Determine Location, Design Of Cremation Garden
Areas of your property that you might have considered "unusable" in the past for traditional burial space due to sloping terrain, rocky soil, tree roots and other obstructions are actually perfect sites for locating revenue-generating cremation garden and nature trail project(s).

Whether done in-house or by a professional design firm, determine the size and location of the installation area(s) and positioning of existing and future amenities, structures, special sections and landscaping such as:

         • Pathways (concrete, brick, crushed granite)
         • Plants, trees and planters • Irrigation, utility lines
         • Rest and/or memorial benches • Picnic tables
         • Water features (waterfalls, reflection pools, etc.)
         • Dry creek beds, pedestrian bridges • Gazebos
         • Columbariums • Potential retail operation(s)
         • Private individual or family estates
         • Children-infant, pet and/or veterans sections
         • Bronze or marble statues and other "public art"
         • Open areas for gatherings, services, ceremonies

Depending on project and revenue goals, you'll need to decide on your desired mix of memorialization products from Rock & Water Creations and other manufacturers and suppliers in order to determine their placement.

Be sure to plan accordingly if you want to design your cremation garden so that it has specific areas for funeral services, community events or even for special functions or occasions on a rental basis (i.e., weddings).

Also ask yourself non-traditional questions such as whether you plan on offering evening services in your cremation garden so more guests can attend ceremonies without having to worry about taking time off work. If you want to do so, plan on amenities such as uplighting to accent trees, attractive and functional light poles along pathways, pavilions to shelter guests during ceremonies (as well as for a place to cater meals after the service or wedding), decorative torches fueled by gas, etc.

Plan Vault, Monument Positioning
Randomly plot Rock & Water Creations''monuments, ensuring there is at least 16" of space between each one for aesthetics and in case a customer wants you to dismount and replace a "CG Series" monument above a vault with a monument that can accommodate a larger plaque for multiple names and/or scrolls.

It's also important that every monument is placed no further than 4-6' from a path or walkway for two reasons:
1). To allow visitors to easily see the text on plaques,
2). So guests don't have to damage landscaping when they venture too far off the path to touch their loved one's monument or place flowers or mementos near it.

Remember that Rock & Water Creations' large "Estate Size" Monuments not only help break up the design pattern of your cremation garden project, they also will command higher retail value due to their prominence compared to the smaller "CG Series" monuments and are ideal as centerpieces when installed in any special sections such as private estates or children's areas.

Excavation and Drainage For Vaults, Monuments
Once the installation site has been plotted and the area for the monuments marked, excavate the soil below grade to accommodate both the vault and crushed rock for drainage (note: our concrete vaults are 19" deep) according to the suggested method below and the diagram that can be seen by clicking here.

There are two recommended ways of preparing your project site for drainage depending on conditions:

1). The ideal situation is for you to tie into a main drain. If you're able to do this, create a french drain system
by wrapping the trench with landscape cloth to deter sediment intrusion, lay approx. 2" of crushed rock on the cloth at the bottom, place enough 4" perforated drain pipe on top of the rock to connect to the main drain, and cover with approx. 2" of additional crushed rock.

2). If it's not practical or possible to tie into a main drain as described above, you should consider creating a rock-filled well with a depth as determined by a soil "perk" test done by a soils engineer or similar professional.

Install In-Ground Vaults
After the last layer of crushed rock is filled in the french drain trench, place landscape cloth over it and then the individual vaults on top of the cloth. Backfill to grade with soil between all vaults and compact. (Later, you should add woodchips or plant drought-tolerant ground cover between all the installed monuments).

Attach Monuments To Vault Lids
Attach "CG Series" monuments to the vault lids by first turning each monument over on a soft surface and threading the 1/2" threaded rods (supplied with your vault order) into the fixtures underneath the vaults by hand. Be sure to complete the tightening process by threading two nuts (nuts are sent with your order) onto the opposite end of the threaded rod so they lock together. Then clamp onto the nuts with a 3/4" wrench or socket and use them as leverage to finish tightening the rod into the fixture in the monument. Remove the nuts when done (one will be used for the lid later).

Next, while the monument is still upside down, carefully place the vault lid over the threaded rod in the monument and slide the lid down securely against the monument rim.

Note: Despite being upside down, before tightening the lid and monument together, try to ensure the plaque recess in the monument is aligned with one of the lid sides, rather than a corner. (If it is aligned with a side instead of a corner, later you can easily turn the whole unit so the plaque recess in the monument--and the plaque when it is eventually mounted there--is facing towards the nearest path or walkway).

After aligning the monument towards any side of the lid, place a 1/2" fender washer (sent with your order) onto the threaded rod followed by a 1/2" nut. Place waterproof adhesive caulking where the the rod goes through the hole in the vault (to prevent moisture from passing into the vault chamber) and then tighten the nut and washer down on the rod with a 3/4" wrench. If desired, after the nut and washer are tight, cut off the excess rod with a Sawzall or similar power tool (stainless steel is tough to cut with a hacksaw).

Turn the vault lid and monument--now a single unit--over and close over the vault, adjusting it as necessary so that the plaque recess faces the nearest path or walkway. In the future, after cremains are deposited into the vault, apply a generous bead of waterproof adhesive caulking to the top of the lid and seal again.

Landscape Between And Around Monuments
Add woodchips or plant drought-tolerant ground cover between all the installed monuments.

Identifying Monuments After Installation
Knowing where each monument is located is essential, especially for your pre-need sales staff. A Global Positioning System (GPS) device can precisely map out each monument while you can also use epoxy adhesive to affix a 1" numbered stainless steel, brass or aluminum ID tag in a discreet place on the back of each model (Internet search example: "stainless steel tags"). We recommend using both methods for the highest level of record-keeping accuracy.