Fixing the "West Jordan Shift" (Clay Soil)
West Jordan sits on heavy clay. This soil moves a lot. It gets wet and pushes up. It dries and drops down. That movement knocks monuments off level.
Upright stones start to lean. Flat markers sink into the mud. We see grass growing right over the granite until the marker is hidden. Adding dirt on top doesn't fix it. The ground is too soft. We dig the marker out. We remove the wet clay. We fill the hole with sharp gravel and pack it down tight. That creates a stable base that drains water away. The stone sits level on the gravel, even if the clay moves around it.
Secondary Water Glaze
Most cemeteries here use canal water. It is dirty water full of silt and iron.
The sun bakes that dirty water onto the stone. It leaves a hard, cloudy crust. That is calcium and iron. You cannot wipe it off. It is stuck to the granite. We use a strong acidic cleaner made for cleaning stone gravestones. It breaks down the minerals. We rinse it off and the stone looks clear again. We have to work fast so the cleaner doesn't dry on the hot stone.
Mower Tire Impact
When a marker sinks, the lawnmower deck runs right over it. The blades hit the stone and chip the edges.
We also see black rubber burns on the face of the granite. The tires spin on the stone and leave hot rubber behind. We use a solvent to melt the rubber. It wipes off without scratching the stone. We can't fix the chips, but we stop them from getting worse. We raise the marker flush with the grass so the mower tires hit dirt, not stone.
Oquirrh Wind Dust
The wind coming off the Oquirrh Mountains is strong. It blows grit and pollen right into the cemeteries.
This dust gets stuck in the engraved letters. Rain turns it into a hard mud paste. It dries inside the names. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me often try pressure washers. That blasts the paint right out. We use small picks and brushes. We clean the letters by hand to keep the paint safe. It takes longer, but it protects the lettering.
Bronze Marker Restoration
Redwood Memorial has a lot of bronze plaques. The hard water eats the factory clear coat.
The bronze turns brown and gets green spots. That is corrosion. We strip the old coating off completely. We clean the metal down to the raw bronze. We heat it up to dry out the pores, then spray on a high-grade exterior lacquer. It seals the metal and makes it look like new gold. It stops the air and water from touching the metal.
Service Costs in West Jordan
Every job varies. Cleaning a small marker is quick. Restoring a corroded bronze plaque takes real time. Here is what to expect:
- Standard Cleaning: We wash off the surface dirt, bird mess, and canal mud.
- Mineral & Glaze Removal: We chemically treat hard water lines and iron stains.
- Marker Resetting: We dig up sunken stones and build a gravel base.
- Bronze Restoration: We strip oxidation and seal the metal.
We look at the stone first. We check if it's stable. We check the damage. Then we give you a set price.