Service 01
Custom Headstones & Markers
Personalized flat, bevel and slant tributes in weather-resistant granite, laid out with your family and sized for the cemetery where they will stand.
Chapter 01
Flat, bevel or slant: choosing the profile
A headstone will be read, visited and kept for a very long time, so the first decision is the shape it takes. A flush marker lies level with the ground. A bevel rises gently toward the visitor. A slant tilts the whole face up so the inscription can be read from a standing position. Each one suits a different kind of family and a different kind of cemetery section.
The most common way this goes wrong is a mismatch with the ground. A family settles on an upright slant, and only later learns that the section they were given allows flush markers alone, so the mowers can pass straight over. Every cemetery sets its own rules for size, material and placement. Gray Stone Monument designs and sizes each marker to the specifications of the Sacramento-area cemetery where it will stand, so the choice you make at the table is one the cemetery can accept.
For lawn sections we make compact, durable flush markers. Where a taller stone is welcome, we build slanted and beveled headstones that keep the inscription easy to read. If you already know the cemetery and the section, tell us when you call (916) 300-5785. If you do not, we can begin with the design and confirm the details against the cemetery before anything is cut.
Grey granite slant headstone with a carved floral scroll panel
Laying out the inscription with your family
Names and dates are only the start. Many families also want a photo panel, an emblem, a religious symbol or a decorative border, and each of those changes how much room the lettering has. We lay all of it out together on the page first, so the stone is balanced before the granite is touched.
You can share a photo of a design you like, or an idea of your own; call or email us and we will arrange a way to send it. We work from that reference to put together a layout and a photo prototype, and you review it before cutting begins. That review is where spellings, spacing and the placement of a border are settled, which is far easier on paper than on stone.
Finishes and borders are chosen with you as well, to suit both your own taste and the guidelines of the cemetery. Gray Stone Monument serves families in Sacramento, Elk Grove and the surrounding area, and the layout is always shaped around the person being remembered rather than a template.
Chapter 03
Granite that stays readable for decades
A marker is only useful if it can still be read years from now. We work in high-grade, weather-resistant granite, which holds up to sun, rain and the seasons of Northern California without losing its form.
The finish matters as much as the stone. Polished surfaces paired with deep-cut lettering give a high-contrast look, so the inscription stands out from the face. Shallow lettering on a dull surface does the opposite: as dirt settles into the cut over time, the words slowly fade from view and the stone becomes hard to read from even a few steps away.
That is why we cut lettering deep and keep the surface clean, and why we talk through finish choices with you before the order is placed. The aim is a marker that your family, and the families after yours, can still read comfortably long after today.
Sized to the guidelines of local Sacramento-area cemeteries. Call (916) 300-5785 to arrange a memorial consultation.