Urn sizing for Interment

[Jeff Walters]

I have a friend who is thinking of an urn for his mother. If he decides to do it, he would have me make an the urn and would most likely have her interred at a cemetery. I have asked numerous friends what the sizing requirements are for cemeteries and no one seems to know. One friend said he called a couple of cemeteries and they would not tell him unless he was going to use their services. Anyone out there know what dimensions I should be working with if I do this project?
Jeff

 

[George Kuipers]

Inquire at the cemetery, requirements vary.

 

[Tim Otto]

I have made several over the years but have no idea how they were used or what happened to them. Here are two of the most recent, one round and one square to suit the shape of the plastic vessels the ashes came in. Round one is sinker cypress, rectangular one Georgia cherry.

 

[Jim Holcombe]

Look up Artistic Urns. Not sure if they have sizes on the web, but may be a good starting point.

 

[Tim Otto]

Here's some more info

8 Things You Need to Know About Cremation Urns

Like most people, this is probably the first you've had to think about urns. Here are 8 things you should know about cremation urns.

www.usurnsonline.com

 

[Tim Otto]

just in case anyone is thinking of getting rich making wooden urns, here is your competition from India for $42 delivered. Rosewood

 

[Dean Center]

Jeff, sounds like you are aware, then, that the urn should be at least 1 cubic inch per pound of weight of the occupant prior to cremation. That and wall thickness will determine the minimum size of the urn.

At our local cemetery, for a burial, there is a casket sized 'opening' and a cremation receptacle sized 'opening', at a lower cost. Crudely, the maximum size may be based on the size of the bucket on the excavator at the cemetery where she will be interred. If the urn exceeds that, they can always use the casket size bucket. If she will be interred in a mausoleum, there will be a rigid answer to the maximum size question. George got it right--call.

 

[Ron Solfest]

Check with the cemetery you'll use, they vary wildly. I've seen them buried on standard casket plots where size isn't a restriction, but have also heard of significant size restrictions in columbariums; our church has columbariums that are 10.75" cubes - doesn't leave much extra to try and turn anything

 

[Jim Bellinghieri]

Rule of thumb is 1 cubic inch per pound of body weight. This info is on the web.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

Jeff, sounds like you are aware, then, that the urn should be at least 1 cubic inch per pound of weight of the occupant prior to cremation. That and wall thickness will determine the minimum size of the urn.

At our local cemetery, for a burial, there is a casket sized 'opening' and a cremation receptacle sized 'opening', at a lower cost. Crudely, the maximum size may be based on the size of the bucket on the excavator at the cemetery where she will be interred. If the urn exceeds that, they can always use the casket size bucket. If she will be interred in a mausoleum, there will be a rigid answer to the maximum size question. George got it right--call.

At my rural cemetery the cremation size hole for my dad was a 6 inch post hole dug by the funeral home right over top of moms previous burial. Then they dumped him in. I used to work for a monument company as a summer job many years ago and that's pretty common around here.

 

[Bob Brown]

Like a lot of things, I believe it changes from state to state. Check the mortuary or crematory, they will know state laws . Usually they will transfer ashes. And they will know rules for local cemeteries.

 

[Dave Fritz]

If your friend decides to go ahead I would talk about where she will be buried and speak with them as has been suggested. In the state of Wisconsin the final resting place on the death notice is the crematorium. You'll get the cremains in a container, tin or cardboard and you can do with them as you please. Each cemetery has their own rules regarding the final disposition of the cremains. As the sextant at our church cemetery for 25 years or so we've undergone a huge shift in burial practices. When I started a family would purchase a lot which included four spaces for the burial of four coffins within four vaults. That accommodated the traditional family who stayed in the community most of their lives. As demographics changed we changed with it. Now it's possible to bury as many as five cremains in one space which could possibly be twenty in a lot which previously held only four "traditional" burials. We sell single spaces for "traditional" burials, half lots with two spaces, and single spaces for "traditional" burials. We have lots mixed between "traditional" burials and cremations'. Our cemetery rules are cremains must be in a container, no vault is required for cremains. (some require vaults) Families contact the grave digger and tell him how big the urn is. The point being, check with the cemetery.