heaved Foundations

In the older sections like Jordan Cemetery, we see upright monuments tipping over. The frost goes deep here. It grabs the rough concrete foundations and pushes them up unevenly.

We replace the failed foundation. We hoist the monument. We remove the broken concrete and the wet clay. We install a deep pad of compacted gravel. This disconnects the stone from the heaving soil. The ground can move around it, but the stone stays level.

Repairing Mower Scuffs

The maintenance crews mow tight to the stones. They hit the corners. We see black tire rubs and chipped granite edges.

We clean the rubber marks with a solvent. For chips, we use diamond files. We grind the sharp, broken edge into a smooth bevel. It looks finished and prevents the mower blade from catching that same jagged spot again.

Service Costs in West Des Moines

We don't need to visit the cemetery to give you a price. We have fixed, transparent pricing for all our services, including raising sunken markers and bronze restoration. Check our subscription builder to see the exact cost for your plot.