When planning for a final resting place, families often face the decision between above-ground cemetery services and below-ground burials. Each option offers unique benefits, traditions, and considerations. Our job at Cemetery Properties is to help families understand the differences to make an informed and meaningful choice based on personal, cultural, and financial factors.
Below Ground Cemetery Services
1. Structure & Placement
Below-Ground Burials: This is the traditional method where the casket is placed in the earth and covered with soil, often within a designated cemetery plot.
2. Protection from Elements
Below-Ground: Burials are subject to natural conditions such as groundwater, shifting soil, and weather fluctuations, which can impact burial sites over time.
3. Maintenance & Longevity
Below-Ground: Traditional grave sites may require ongoing maintenance, including landscaping, tombstone repairs, and upkeep of the surrounding grounds.
4. Cost Differences
Below-Ground: Traditional burials may have lower initial costs which only cover’s the grave plot, and expenses add up with the purchase of a casket, vault, foundation and installation, headstone, additional cost for a canopy and chairs for the burial service as well as maintenance fees over time.
5. Space & Availability
Below-Ground: As land becomes more scarce, cemetery plots are becoming more expensive or limited in availability, making traditional burials harder to secure in densely populated regions.
6. Cultural & Religious Preferences
Below-Ground: Traditional in many Christian and Islamic faiths, in-ground burials have long been a standard practice, often aligned with religious customs regarding returning to the earth.
Below-Ground: Traditional burials offer personalized headstones, benches, and memorial markers, creating a unique outdoor tribute for loved ones to visit.
Above Ground Cemetery Services
1. Structure & Placement
Above-Ground Burials: These involve placing remains in mausoleums crypts. Mausoleums can be private or communal structures, housing caskets within secure, dry chambers above ground.
2. Protection from Elements
Above-Ground: Mausoleums provide complete protection from the elements, including flooding, soil shifting, and erosion. The sealed environment also offers security against environmental wear overtime.
3. Maintenance & Longevity
Above-Ground: Mausoleums require less individual upkeep, as they are maintained by the cemetery or facility. Many are constructed from durable materials like marble or granite, ensuring longevity.
4. Cost Differences
Above-Ground: Mausoleum entombment was once considered an option only for the wealthy, but many cemeteries now offer affordable crypt spaces. The above ground cost is 50% less than below ground due to the many costs involved below ground besides the grave plot, In addition to the grave plot a burial vault, Foundation and installation for head stone, head stone or flat marker, opening and closing and possible additional closing cost due to weather conditions such as frozen ground or heavy rain, and cost for a canopy and chairs to be setup by the grave site for the burial service as well as on going perpetual care.
5. Space & Availability
Above-Ground: Cemeteries that offer mausoleum options can maximize space efficiency by housing multiple individuals within the same structure. This is especially beneficial in urban areas with limited land.
6. Cultural & Religious Preferences
Above-Ground: Many cultures and religions, including Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist traditions, have embraced mausoleum burials as a dignified option. Some faiths also emphasize the importance of keeping remains in a secure, elevated place.
7. Family Memorialization
Above-Ground: Mausoleums provide a permanent family gathering place, allowing multiple generations to be entombed together. They also offer a quiet, indoor environment for reflection.
Why Cemetery Properties is the Final Resting Guide in New Jersey
With 12 beautiful New Jersey cemetery properties to choose from, selecting between above-ground and below-ground burial depends on personal preferences, budget, space availability, and cultural traditions. Both offer dignified ways to honor and remember loved ones, ensuring they are laid to rest with respect and care.