ACPA - Alabama Cemetery Restoration

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Resetting Broken Markers

Some markers are broken off at ground level and found laying flat in the cemetery. This exposes them to damage from mowers, pedestrians, as well as increased damage from acid rainfall. Such stones may be good candidates for resetting in a new socket. First, you need to be certain that other than the one break, the stone is otherwise sound -- there should be no cracks, spalling, or other damage. Another condition is that the stone must be able to be reset without hiding or burying any of the inscription. If your stone meets these two conditions, creating a new socket for the stone is really pretty easy and involves essentially two steps -- creating the socket and them resetting the stone. 1. Identify the location where the stone is to be reset and excavate a hole 6-10 inches longer than the width of the tablet and 6-10 inches wider than the thickness. The excavation should be about 8 inches in depth. This hole will serve as a "ground form" for commercial Portland cement (this is one of the few instances where commercial gray Portland cement is appropriate in cemetery preservation efforts).

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