BURIAL CASKETS: WOODEN OR METAL?

There are two basic types of burial caskets available: wooden caskets or metal caskets. If you prefer a wooden casket, it can be fashioned of either hardwood such as oak or soft wood such as pine. Whichever type you select, wooden caskets are beautifully crafted with various stains, finishes, and carvings. The hardwood is much more costly than the soft wood. Wooden caskets constructed of wood and wood veneer are also available at a more economical price and have the appearance of solid wood. Some of the more elaborate hardwood caskets are available with memory drawers for the inclusion of special keepsake items.

Metal caskets are the other option when selecting a funeral casket and just like the wooden caskets, they are beautifully crafted. Metal caskets are available in several different semi-precious metals such as bronze or cooper. These are more costly than stainless steel with the plain steel caskets being the least expensive. The steel caskets are available is a wide array of colors. Steel caskets are manufactured from three different thicknesses of metal: 16 gauge steel, 18 gauge steel and 20 gauge steel. The 20 gauge steel casket is 1/20th of an inch thick and the least expensive of the three types. The 18 gauge steel casket is 1/18th of an inch thick and the 16 gauge steel casket is 1/16th of an inch thick being the heaviest and the most costly of the three designs. Another feature of the steel caskets which is currently unavailable on the wooden caskets is the option to have an airtight seal.

Funeral caskets whether constructed of wood or metal are available in sizes appropriate for infants, standard adults or those of more generous proportions.

CHOOSING A WOODEN CASKET

Wood, one of the oldest building materials known to man, is a renewable resource and as such is an excellent material to use when designing caskets.

When choosing a wooden casket, there are numerous things to consider. You can go with something as simple as a plain pine box or something as elegant as a wooden casket made of cherry or mahogany. There are even “green” caskets available which are constructed of layers of cardboard and wood veneer.

If a solid wooden casket is your preference, there are many species of hardwood trees to consider. Some of the more common types of hardwood available when choosing a wooden casket are cherry, maple, oak, ash, mahogany, walnut, and poplar. Most people choose a particular hardwood based on the appearance of the wood, for example the grain and the color. Hardwood is any wood derived from a leaf-bearing tree and does not refer to the hardness of the wood’s surface. Oak and ash are examples of open grain hardwoods and maple and poplar are considered close grain. Wooden caskets are available in many tones from light to very dark.

Another thing to consider when choosing a wooden casket is the price. Woods can be grouped into three main categories: premium, standard, and common. In the premium category are included cherry, walnut, and mahogany. The standard category includes woods such as ash, maple, oak, and elm. Poplar and cottonwood are examples of the common woods. The least expensive hardwood caskets are fashioned from the common woods like poplar and the prices of the wooden caskets will go up from there.

If you like the look of the solid wooden caskets but do not want to pay the prices charged for these products, you may want to consider a casket built of wood veneers that is available at a more economical price. These wooden caskets offer the warmth and beauty of the solid wood at a fraction of the cost.

Carol Fishback

support@cjsaffordablecaskets.com

cjsaffordablecaskets.com

CHOOSING A FUNERAL CASKET

The best time to choose a funeral casket is before it is actually needed. That will eliminate all of the emotional strain of the decision. Take time to shop around. Let’s face it -- caskets are not something that most people do comparison shopping for. And why not? A burial casket is one of the major expenses of some people’s lives. Do the research and make an informed decision. And most importantly, share your decision with those who will be planning your funeral. There are many options to consider when shopping for your funeral casket.

One of the major decisions when selecting a funeral casket is the price. Several things determine the price. One is the material of which the casket is constructed. Another is the size of the casket. Probably the most important consideration is where the casket is purchased.

Do you prefer wood or metal? Wood caskets come in a variety of colors and woods. Some of the more popular woods used are: oak, mahogany, cherry, poplar, maple, and ash. These are available in light, medium, and dark finishes. Wooden caskets are constructed of solid wood or wood veneer. Metal caskets are usually made of 18 gauge or 20 gauge steel or stainless steel. The metal caskets are also available in an array of colors the most popular being: blue, pink, white, black, brown tones, lavender, silver, and green.

Metal caskets are available in the full couch or half couch design. This refers to the lid of the casket. The half couch lid consists of two separately hinged pieces which allows for the top half of the body to be displayed during the viewing. The full couch design has a one piece lid which allows the full body to be displayed.

Funeral caskets come in a variety of sizes from infant/child sized caskets to standard sized caskets, to oversized caskets for those of more generous proportions. If you need an oversized casket, make sure to find out if it will fit into a standard sized vault or if a larger vault will be needed.

You have the option of buying your funeral casket from a funeral home, a casket showroom, or an online funeral casket store. Many times the funeral home will mark up the casket price by a great amount if you wait until immediately prior to the funeral to select the casket. The funeral home director will count on the family of the deceased being distraught and feeling as if there are no options available other than to purchase from him on such short notice. That is why selecting your funeral casket early, even if you do not order it, will be beneficial to you. There are usually substantial savings to be found by ordering your casket from an online casket store. Caskets can usually be shipped out promptly and arrive well in advance of the viewing and the funeral. The funeral homes are bound by federal law to accept a casket purchased from an outside source and are not allowed to charge a fee to accept that casket. However, if you do plan to purchase your casket from an outside source, it is imperative that you obtain an itemized listing of the funeral home charges prior to informing the director of your choice. If you don’t get the list first, the director has the option of marking up some of the other services he will be providing and you still may not save as much as you could otherwise.

By letting your loved ones know the decisions you have made regarding your casket, they will not be pressured into paying more than necessary by a funeral home director who convinces them that they need to purchase the "best" for dad or mom.

Carol Fishback

support@cjsaffordablecaskets.com

cjsaffordablecaskets.com

Preplanning Your Funeral

One of the benefits to preplanning your funeral is that you can take time to shop around. Ask for an itemized list of the funeral home charges and compare them from one location to another. Make sure that your family knows where to find that preplanning information when the time to do the final planning arrives. The funeral directors can always say that they have increased their prices since the time you did your preplanning but at least your family can probably tell if the increases are consistent with the cost of living increases. If you plan to supply your own casket from an online supplier, which I strongly recommend, you can see just how much the funeral home is planning to mark up the price. Usually you will be able to save thousands of dollars by supplying your own casket.

While preplanning your funeral is generally a good idea, it is not always a good idea to prepay your funeral expenses. When a funeral is paid for in advance, it is sometimes difficult to make changes when the time arrives for the funeral. I have spoken with couples who have prepaid their funeral expenses so that their children would not have that financial burden when the time comes for their funerals. When they found out how much they could have saved by buying their caskets online, they regretted being locked into the funeral home prices. By preplanning your funeral but not prepaying you can make your family aware of your final wishes but they are not locked into any specific goods and services.

So when preplanning your funeral, feel free to shop around, get itemized lists of the funeral home charges, and make sure your family is aware of your final wishes.

Carol Fishback

support@cjsaffordablecaskets.com

cjsaffordablecaskets.com

Talking to the funeral director

If you plan to purchase a casket online, one of the most important things to remember when talking to the funeral director is to get an itemized list of the funeral expenses before you tell them that you will be supplying the casket. I knew that this was true when we planned my father's funeral. However, when we walked into the funeral home, the funeral director already knew that we would be supplying the casket. That gave him the opportunity to adjust his charges so that he would still make a large amount on the services. I guess that is the hard part about doing business in your hometown. I asked what his charges would be after he said, "I understand that you will be supplying your dad's casket." He said "Our charges for his services will be $4,000." Like an idiot I did not ask for an itemized list even though I knew that I should. My sisters and I were too distraught to pursue the issue. There were several things that we assumed were included in that charge which were not and several items that we would not have included if we had really gone through the charges line by line. The next time that I help plan a funeral, I will be more vigilant regarding these things.
Carol Fishback
support@cjsaffordablecaskets.com
cjsaffordablecaskets.com

I recently had the opportunity to help plan my father's funeral. My father was a very organized person. My sisters and I thought that all the decisions had been made several years ago when we took him to preplan his funeral. Since that time I had done research and discovered ways to save money on his final expenses. One of those ways was to order his funeral casket online and to avoid the funeral home's markup. Even knowing all that I knew, I still fell prey to some price gouging done by the funeral director. My next several posts will deal with how to avoid some of the mistakes that we made at that sad time in our lives.
Carol Fishback
support@cjsaffordablecaskets.com
cjsaffordablecaskets.com