Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Dover

Repairing Colonial Slate and Cleaning River Moss in Dover

Dover has the oldest grave markers in the state. In Pine Hill Cemetery, you see slate stones from the 1600s standing right next to modern granite. The dampness here is constant. The cemeteries are right on the water. The air is always wet. The stones soak up that moisture and stay damp until the afternoon.

That constant dampness destroys the stone. It grows thick mats of moss on the rough granite. Worse, it gets inside the historic slate markers. The water freezes and pushes the stone layers apart. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to bond those splitting slate stones back together, dissolve the black crust on the marble, and reset the monuments that the frost has tipped over.

Stabilizing Splitting Slate

Slate is the most common stone in the historic sections. It is made of thin layers of compressed clay. Over three hundred years, water works its way into those gaps. The ice pushes the layers open. We see the faces of these markers flaking off in sheets.

We stabilize the stone to keep it together. We flush the dirt out of the cracks. We inject a flowable grout that travels deep into the voids and bonds the layers back into a solid block. We seal the top edge. This keeps the water out and saves the stone from crumbling.

Cleaning "Black Crust" from Marble

The white marble stones in Pine Hill are covered in a hard, black shell. This is gypsum. It traps water inside the marker. This destroys the stone structure. The marble turns to powder. When the crust breaks, the stone underneath just falls away.

We apply a chemical paste to dissolve it. We cover the black spots and let the chemical work. It breaks the bond of the crust and pulls the stain to the surface. We rinse it away. The marble comes out clean, and the stone can breathe again.

Killing River Valley Lichen

The river dampness makes lichen grow aggressively here. It forms hard, crusty patches on the granite. The roots dig deep into the rock. If you scrape it while it is dry, you will scratch the stone.

We use a biocide to kill it. The chemical penetrates the growth and kills the root system. The lichen turns soft. We brush it off with nylon tools. It comes off cleanly because it isn't holding onto the stone anymore.

Straightening Frost-Heaved Monuments

The ground in Dover freezes deep. Frost heaves lift the monuments. We see heavy granite bases tipped sideways because the ground swelled underneath them.

We fix this by digging out the foundation. We lift the stone. We remove the soil that holds the water. We fill the hole with angular stone. It drains dry, which stops the frost from lifting the base. We set the stone back down, and it stays level.

Lifting Sunken Flat Markers

The soil near the rivers is soft. Flat markers sink over time. The grass grows over the edges, and eventually, the sod covers the name.

We cut the sod back to find the edges. We pry the stone up out of the mud. We pack the hole with gravel to create a stable base. We reset the marker flush with the turf. It drains better, so it doesn't sink back down.

Service Costs in Dover

We have flat-rate pricing for Dover, Rollinsford, and Somersworth. We don't need to visit the cemetery to give you a price. Check our subscription builder to see the exact cost for your plot.