Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Mount Pleasant

Restoring Salt-Damaged Bronze and Lifting Sinking Markers in Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant sits right on the harbor. The air is thick with salt. That salt is hard on the memorials in Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens and Christ Church. It eats through the protective coating on bronze markers in just a few years. We see plaques that should be gold turning a dull, chalky green. The salt also gets into the pores of the old granite and brick, causing the surface to flake off.

The ground here is another issue. Much of the area is built near the marsh. The soil is soft "pluff mud" or sand. It doesn't hold weight well. Heavy flat markers and upright monuments sink over time. We see family plots where the grass has grown completely over the stones. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to strip the corrosion off their bronze markers and to lift stones that are disappearing into the soft Lowcountry soil.

Restoring Corroded Bronze

Salt air ruins bronze. It peels the factory clear coat right off. The bare metal turns a chalky green. You can't scrub this away. The metal itself has changed color, so cleaning it with soap does nothing.

We restore it on-site. We strip the old lacquer and the green corrosion down to the bare metal. We sand the raised lettering to bring back the shine. We use a torch to get the bronze bone dry. Then we spray a heavy marine sealer. This locks the salt out so the metal stays gold.

Lifting Markers in Marsh Soil

The ground in Mount Pleasant is spongy. Rain turns this marshy ground into soup. Heavy granite markers sink straight down. Eventually, the sod grows over the edges, and the marker vanishes.

We fix this by creating a drain field. We lift the marker and set it aside. We dig out the mud and fill the void with crushed gravel. Gravel packs tight but lets the water run through. We reset the marker on this solid base. It stays flush with the grass and doesn't sink back down.

Cleaning Historic Brick and Stone

The historic churchyards here, like Christ Church, have old brick vaults and slate markers. These materials are fragile. High pressure water destroys the old mortar and flakes the slate.

We clean these by hand. We apply a biocide that kills the black mold and algae. We let it work, then we rinse it gently with a hose. We don't scrub old brick. We let the chemistry do the work so the masonry stays intact.

Removing Crepe Myrtle Sap

Crepe Myrtles are popular in local cemeteries. They drop a sticky mist of sap and aphids. This turns black on the stone and attracts dirt. It forms a hard, dark glaze on the granite.

We wash it with a degreaser. We scrub the stone to break up the sticky layer. Once the sap is gone, the stone looks bright again, and the dirt stops sticking to it.

Repairing Mower Scuffs

Landscapers have to move fast. They hit the edges of the flat bronze and granite markers. We see black tire marks and chipped stone on almost every plot.

We clean the tire marks with a solvent. For granite chips, we use diamond files to smooth the rough edge. It looks finished and stops the mower blade from catching that same jagged spot again.

Service Costs in Mount Pleasant

We have flat-rate pricing for Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, and Sullivan's Island. 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.