Fighting Heavy Clay and Overgrowth in Milton
If you dig a hole in Milton, you usually hit clay. It sticks to your shovel and it holds water. For cemeteries like Milton Village and St. Ann's, that clay is a problem. When winter hits, the ground swells up. We see headstones that have been lifted six inches out of the ground and left tipping over. The frost here is violent, and it throws monuments around every year.
In the outlying cemeteries like Checkerberry and West Milton, the challenge is nature taking over. These spots are quiet and wooded. We find vines wrapping around the bases and sumac trees growing right up through the family plots. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to fight back the brush and to reset the stones that the heavy clay has pushed out of level.
Resetting Stones in Clay Soil
Clay moves too much to be a good foundation. If you just straighten a stone and pack the clay back in, it will be crooked again next spring. The frost will grab that wet soil and heave it.
We have to replace the dirt. We dig out the heavy clay and haul it away. We fill the hole with clean, angular stone. This creates a drain. Water runs through the gravel instead of sitting under the marker and freezing. It stops the ground from swelling and keeps the stone flat.
Clearing Vines and Brush
The older graveyards in town have edges that creep inward. We often find stones that are completely hidden by bittersweet vines or wild raspberry bushes. The roots get under the markers and tip them over.
We cut the brush back by hand. We are careful not to slash the stones with tools. Once the heavy growth is gone, we dig out the root balls so they don't grow right back. It opens up the plot and lets the air dry out the stone, which helps stop the moss from growing.
Cleaning Hard Lichen
The stones in the open areas get hit hard by the sun and the wind, but the ones near the tree lines stay damp. They get covered in crusty, grey lichen. It bonds to the granite like cement.
We don't scrape it off dry. That scratches the polish. We use a cleaner that breaks down the hard crust. It turns the growth into a soft mush. Then we scrub it away with a nylon brush. It comes off clean and leaves the inscription sharp again.
Repairing Plow and Mower Damage
Snow removal is tough in tight cemeteries. We see a lot of chips on the corners of the stones near the driveways where the plows clipped them.
We fix these scuffs and chips. We clean off the black transfer marks. Then we use diamond files to smooth out the jagged edges. We can't put the stone back, but we can grind the chip into a smooth bevel so it looks finished and doesn't cut your hand.
Service Costs in Milton
We have flat-rate pricing for Milton, Georgia, and Westford. 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.
- Clay Leveling: Replacing soil to fix frost heaves.
- Brush Clearing: Removing vines and overgrowth.
- Lichen Removal: Cleaning crusty growth from stone.
- Chip Repair: Smoothing out plow damage.
