Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Burlington

Fixing Frost Heaves and Cleaning Historic Marble in Burlington

Winters in Burlington are brutal on cemeteries. The frost goes deep here. When the ground freezes, it expands and pushes the monuments in Lakeview and Greenmount out of alignment. Come spring, the mud thaws, and the stones are left leaning or tipped completely off their bases. We spend half our season just getting things straight again.

Then there is the lake. The mist from Champlain keeps the cemeteries damp. That moisture feeds the moss and lichen. We find thick green crusts growing on the granite and black mold turning the old white marble grey. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to reset stones that the frost moved and to clean off the biological growth that the lake humidity encourages.

Leveling Stones After Frost Heave

Frost is strong enough to move a heavy monument. When the dirt under a stone freezes, it pushes the marker up. When it melts, the stone drops back down, but rarely in the same spot. It usually settles crooked.

We fix this by changing the foundation. We dig out the dirt that traps moisture. We fill that void with clean, angular gravel. This lets the water escape underground so it can't freeze into a lens of ice and shove the stone upward.

Cleaning Historic Marble

The historic graveyards here have thousands of white marble tablets. Age has made the stone soft and porous. If you hit that with a pressure washer, you will destroy it.

We clean them chemically. We spray a biocide that kills the mold and algae. We let it sit and work. Then we rinse it gently. We don't scrub the soft spots. We let the chemistry do the heavy lifting to whiten the stone without losing the history.

Removing Lichen from Granite

The damp air from the lake makes lichen grow fast and hard. It grips the stone surface. Scraping it dry is a bad idea because you will scratch the polish.

We kill it first. We use a cleaner that softens the growth so it wipes off easily. This cleans the stone without forcing us to scrub hard on the delicate surface. It leaves the granite smooth and readable.

Repointing Joint Lines

Vermont winters ruin mortar. Ice forces its way into the joint between the tablet and the base. It breaks the bond and crumbles the old material.

We rake out the crumbled mortar. We replace it with a breathable lime mix, not hard cement. Lime is flexible. It moves with the stone during the temperature changes, so the joint stays sealed and the stone doesn't crack.

Repairing Winter Plow Damage

Snow removal in the cemeteries is tough. Sometimes the plows get too close. We see chipped corners and scrape marks on the stones near the roadways.

We clean the scuffs and smooth out the chips. We use diamond pads to grind the broken edge into a clean bevel. It looks finished and removes the sharp edge that might catch a plow blade again.

Service Costs in Burlington

We have flat-rate pricing for Burlington, South Burlington, and Winooski. 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.