Vaults & Grave Liners
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- An outer container or vault or Grave Liner is what the casket is placed in then lowered into the ground. They are designed to last for 50 to 100 years as well. It is illegal and incorrect to state that an outer container will protect and last forever.
- Vaults or outer containers are used to prevent the collapse of the casket, which makes for an unappealing cemetery and liability concerns. They also allow for ease in cemetery maintenance as heavy equipment is used to cut the grass, dig graves, and remove leaves.
- Vaults completely seal around the casket and offer protection of the casket. Grave liners look like a vault but do not seal; as their main purpose is to protect the cemetery’s aesthetics and reduce liability claims.
- Vaults are constructed from three main materials. They are steel, concrete, and Polyurethane (thick hard plastic). The most expensive is usually steel, followed by concrete, then the poly-vault. Most people think because Steal Vaults are strong, they will last for hundreds of years in the earth; but that is not factual; as the rusting process begins almost immediately. Concrete vaults are a very common choice as they fit that positon of being the middle choice. They are not the most expensive option, but not the least expensive either. However, concrete is porous which will allow for moisture to enter, then freeze, then crack, then crumble. Anyone that has had a basement knows that moisture does travel through concrete. Steel and concrete vaults are coated on the exterior to slow down their deterioration. Poly-Vaults are made of a hard, highly durable plastic material that is rated for no less than five hundred year. Plastics are well known for how long they take to deteriorate in the earth. Also, the Poly-Vault is the least expensive of your three sealing options. Remember that Grave Liners are even less expensive, but some commercial cemeteries will not accept them, but most church cemeteries will.