Local Cemetery Conservation: Repairing Broken Tablet Stones

Headstones in most of the cemeteries across the country have either been set in the ground, in slotted bases, and some rare cases in concrete. Overtime, these headstones may have broken, sometimes in many pieces. These headstones are predominately of a “Tablet’ design. It is to the benefit of these headstones to be cleaned, repaired, and reset so they stand vertical.
These series of videos were produced for the 2021 Local History & Historical Preservation Conference. The Wisconsin Historical Society partnered with monument conservator Jonathan Appell to cover the basics of cemetery preservation. Through a partnership with the Osceola Historical Society and the Mount Hope Cemetery Association, Jonathan demonstrates and performs treatments for the most common gravestone and monument preservation dilemmas, including cleaning, resetting tilted stones, and rejoining fractured tablet stones. The goal of these videos will be to give local cemetery staff or volunteers the knowledge to perform basic preservation procedures.
The workshop and these videos were produced by Valley Access Channels in Stillwater, Minnesota. Music credit: Storyblocks.com

[@IrishAnnie]

Wow! That stone had been imbedded in the soil for a long time. You did a great a job! Thank you!!!

[@cindyspikes8670]

One can imagine what many of these older stones have gone through. Most of my ancestors are buried along the New Madrid fault. It's amazing that the ones prior to the 1811-1812 quakes are still standing. Sadly, vandals have been responsible for so many cemeteries being damaged.

[@ashawayangler7136]

Working in a Rhode Island cemetery, I've found that deer like to rub up against the stones which causes them to break.

[@Therebesquare]

Goddamn deer

[@HappierHeadstones]

@@Therebesquare Really?

[@mt.shasta6097]

​@@HappierHeadstones Deer can and will destroy EVERYTHING. Just big rats, with enormous weight and strength to spare.

[@HappierHeadstones]

@@mt.shasta6097 I know that. I was just saying really as in ther case. They have destroyed 3/4 of my yard.

[@davidklinkhammer4757]

I was a sexton for many years for a 15 acre cemetery in SE Texas, then got my funeral director/embalmer license. That was an awesome job.

[@janiceyoung7273]

God bless your heart for giving respect to these souls.

[@Wisconsinfrights]

It's great to see how this is done. Thank you for preserving history.

[@LeadAllSoulsToHeaven]

What a beautiful headstone with a mother's hand holding her childs hand xo❤ how sweet. Good job 👏 Lol the other guys looked like they were afraid they'd be asked to do something 👎

[@brendatodd3222]

THANK YOU THIS IS SO KIND OF YOU ITS SAD THAT THESE STONES GET THIS BAD BUT I PRAY GOD KEEPS YOU HEALTY AND YOUR ABLE TO KEEP THIS UP FOR A LONG TIME.

[@dc-wp8oc]

Surprised he did not epoxy both edges. An update on this repair would make a good follow up video.

[@WordTrix1]

Thank you for this interesting series of videos.

[@colindasilva2442]

Wonderful work

[@markputt8887]

It is just common sense, I did learn some terms, but he kept saying he was in a hurry, so wonder if he ever does a good job.Thanks for your effort. I have seen graves all over the west and Middle East, the acid in the rain is eroding everything fairly quickly.

[@vermasean]

Excellent breakdown! Obligatory Liked and Sub’d 👍▶️

[@colleenlouise4521]

wonderful Info!

[@ralphbaileryoung]

Thank you for the wisdom. This spring I will be starting to repair markers at my local cemetery, any and all information is welcome. God bless

[@mayagodez]

What amazing work! How does this channel only have over 1k subs?

[@BEV0323]

Because he goes into too much unnecessary detail and people prefer not to hear ALL of that, hence, 1k subs.

[@williamjackson5942]

@@BEV0323 God forbid he should answer questions!

[@rickykey1175]

Job well done sir you are a good man with wisdom thank you from bedford va

[@southsidekarl]

Very informative.

[@homehandywife]

I'm looking forward to seeing some plain/simple stones restored. There are several small family plots on farms in our area that need TLC. Their fractures show more plainly since there is nothing to distract the eye. They tend to be local stone more than marble.

[@ritabartuska6326]

Interesting. Thank you!

[@GenealogyKristen]

Could you explain what you meant by “delaminated”? Delaminated along a bedding plane doesn’t mean a whole lot to someone unfamiliar with the terms…

[@munchkintheoneandonly9253]

Is there a follow up when it is finished and all cleaned up..? It would be nice to see.. you do such wonderful work.. thank you from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@Da_Housewife]

This is the next video for that stone kzbin.info/www/bejne/jX69l32GrJqamrM

[@munchkintheoneandonly9253]

@@Da_Housewife thank you but why has all the headstone not been cleaned ..? It doesn’t look good, I do appreciate the work that was put into the repair, but it looks odd two different colours ..

[@williamkaczmarek3996]

@@munchkintheoneandonly9253 I think that is because the scope of this discussion and demonstration was simply to repair the damage at this time. Later, once the setting or bonding had time to cure, it would have been the right time to clean the stone. I also thought that I heard him say that over time, the upper stone would fade to closer match the lower stone in color.

[@munchkintheoneandonly9253]

@@williamkaczmarek3996 greetings from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Thank you very much for the explanation you are probably right 🙏🏻

[@andrewmp6]

Just a heads up,They do make cordless heat guns now

[@Leo-co5fi]

Nice work. You did mention that if you ask 10 preservation professionals the same question. You will get 10 different answers and so I have one other that's a bit different than yours. We do blind pin 2" marble tablet stones frequently using fiberglass rod for pins. Usually 3/8" pin diameter in 7/16" holes. In 15 years I have never shattered or blown out a surface, though I agree that it is possible to do so if you don't know what you're doing. In defense of our method (pinning), I feel that the loss of material on the interior of the stone more than makes up for the future damage when the epoxy eventually fails and the top pieces fall over again and perhaps break into even more pieces. Just my opinion. Cheers!

[@dc-wp8oc]

Would say this is an accurate observation, especially when dealing with government. What is your source for the fiberglass rods? He mentions not using Portland cement due to the hardness to which it cures. I would think the same could be said for epoxy which typically cures to a brittle consistency. Shame is, most cemeteries in America are mismanaged or not maintained. People interred their relatives thinking there would be "perpetual care". Sadly, there is no such thing.

[@Leo-co5fi]

@@dc-wp8oc we order Fibergrate rod from Grainger.

[@thebestgoy]

​@@dc-wp8ocMenards has fiberglass rerod.

[@bobmcnelis3648]

Ryobi makes a cordless heat gun that will do that job, twice as good as a regular heat gun.

[@suzannetisdall7609]

That stone needs to be put in a picture frame like setting to support it so it won’t break again. I’ve seen this before in restored grave markers that tall and it works

[@raynonabohrer5624]

What is the name of the person. That's in the grave.?? When did they live?. And where is the cemetery at???

[@sylbarba5356]

Would I need permission to reset a headstone? Who would I need to ask to accomplish this?

[@bubihartmann3961]

Gute Arbeit von einem guten Mann! Grüße aus Deutschland

[@barbaraharper2778]

Are permits needed? How do you get permission to work on gravestones? We love to visit Bosque Bellow Cemetary in Fernandina Beach Florida and sadly some graves are damaged from hurricanes. Limbs have knocked over stones. Sadly. How could we generate interest in restoration?

[@claytonsimplot9554]

Where in Wisconsin was this done? I d like to see your work on the tombstone after you 're done. Also what was under the large flat rock that you dug up? We use to leave a letter or picture under it .

[@fh1209]

Mount Hope Cemetery, Osceola, WI

[@marissa7733]

K bonito trabajo ya era hora dek algien se preocupe por lo antiguedad del cementerio

[@kathyclark9939]

Why didn't you clean the stone before you glued it back together? I know there's a reason I just don't know what it is. Thank you

[@pamelaspooner7183]

What were the substances in the 2 buckets that he used to fill in to help level? Looked like 1 was gravel but the brown material? Thanks.

[@johngodwin7902]

What epoxy adhesive do you use?

[@steveneal1124]

What chemical do you think se to clean headstones, as would love to clean my stepdads headstome

[@jomercer21113]

I'm sure the tree root helped split the layers in the base, too. When you cast a concrete replacement base, do you make a through- mortise so water can drain down to the soil instead of lay in a closed mortise?

[@dc-wp8oc]

One would expect that method to be best practice, especially in zones with many freeze/thaw cycles. By the looks of many installs, this was not done in the past.

[@Willee64]

The term graveyard is used when the burials are on church grounds. If there is no church, it is a cemetery.

[@garymaynard7562]

What is the brand name of the epoxy you use by choice?

[@eddiemattison7792]

Good video! May I ask where your intro music came from? I am making a cemetery video and need music like this :-) Thank you!

[@ohger1]

I wonder if machining two U-channels made out of bronze to fit the two side edges might be a better long term solution to keeping these stones intact as long as possible.

[@LovelyRitas]

Because these are outdoors in the Wisconsin elements, bronze is NOT a good choice due to the RAPID DETERIORATION that WILL occur. Stainless steel, aluminum or on an Expensive end would be Titanium.

[@scottemery4737]

Right below where it actually broke is a large crack. With Marble, many times you can repair the main crack, and then it just breaks on the next crack. Is there a recommended way to reinforce the headstone?

[@LovelyRitas]

He addressed the other crack below the break and determined that it doesn't go thru and that this stone would be fine.

[@ptaylor4923]

​@@LovelyRitasIt goes horizontally all the way across. It's going to break.

[@livinglife8333]

What about epoxy putty on the missing area.

[@bevfrench3496]

What about the crack under where the two pieces join? won't it break off there again and it won't take long now that there is weight on top.

[@pamelaspooner7183]

Watch the whole video. He addresses this.

[@rebeccaengland344]

What is a keyway and what does it mean to be delaminated?

[@dotcassilles1488]

A keyway is where the upright part of the stone fits into the horizontal piece (a joining technique like fitting a key in a lock and glueing the key in the lock. A delamination is where a stone (or other hard object) breaks along a weak part in a line. The sandstone is laid down as silt on the bottom of a lake or body of water/river. Over time these build up and form layers of rock because of the weight of the next layer on it. Sometimes the layers can be thin or contain different material that makes a soft/weak layer. When the weak layer gets exposed to lots of changes in temperature or the weather it breaks. This break is called a delamination. Like when a vinyl or laminate floor tile in your kitchen gets water under it and the glue that normally holds it down stops working. Hope this makes sense to you. Blessings, Dot

[@MrJeep75]

When things separate from its original form

[@stur.7502]

Akemi Akepox 5010 Epoxy 180 ml

[@ShiningSakura]

makes me wonder if it would be best to get this one put at a 30 or so degree angle and under it cement so it can still sorta be upright, but it won't fall over any more since it is so thin of a tablet. It looks like it wasn't the first time it has fallen and I worry it will once again. I have seen ones like that before where its at an angle above ground by a foot or so and that might work better than straight up and down. Its so big I worry it will fall on a child and kill them.... that happened to a child where I live.

[@khlynch8]

Can you spell the name of the epoxy? Thanks

[@wisconsinhistoricalsociety6657]

Akemi Akepox 5010 Epoxy

[@dbc1702]

That's never going to last

[@Nezello]

2:36 why would he think the broken tablet on the ground would be imbedded in cement?

[@dotcassilles1488]

Sometimes people who can't afford to have expensive repairs done might make their own "repair" by putting down some wet cement in a hole they dug on top of the grave and then sitting the broken piece down into the wet cement just before it sets. It's one way of making sure the broken piece of marker is not lost and that the grave is still marked (not saying its a good idea only that it happens). Usually done in small churchyards where there isn't anyone to repair it properly. If a marker is broken there are people (also known as scum) who steal the broken piece because they collect them or the person looking after the graveyard/churchyard or cemetery gets sick of the broken piece and chucks it to the rubbish or in a creek. Once the marker is broken it will usually mean that its condition/quality will deteriorate until it can no longer be repaired and if the family or a historical society doesn't pay to repair or replace the marker then the information is lost, the grave becomes unmarked and often lost.

[@MrJeep75]

Very common thing to do in the old days, before they had better stone glues

[@garymitchell5550]

Stepping all in and over and that poor grave

[@IrishAnnie]

Mowers do a number on them. I cleaned a HUGE monument last year and this year it looks like a chainsaw went to work on it. I reported it. They need to be accountable for damage. They are in too big of a hurry.

[@suzannetisdall7609]

Dude…you just pulled that huge rock right off the burial that was in a tomb. So, that rock was apart of the lid to the tomb. So, you dug right into the burial of that poor soul. But, happy to see your restoring that burial. Kentucky has a lot of burials in old forgotten family plots that needs restoration

[@BEV0323]

I was thinking the same thing, omg, that's sad! He should shut up and watch what he's doing more better! Omg, if he wasn't yapping so much, he would've noticed what he had done!!! 😢

[@alanyoder7629]

I don’t think it was part of the lid because it was way to shallow. The tomb is certainly much deeper.

[@LovelyRitas]

Yes, 6 feet deep is required in Wisconsin or 8 if there will be a 2nd casket/urn. That limestone slab may have been a kneeling stone with flowers & such when it was above ground.

[@LeadAllSoulsToHeaven]

It wouldn't have been this close to another burial plot.... You can tell it was made to sit atop the other one... Although I feel like it was an addition after the first stone. Maybe they couldn't afford that kinda stone at the time of burial or maybe they discovered this design for a stone later and wanted it added. But he did not dig up a cover for anything

[@lisahapodaca2602]

Does he have permission to dig up the ground like that it looked nice with the grass

[@alanyoder7629]

It was necessary to do the repair and I’m sure the family that owns the plot was aware he might need to do some digging.

[@jackbn9353]

There are numerous ways these stones can break, from delinquent kids to riding mowers to animals to falling tree limbs and more. Simply returning it to the base and making it plumb is not a long- term repair. Perhaps reinforcing the back with a stronger stone or non-coroding metal could be better.

[@LovelyRitas]

ALL of that was discussed in the video!! Stainless steel, aluminum etc. Was determined wasn't needed on this particular tablet! He class/teaching went a bit fast BUT he covered ALL of the repair types that can be done. This one would be fine being plumbed at base, cleaned and then Epoxied on top/bottom of tablet. He determined that braces weren't necessary on this stone. It's ALL in the video!

[@rollingat5235]

A lot of cemeterys have been neglected by the owner/operator , city or state agencies. Very sad! This guy here is all over the place, why start by fixing the base then the stone its self. Wouldn't recommend this guy for training crews on repair.

[@LovelyRitas]

THE Base NEEDED to be leveled FIRST!! That is why he messed with it 1st. In order to maximize the repair from the tablet above ground the base NEEDED to be Plumbed and leveled!!! He explained that in the video!

[@patrickh4540]

Rocket science? Just clean it and glue it on man.

[@davidfarley1175]

It's just common sense, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to do what you're doing,. you made it look harder than it is a little common sense is all it takes

[@davidpoeschl4365]

Dude talks too much, get to the point man!!

[@DannyMac786]

omg stop talking so much

[@AtomizedSound]

Bro stop being rude and go away with that attitude

[@parnold-mora8924]

Silly comment

[@Wguy56]

It's a class.

[@randydixon3127]

You talk too much get with it