Monument installation and resetting in Moscow
Two different jobs share this page, because families abroad usually arrive at one of them from the other. The first is installing a new monument. The second is dealing with one that has started to lean, sink or separate — which is what a photograph from Moscow often reveals when nobody has visited for years.
Both come down to the same thing: what is under the stone. A monument leans because of the ground beneath it, not because of the granite.
Installing a new monument
Installation covers delivery of the stone to the cemetery, unloading at the gates, carrying the stele, plinth and flower bed to the plot by hand, bedding it on sealant and levelling it true in two planes. It starts at ₽20,000.
Charged separately are only the things that a particular grave may or may not need: a concrete foundation, removal of an old monument, and engraving. We tell you which of those apply after seeing photographs of the plot, not after the work has started.
The monument is bedded on sealant rather than pinned. Pins are the traditional method and they are the reason a great many old stones have cracked: the metal corrodes, expands inside the granite and splits it from within.
- Installation season is May to October
- A finished monument is stored free at our warehouse over winter — no monthly charge, no one-off fee
- Winter is for choosing the stone, approving the layout and cutting the engraving in the workshop
- Warranty on installation work: 2 years
Resetting a monument that has started to lean
A stone goes out of true because the ground under it has settled unevenly, because it was set before the grave had settled at all, or because tree roots have lifted the plinth. The remedy depends on which of those it is, and that is visible in photographs.
The work itself is to lift the monument, rebuild and compact the base, and reset it level. It runs ₽8,000–25,000 depending on the size of the stone and what has to be rebuilt underneath. Where roots are the cause, they are removed first and the ground is left to settle for a week or two before the stone goes back — doing it in one visit is how the same problem returns in two years.
If an old monument is being replaced rather than reset, its removal is a separate line, ₽5,000–20,000, and it appears in the quote before work begins.
Foundations and why they are quoted separately
Not every plot needs a concrete foundation, and we do not add one by default. A heavy granite complex or a granite fence does need one: a reinforced 10 cm slab with double reinforcement, ₽15,000 per square metre.
That is more than a comparable slab would cost outside a cemetery, for a straightforward reason we would rather state than hide: no mixer truck can reach a plot, so the concrete is mixed and carried by hand, and an area of three to six square metres offers no economy of scale. The minimum order for concrete work is ₽20,000, because the crew, the materials and the mixing cost the same at three metres as at six.
Between November and April foundations are not poured at all. Frozen ground cannot be prepared properly, and concrete does not gain strength in frost — the water freezes before the cement sets, and the base moves with the thaw in spring. We will say so rather than take the money.
Ordering from another country
Send the cemetery, the full name of the person buried and, if you have them, the plot number and photographs. We photograph and measure the plot ourselves, then send you a fixed quote before anything is ordered or delivered.
Permission from the cemetery administration is part of the job and is included — it does not appear as a separate line in the quote.
After installation you receive a photo report with the monument from several angles and the plot as a whole. Payment is due after you have it.
Prices
| Installation of a monument | from ₽20,000 | delivery, carrying to the plot, bedding on sealant, levelling |
| Resetting a leaning or sunken monument | ₽8,000–25,000 | depends on size and on what has to be rebuilt underneath |
| Removal of an old monument | ₽5,000–20,000 | separate line, shown in the quote before work starts |
| Reinforced concrete foundation | ₽15,000 per m² | 10 cm slab, double reinforcement, for heavy granite work; minimum order ₽20,000 |
| Monument itself | from ₽58,000 | see the monuments page for models and materials |
Prices are in roubles because that is what the work is paid for in; at roughly ₽90 to the dollar you can read them across directly. The quote is fixed before work begins, and payment is due after you receive the photo report. Full list — services & prices.
Questions we are asked
How soon after a burial can a monument be installed?
The usual guidance is to wait until the ground has settled, which in practice means the following season. Installing too early is the single most common reason a stone later leans.
Can we order in winter?
Yes, and many families do. Winter is for choosing the stone, approving the engraving layout, cutting it in the workshop and obtaining the administration’s permission. The stone is stored free until the ground thaws, and installation happens in May.
Do you pin the monument or glue it?
We bed it on sealant. Pins corrode inside the granite and split the stone from within — a large share of the cracked old monuments we see were pinned.
What is covered by the warranty?
Two years on the installation work: subsidence, the stone going out of true and joints opening because of how the base was prepared. Impact damage and defects in the stone itself are the manufacturer’s responsibility, and we say that up front rather than afterwards.
Order from anywhere in the world
We work at every cemetery in Moscow and the Moscow region, and across Russia on request. Write to us with the cemetery and the full name of the person buried — if the plot number has been lost, finding it is part of the job. We agree a payment method that works for your country when the order is confirmed, including payment through relatives in Russia.
You can write in English — we reply in English.
