Madison Heights Memorials - Madison Heights VA: Monument & Memorial

Madison Heights Memorials is a subsidiary of Touch Of Love, Inc., a company established in Amherst, Co. in 1991. We started our monument business in 1998. We moved to our current location on Route 29 North in Madison Heights. Our business is family-owned and operated.

Our goal is to provide the customer with a quality monument at a fair price in a reasonable amount of time.

We know that you have a choice of monument businesses in the area and we appreciate your consideration. Our hope is that you'll feel confident in our ability to meet all of your expectations and know that our customers are always our number one focus.

Please take a moment to browse through our site to learn more about our company and how we can show you the Madison Heights Memorials difference. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at (434) 929-9118. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

We're conveniently located in Madison Heights, VA and serve the surrounding areas. We want to make your experience as convenient and affordable as possible, which is why we we cater to the needs of our customers. We help them choose what's right for them in there difficult time.

Monument 101
Things You Should Know About Monuments

Pricing
Generally speaking, monuments are priced by material, stone size, and the amount of polishing that must be done. For example, an upright monument polished on the front and back, with sides and top left rough, would cost less than a monument the same size and material polished on the front, back, top, and sides. The least expensive granite used for monuments in the southeastern part of the United States is Georgia Gray granite. Expect a markup of anywhere from 50-150% for the same size stone in another color.

Granite vs. Marble
Granite memorials are by far the most durable monuments. Whereas marble, a very soft material, weathers away over time (you've seen older monuments that you can no longer read because of erosion), granite stays intact and weathers so little that we're not even sure how long it would take for a stone to become illegible(centuries, we suspect). Beyond that, most granites cost less than marble.

Bronze Memorials
Many municipal and other perpetual care cemeteries require a bronze memorial. While bronze memorials are quite attractive when first installed, they will, over time, develop "patina," a green color and loss of shine. While we do sell bronze memorials, we highly recommend granite over bronze because of its virtually unchanging appearance. The Veterans Administration provides a free marker for all veterans who are honorably discharged. You have the option of choosing granite marker instead of the more commonly used bronze. If you prefer a granite marker, be sure that the funeral home (or whoever orders the VA marker) knows that you want a granite marker. By choosing a granite marker, you also avoid the cost of purchasing a granite base for a bronze plaque.

Cemetery Requirements
Before purchasing a memorial, check with your cemetery's caretaker to see if there are any specific regulations for installing the stone. The most common is a cement border (catwalk) around the base of the stone. Sometimes cemeteries have specific foundation requirements, such as depth, material, and so forth.

Note: Our company guarantees any foundation that we do OUR WAY for as long as we are in business. We do not break any cemetery rule, but we hold the cemetery responsible for foundations done by their specifications.

As always, if you have any questions, please contact us.

Choosing a Memorial
When selecting a memorial for yourself or a loved one, there are many factors to consider.

Quality
Quality is the single most important factor when choosing a company to produce a memorial. There is no reason to compromise quality to save a few dollars. That having been said, you don't have to spend a great deal more money to get quality workmanship and quality granite. Make sure the stone and the foundation upon which it is placed are guaranteed. The monument you purchase is intended to do more than mark a grave. The monument is a lasting testament to a life that is to be remembered for generations to come. When you consider the purpose of the stone and the time for which it should serve that purpose, it is easy to see that cutting corners is not an option.

Style
Another consideration in choosing a monument is selecting a style that best reflects the life that your loved one has lived. The monument should serve as a history lesson to those who see it. If you are memorializing someone who lived a simple life, a simple design would seem more appropriate than a very detailed carving with unusual letter styles, for example. People usually like to reflect characteristics of the person such as faith, hobbies, career, and so on. Some families make special effort to see that the monument they purchase is similar to other monuments in the cemetery, while some see to it that the memorial for a certain loved one stands apart from the others.

Material
Naturally, the kind of stone you choose to have the memorial carved from is a major consideration. The most commonly used granite in the Southeast is Georgia Gray granite. Georgia Gray granite is the least expensive granite that is used for memorials. Expect anywhere from 50-100% markup for other colors of stone--and there are lots of them. See our Types of Stone page for samples. We recommend granite over any other material for a memorial. Granite has proven its merit over time and will endure a great deal longer than any bronze or marble. If you have ever seen a marble memorial from the early part of the 20th century, you probably noticed how difficult it is to read smaller letters on the marker. This is usually not a problem in workmanship, but instead in the material. Generally speaking, marble markers more than 75 years old show significant deterioration. Granite is a much harder material than marble and WILL NOT show any significant deterioration for several hundred years!

Price
Price is a determining factor in most of our decisions no matter what they may concern. While it is imperative that you purchase a memorial with which you'll be satisfied today, tomorrow, and twenty years from now, it is also important to make a good financial decision. Losing a loved one is perhaps the most difficult part of life; don't compound that loss by making an emotional decision and paying too much for a memorial. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY TO BUY A NICE MEMORIAL. A very nice single upright monument can be bought for less than $600, while a small double can be bought for around $900 dollars. One can purchase a larger monument polished all over for around $1500. By the same turn, one should never cut corners. Carefully consider how much you have to spend, then decide on a monument that is in your price range.

Additional Information

Portraits
There are any number of ways to add special touches and/or decorations to a monument. More and more we serve customers looking to have a photo attached to a memorial. The most popular method of adding a portrait to a monument is with porcelain. Technological advances in digital imaging have brought on a process by which we can, in essence, scan a photo and "print" it into porcelain. The porcelain photograph is fired and, when complete, is an exact match to the original picture. These pictures are guaranteed to never fade or deteriorate in any way. Understand, however, that we never guarantee that anything attached to a monument will stay attached forever. To our knowledge, none of the photos we have attached to a monument have ever actually fallen off. Even so, we do not guarantee that it will not happen.

Vases
Granite, marble, and metallic vases have been used for quite some time. They continue to grow in popularity as families tire of the frustrations of having flowers placed at graves be blown away after only a few days of having placed them. Vases are also a safe alternative to so called "saddle" flower arrangements which often leave rust stains that cannot be cleaned. We recommend granite vases over marble due to the unchanging appearance that granite maintains. Marble vases tend to lose the glossy finish applied to them and, in time, will deteriorate. Metallic vases (bronze or aluminum in most cases) are similar to granite in durability. The advantage to these vases is that there is usually a way to turn the vase over and place it below ground level when it contains no flowers. This is a huge help to those responsible for the upkeep of your cemetery. Metallic vases are generally more expensive, however than both marble and granite vases. Expect to pay as little as $35 for small granite or marble vases. Conversely, an average sized metallic vase will cost as much as a very large granite vase, with prices in the $125-$250 range.

Footstones and Cornerposts
While the popularity of foot stones and corner posts has decreased over the last several years, our company still produces quite of few of these stones over the course of a year. Foot stones and corner posts are relatively inexpensive ways to temporarily mark graves without actually purchasing a headstone. Footstones are also commonly used in addition to a monument as a place to show nicknames, family relationships, and so forth. Be advised, however, that such small stones are often covered by grass and soil and are difficult to maintain.

Get What You Want
As stated earlier, be sure that the purchase you make is a purchase that you will be satisfied with today, tomorrow, and from now on. Once a monument is produced, there is no trade-in value. Be sure all lettering (names, dates, verse) is correct. (You've heard the "carved in stone" expression.) This is not a decision to rush into or to make without properly educating yourself (See our Monument 101.) Never let a salesperson tell you what you should get. It is our job to provide information, not steer you in one direction or another.

The most common misconception about a pre-need monument purchase...
The single most common misconception about buying a pre-need monument concerns the carving of a date or dates after the monument has been produced. Say, for example, your parents purchased a monument while both were still living. Since that time, one of them has passed away. At that point, the date of death for that parent needs to be carved into the monument. Many people expect that this service is included in the original cost of the memorial. Be advised, however that IT IS NOT TRUE! Every contract signed in our office reads, "FUTURE DEATH DATES NOT INCLUDED IN PRICE."

Madison Heights Memorials
3713 S Amherst Hwy
Madison Heights VA 24572
Tel/Fax: 434 929-9118
E-mail: info@madisonheightsmemorials.com