Frequently Asked Questions

Got a question about our Memorial Stones, House Signs or Pet Memorials? Below, we’ve compiled a list of the most common questions that our customers ask us at Rustic Stone but if you still can’t find what you’re looking for, then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Is the stone engraved and then painted or is it just painted?

The stone is engraved and then painted with the colour of your choice. You may also choose to leave it unpainted.

How thick is the slate used for the freestanding stones?

The thickness varies. We try to pick them so that they are thick enough to stand on their own without blowing over. 50mm to 60mm is the minimum thickness but for the larger, taller stones they may not be all that stable at whatever thickness, so we drill stabilising studs into the base so that they can be safely mounted onto concrete or a wall top, etc.

We suggest this on all of the larger stones as they are quite heavy and we certainly wouldn’t want the stone to be damaged or someone’s cat getting squashed by it if it did blow over. We drill the stone and supply the studs so don’t worry.

What guarantees do you offer?

We don’t exactly. We make sure that you are 100% happy with the artwork that we send you before selling you sign or memorial. We make sure that the artwork closely resembles the finished product and the only thing that can go wrong is in the hands of the courier – and we all know they never break or lose anything ever! If they do, the process starts again with artwork (if irregular stone) until you are satisfied and then we resend all at no extra cost to you.

How long is delivery from start to finish?

Delivery is currently 2 weeks from payment date. Payment is asked for in full on approval of the artwork.

Why is the owner so handsome?

Who knows. He just is.

How long will slate last?

Who knows. It’s already millions and millions of years old so hopefully a bit longer. Seriously, it’s not possible to tell how long the text will last on slate or any other stone. Eventually, it will weather away but hopefully not for years and years. Weather conditions will have an effect – slate placed near the coast will more likely weather faster than a more sheltered place inland.

Do you ship abroad?

Yes, we do. We ship anywhere; however, shipping heavy stone abroad is costly. We do not make any profit from postal costs so rest assured you get the best deal we can get.

What images can be used on the stone?

We don’t like to say. We’ll try anything. We can only deal with outline or silhouette images though. We like you to have what you want so we don’t restrict you to a set of stock images.

What fonts do you offer?

We have a massive amount of fonts for you to make your Rustic Stone truly personal.

Can I send you artwork?

Yes you can. We can accept EPS or AI (Illustrator) files. High-resolution JPG and BMP as well as TIF files. We can sometimes get non-suitable artwork redrawn and adapted for our specific needs. We would have to charge slightly more for this service.

Which company do you use for delivering your products?

Currently, we use DHL but we are always shopping around for the best deal (which we pass on). DHL offer us the best deal plus they are more careful than others that we have used.

Delivery price is included in the stone price. We don’t list delivery price as this can vary due to the heavy nature of the stone that we send.

Needless to say, we do not profiteer from the delivery and you can track your parcel using the DHL tracking website.

Can a stand be attached to your memorials?

Yes, see image below:

Do you supply the small memorial stones?

Yes, we can do that. We can also supply with a slate stake or a wooden stake. The size is fine although you would be limited to how much text you could have on it.

Can your memorials be used instead of the traditional headstones?

Yes they can but you will need to obtain permission from the cemetery. We have made several that have been used in this way but also had quite a lot of upset customers whose cemetery would not let them use a unique stone. My advice would be to find out the cemetery’s policy on this.

Do you offer chisel cut as done by old school masons?

We do offer traditionally carved text and designs, though this costs considerably more and takes longer. Please let us know your requirements and we will put a costing together for you.

Do your products come with mounting holes and screws?

Most of the time, our memorial plaques for people are laid flat within a remembrance area or garden, however, from time to time we do receive orders that request that they want to be able to mount their stone vertically on a remembrance wall of some kind.

This is not a problem for us and we can provide screw fixtures and pre-drilled holes as well as a countersink. We can also ‘reverse fix’ so that there are no visible fittings of any kind on the face of the plate, Resin fixing is another option.

Do your products support or come with Resin Fixtures?

If you would prefer an alternative to screw fixtures then we can provide a resin fitting type for a “screwless” option.

How durable are your products?

Very durable, we only use natural rocks and stones that have been on earth for millions of years, our products will pretty much last forever. As with any product, a small amount of maintenance may be required to maintain perfect condition, although the amount of maintenance is much lower compared to other material types such as metal or plastics.

The only maintenance our grave stones require is the occasional touch up of paint on the text engraving. How often this is required can vary due to UK weather conditions such as strong wind with rain or sunlight which can fade the color of the paint over time. With this said, we do use extra-long lasting and high durability paint designed to last years without requiring any touch-ups.

Nature Edge vs Straight Edge, what’s the difference?

Our natural and straight edge slate plaques all vary from one another. Straight edge slate is “honed” to give a satin finish (between polished and natural). We polish out saw marks from the sides and chamfer all the edges lightly.

Images can be used as can decorative separators on dual memorials and these plaques can also use decorative borders. Natural slate plaques come with a riven face (when the slate is split it reveals a ‘grain’, a bit like wood) and are usually 15mm to 20mm thick, or sometimes thicker.

The lighter stone (sandstone) is chisel edged and brushed to soften the jags. All our slate is handpicked for quality and shape.

How can I purchase a memorial plaque?

We’ve created a unique online design tool to allow you to create a memorial plaque exactly how you want it – and see the results prior to your order. Once we have received your design and payment has been processed we will then make a mock-up which contains your design in better detail to make sure you are absolutely happy with the design.

Then we will wait for you to sign off on this design, what this means we will not start engraving onto the item until you are satisfied what the final product will look like, in the rare event you don’t like the mock-up and don’t believe it can be changed to suit you, then we will issue a full refund.

Do you sell marble memorial plaques?

Yes, marble is widely used for remembrances here in the UK and very commonly found in church graveyards – so this may be the best choice should you want to be using this type of grave marker on private land. Some churches and other private remembrance areas may not allow memorial plaques on their property, so please ensure that you check your local regulations.

Can your headstones or memorial plaques be used in Cemeteries?

Some churches and remembrance gardens are very strict and will not allow other types of memorial stones – it’s worth checking with the relevant authority before buying, as everywhere has different rules and regulations on what is allowed.

Why Rustic Stone Memorials?

Rustic Stone provide memorials for people that are informal and completely unique which will help aid you preserve your memories for that someone special who touched your heart. We have been in the making of funeral stones for over a decade and have over ten thousand sales online, we not only have the experience to ensure that your purchase of any of our stones goes as smoothly as possible but we also have the compassion and knowledge should you need further assistance in this troublesome time for you.

I’m not happy with the mockup, can I have a refund?

People have different tastes and we always check that our customer is satisfied with the design, size and shape of the memorial stone before we engrave onto it, we do this by receiving your custom design and we then pick a stone for you and send you a mockup with your personal message and the stone we have selected for your purchase, if you are not happy with the shape of it, then we will hand pick another and resend our mockup…

In the rare event that we are unable to cater for your taste then we will be more than happy to refund your order.

Does your natural edge products have sharp edges?

While no cutting is performed on natural edge products, we do ensure that sharp edges are removed so that when handling our product you do not cut your fingers or hands – also preventing any wildlife or animals hurting themselves if you place your stone in the garden.

Why is your design tool the best?

We are proud that our online design tool allows our customers to fully customize their product with dozens of preloaded fonts, choose from hundreds of images, use your own images, choose your fixtures and of course scale, the item to your needs, no other online tool in the UK does it as good as ours.

Can I upload my own custom font to the design tool?

We don’t have any real restrictions about what fonts we can use – we want your product to be unique. However some really detailed fonts are not practical (or at least not practical as small letters). If you know a font that you don’t see on our site, if we have it then you can. If we don’t have it and have to buy it we may charge you a little extra. Short answer, get in touch.

Do you sell bespoke stone wedding presents?

Yes, personalised wedding stone gifts provide a commemoration of the special day that will last for many years to come. Such an item can feature as centrepiece in the home of the newlyweds and can be used to reflect on the many happy memories of the day.

Does the Rustic Stone website use product stock images?

Every product you see within the main selling pages of our website is actual products we have sold, delivered and had good feedback from the customer. Below are just some of the satisfied customers we have had submitting images to us of their product in place.

Should you like anything you see we can try and replicate, but please note that our stones and rocks are completely unique and natural, you will not find a memorial from us that is completely identical but we do try to find closest match if requested.

I am having trouble with the design tool, can you help?

While we have made this easy to use tool some customers have had problems, should you be having problems or just rather speak to us over the phone and tell us exactly what you’re after, we will take your ideas and make a mockup of your stone.

Do you get reports of stolen memorials?

No, and the likelihood of theft is very slim however our stones can be secured within stainless steel pins in the base, some church graveyards and public cemeteries will insist that you secure the memorial in place.

Do your pet memorials or peoples tribute stones require maintenance?

Our garden remembrances do not rot, fade or tarnish compared to that of wood, metal or plastic memorials. One of the major factors that other manufacturers of funerals for animals fail to mention is that in the UK we have very frosty mornings and these can damage plastics, wood and make metals flake or rust.

All our products require as little maintenance as possible so you are able to remember your pet without having the worry of repairing, maintaining or even worse having to replace the item.

The maintenance our products require is the occasional brushing off dust and leafs from trees or even a touch-up of paint on the engraved text depending if you used a colour your purchase, with this said we use high quality paint that is water proof and has high protection from the sun, even though in the UK we don’t get many shinny days over the years they do add up and this should make your paint job last longer.

We use high street paint for the engraving so should you need to touch the stone up occasional you will be able to do so without having to order specialised paint.

Do you charge per the character engraved onto the stone?

We do not charge any more than the standard price and you are welcome to fit as many words as we can possibly fit, should you want to write a lovely then it’s absolutely no problem.

Why should I a pet memorial from Rustic Stone?

The death of an animal or pet such as a horse, cat or dog or maybe even something more exotic can be extremely hard for the whole family when you become emotionally bonded, with most this can be as devastating and comparable to a death of a human loved one.

The experience can be even worse if you the owner has had to make a tough decision to end the pet’s life through euthanasia means, whatever reason for the passing of your animal it’s never easy and we at Rustic Stone know from first-hand experience exactly how tough it can be for you and your family.

We strongly believe that any pet or animal that touches your heart should have some kind of burial, should you decide on a straight forward garden burial, pet cemetery or even the scattering of your pet’s ashes in a remembrance area our pet memorials are perfect for the job.

We make beautiful pet memorials made using real solid stone and rock, perfect for all pets and animals. We have been in the pet grave markers business for over 10 years and have the experience, knowledge and competitive pricing to make purchasing a garden pet grave marker, or ashes marker as simple and as much hassle free as possible.

We believe that our approach and passion makes us the UK’s number one Pet Memorials provider.