A Comprehensive Guide for Memorial Retailers, Funeral Homes, and Cemeteries

Mausoleums stand as dignified and lasting memorials, gracing cemeteries with their beauty and significance. Selling a mausoleum can be both an honor and a strategic business opportunity. In this guide, we will delve into the key elements that contribute to a successful mausoleum sale, from preassembled designs to site preparation and installation considerations. Let’s explore how you can navigate the complexities and nuances of mausoleum sales, ensuring a seamless experience for both you and your customers.

The Versatility of Preassembled Mausoleums:

Preassembled mausoleums present a convenient and visually striking option for families seeking to commemorate their loved ones. These mausoleums offer a streamlined process, allowing for swift installation and reduced project timelines.

At Salem Stones, our standard designs, including peaked rooftops and elegant columns, provide a variety of choices that instill confidence in the final product. These buildings are often in stock and available at need, ensuring that families can find a fitting tribute without unnecessary delays. For those seeking unique solutions, our three-crypt stacks with square or fluted columns offer an esoteric touch that can set a memorial apart.

Walk-In Mausoleums: A Majestic Statement

Walk-in mausoleums, sometimes referred to as private mausoleums, resembling traditional houses with doors and stained-glass windows, offer larger and more intricate options for families who seek to make a bold statement. Available in various configurations, including 4, 6, or 8 crypts, these structures may even incorporate a columbarium for future generations. However, they entail a more complex installation process, demanding careful consideration.

The impact of the walk-in mausoleum is undeniable, but it’s crucial to recognize the substantial effort and resources required for installation. A meticulous installation process involving a crane, crew, and a foundation with footers underscores the commitment needed to make these projects successful. Installation increases to a week for these large projects as our preassembled buildings ship in 100-200 pieces to be assembled like a jigsaw puzzle on site.

It is crucial to review the budget at the beginning of the consideration phase. Many families experience sticker shock because these projects typically start around $500,000 retail. An alternative may be a larger stacked crypt offering such as Salem Stones’ 4 or 6-crypt stacked preassembled mausoleums.

Navigating Installation Challenges:

A smooth installation day hinges on meticulous preparation and understanding potential challenges. Salem Stones emphasizes the importance of an Installation Checklist, a concise set of questions that helps assess a customer’s readiness and expectations. Addressing factors like timelines, site accessibility, and obstructions at the installation site is essential to ensuring an accurate quote and a trouble-free installation experience.

Factors for Consideration:

1. Timelines & Expectations: Setting clear expectations is paramount throughout the installation process. Custom orders alone require a minimum of six months, and this is before factoring in shipping and installation time.
   Be prepared for a deposit of up to 50%, covering the total cost, including installation if you select a turn-key solution. As freight costs fluctuate, be mindful that freight quotes are typically valid for only 30 days.Establish transparent expectations throughout the entire process, considering lead times for custom orders, delivery, and on-site installation. Make sure your customers understand the timeline for each phase.
2. Site Accessibility: Conduct a thorough assessment of the installation site’s accessibility, taking into consideration aspects like entry ease, visibility, and visitor convenience.
   Whether Salem Stones manages the installation or not, site accessibility remains a primary concern. The intricate task of maneuvering these preassembled structures through cemeteries is not without challenges. Salem Stones typically dispatches mausoleums on 53-foot trailers, the standard mode of shipment.Nonetheless, older cemeteries may pose size limitations, potentially leading to unforeseen disruptions on installation day. Addressing this, pre-emptive awareness of site constraints allows for adaptable solutions, including the utilization of smaller trailers.The selection of onsite cranes encompasses a range of sizes, with crane reach directly influencing cost. Notably, increasing a crane size from a 20-foot to a 50-foot can increase the total installation expense by as much as 20%. Crane rental operates on hourly blocks of four or eight, further accentuating the importance of efficient planning.To ensure unhindered access, a good understanding of site access is crucial, particularly in older cemeteries characterized by narrow lanes and intricate curves. For optimal foresight, an aerial view of the installation site, available through platforms like Google Maps, serves as a strategic aid, enhancing comprehension and facilitating precise positioning.Visibility also plays a role in sales and accommodating visitors, while considerations about how visitors will access the memorial should not be overlooked. A customer who has already chosen their site signals that they are further along the buying journey.
3. Installation: Salem Stones offers a comprehensive turnkey solution encompassing essential services like sandblasting and meticulous on-site installation. While this choice may entail slightly higher costs, rest assured that our installation quotes remain competitive, tailored to the specific region of installation. It’s important to note that a turnkey mausoleum package, encompassing tariff surcharges (if applicable), freight, and installation expenses, could align with or surpass the standalone mausoleum cost, especially for remote cemeteries.
   Choosing a turnkey solution not only streamlines your experience but also grants you the convenience of not needing to be present on installation day or even directly interacting with the monument if you prefer not to.The installation of a mausoleum involves delicate coordination between a skilled crew and precision crane work. Should any unexpected challenges arise, which sometimes happens, crews look for swift solutions. In instances where onsite challenges require resolution, turf repair might be necessary—often a more cost-effective alternative compared to halting the installation process and rescheduling.
4. Overcoming Obstructions: Potential obstructions, such as trees or power lines, can complicate installation. To mitigate challenges, providing additional site photos helps contractors better understand the situation, given that cranes typically access sites from overhead.
5. Time Constraints: Certain cemeteries impose operational time restrictions to minimize service interruptions. These restrictions can impact mausoleum delivery and the arrival of installation crews and equipment.Gain a deep understanding of and communicate any time restrictions imposed by the cemetery. Be prepared to manage delivery schedules and on-site installations accordingly.
6. Projected Delivery: Consideration of expected delivery times impacts the range of options available, whether purchasing from stock or custom ordering a preassembled mausoleum. Installation is also affected by setting compound requirements; temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for several days are typically necessary, meaning installations may not occur during winter or early spring in some regions.
7. Solid Foundation: Like most wholesalers and fabricators, Salem Stones provides foundation drawings to guide the pouring of a cement pad for the mausoleum. While we do not provide depth recommendations (dictated by the frost line), it’s essential to ensure the foundation extends to this depth to prevent damage to the granite due to heaving. For walk-in mausoleums, the foundation complexity increases, often necessitating collaboration with an engineering firm for a plan that includes proper footers and reinforced concrete.

By meticulously addressing these considerations, you’re poised to orchestrate successful mausoleum installations that embody enduring beauty and reverence. As you embark on the path toward mastery, these pivotal factors stand as steadfast compass points, infusing your approach with knowledge, thoroughness, and the promise of unparalleled triumph.

The realm of mausoleum sales encompasses a spectrum of disciplines, from design aesthetics to logistical intricacies and seamless installation. Within this expansive landscape, Salem Stones, esteemed for its role as a premier importer of granite memorials and mausoleums, extends an array of preassembled options tailored to diverse customer preferences. By embracing transparency, attuning to customer aspirations, and adroitly managing the complexities of installation, you pave the way for a mausoleum sale that resonates deeply with families, cemeteries, and the legacy of your enterprise.

Always remember the cornerstone of triumph lies in meticulous planning and an unwavering commitment to excellence at each juncture of this transformative journey.