Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Brattleboro

Stabilizing Hillside Monuments and Cleaning River Moss in Brattleboro

Working in Brattleboro means fighting gravity. The cemeteries here, especially Prospect Hill, are built on serious inclines. Every heavy rain cuts channels in the soil. It scours the dirt away from the downhill side of the headstones, leaving the foundations exposed and the markers balancing on the edge. We spend half our time jacking up monuments that are trying to slide down the bank.

Then there is the Connecticut River fog. It sits heavy in the valley. If you go to Morningside Cemetery early in the day, everything is damp. That constant moisture turns the stones green. We see thick carpets of moss on the slate and grey lichen digging into the granite. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to shore up their tipping markers and to clear off the biological growth that the river valley encourages.

Resetting Stones on Steep Slopes

The dirt on these hills never stays put. It washes out from under the front of the base. The stone naturally wants to fall into that hole. You see them tipping forward, looking like they are about to roll away.

To fix it, we have to build a shelf. We dig out the base and pack in angular crushed stone. We tamp it down until it is solid. This creates a flat, level pad for the monument to sit on, locking it in place so the soil washing past it doesn't undermine the foundation again.

Cleaning River Moss and Lichen

The fog keeps the stone pores full of water. Moss roots right into that damp surface. On the older slate markers, that wet moss freezes in winter and wedges the stone layers apart.

We kill the growth to stop the damage. We apply a cleaner that soaks into the moss and kills it down to the rock. Once it dies, it scrubs off easily. We get the stone clean and dry so the frost doesn't have a wet sponge sitting on the surface all winter.

Preserving Delaminating Slate

Brattleboro has acres of antique slate headstones. They are durable, but they split. You can see the edges opening up. If you hit that with high pressure, you will ruin it.

We scrub slate by hand. We keep the stone wet and work the surface with soft bristles. We lift the algae and dirt out of the carving without grinding the face of the stone. We can't glue the stone back together, but by keeping it clean, we stop the decay from accelerating.

Repointing Loose Tablets

Many of the older stones are two pieces: a tall tablet set into a slotted base. The old mortar turns to dust, and the tablet starts to rattle in the slot.

We clean out the gap and reset the tablet with lime mortar. We don't use cement. Cement is too hard; it will crack the slate when the temperature changes. Lime is softer. It moves with the stone, keeping the joint sealed without stressing the material.

Repairing Mower Scuffs

Mowers slide on these hills. When they lose traction, they slide into the stones. We see chipped corners and black tire marks on granite bases everywhere.

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

Service Costs in Brattleboro

We have flat-rate pricing for Brattleboro, West Brattleboro, and Guilford. 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.