faulty headstone

firely2327 · 24 May 2016 at 10:47PM

Hi folks

Not confident this is the correct forum as it's more of a technical question re headstones rather than consumer rights per se.

A company erected a headstone for my fathers grave in December (please note, this was in Ireland so consumer rights are different there, this isn't the subject of my query). In January when I first saw it I noticed an obvious chip on the top. More recently it was noticed by another family member that there's now a crack running down the length of it. Having seen it last week I confirm this is the case. I'm guessing it was dropped before installation.

Question: forgetting about consumer rights, is the only advisable course of action to replace it rather than repair it? My gut feeling is that, having a crack weakens it and it's not a good idea to leave it in place as it's bound to get worse. It's a granite stone.
Thanks in advance for any input.

wealdroam · 24 May 2016 at 11:30PM

firely2327 wrote: »

Hi folks

Not confident this is the correct forum as it's more of a technical question re headstones rather than consumer rights per se.

A company erected a headstone for my fathers grave in December (please note, this was in Ireland so consumer rights are different there, this isn't the subject of my query). In January when I first saw it I noticed an obvious chip on the top. More recently it was noticed by another family member that there's now a crack running down the length of it. Having seen it last week I confirm this is the case. I'm guessing it was dropped before installation.

Question: forgetting about consumer rights, is the only advisable course of action to replace it rather than repair it? My gut feeling is that, having a crack weakens it and it's not a good idea to leave it in place as it's bound to get worse. It's a granite stone.
Thanks in advance for any input.

You really should be asking your question of a stone mason.
Not sure there are many of those on a consumer rights forum.

Perhaps ask on the In My Home board.

shaun_from_Africa · 24 May 2016 at 11:35PM

I wouldn't be surprised to find that water got into the area where the chip was and then froze, causing the crack.
It appears that repairs can be carried out:
http://www.tombstonerestoration.com/

That company is American and I only picked it as an example but I'm sure that there will be similar businesses In Ireland.
It would certainly be worth speaking to the stonemasons who made the headstone and the people who actually installed it to see what they say. I doubt if there are too many firms in the business and they may not want to get a bad reputation.

bris · 25 May 2016 at 9:21PM

What if they say it was perfect when erected. The problem you have is that as you weren't there to inspect it at the time of being erected.

Anything could have happened to it so you might struggle with this. Vandalism in graveyards is sadly a lot more common that we would like to think.

faulty headstone

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