Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Reasons to buy from Forever Shining
Q. Why buy from Forever Shining?
A. There are many reasons to buy from us, including those listed below:
- The high quality products available at Forever Shining come with a full warranty against faulty materials or workmanship.
- You are assured great value for money with Forever Shining products.
- You can reflect the true spirit of the departed by fully personalizing Forever Shining products.
- Forever Shining offers their products at competitive prices.
- You have a wide range of products to choose from at Forever Shining.
- While Forever Shining is an Australian owned family business, its products are supplied throughout Australia and overseas.
- All Forever Shining products are securely supplied through our secure website.
- As Forever Shining products are manufactured and designed to the highest standards, they are not only durable, but long lasting and structurally strong too.
- The prices of all Forever Shining products come included with GST and shipping anywhere in Australia. (We also ship internationally)
- You are at the liberty of designing and buying your chosen Forever Shining products in the comfort of your home.
- All of Forever Shining’s innovative glass backed stainless steel headstones and plaques have Australian and international patents covering their design and construction.
Ordering
Q. How do I make an order?
A. You can order any of your saved designs by logging in to your Saved Designs page. If you haven’t saved a design yet, just check out our product range or take a look at our Catalogue.
On our Products page, Click on the ‘Click here to design’ button when you find something you like. You will then taken to the Design Your Own (DYO) page of the product you’d chosen where you will have the ability to design your memorial.
See the How To page for more information on designing your product.
Location
Q. Where is your business located?
A. Our main office and showroom is in Bibra Lake, South of Perth, Western Australia, but we make and deliver memorials for all over Australia. We have numerous distributors throughout Australia and all of our products can be ordered online or you can contact us for a free design and quote if you wish to let our design team handle it for you.
Q. Do you deliver Overseas?
A. Our market is NOT limited to Australia. We currently supply our products throughout Australia and Worldwide, we have created memorials for customers in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Island, United Kingdom and America. Due to our unique products you can design a memorial from anywhere is the world. Our online prices are in Australian Dollars and do not include overseas delivery but we can help with this, calculating a total cost including delivery. Please contact us in regards to an oversea order and we would be happy to help.
Maintenance
Q. Do your stainless steel products require special maintenance or upkeep?
A. No, being marine grade 316 stainless steel they are far less prone to build up of moss or algae, than stone or concrete. If dust or any such organic matter does build up on them, a soft cloth and soapy water is all that is required for cleaning. Do not use any abrasive cleaners or materials as these will remove the protective surface layer of stainless steel.
We offer a range of finish grades to stainless steel from brushed finish, low sheen finish and high polished which is the preferred grade for exterior use.
Permits
Q. How do I know what I am allowed to buy for my cemetery plot/ grave?
A. Every cemetery has allocated areas for headstones, full monument and plaques each come with their own specification that need to be adhered to. When purchasing a plot they should give you this information. We can help with this if you are unsure, but prior to purchasing anything you should always check with your cemetery.
Q.Will my cemetery allow a stainless steel memorial?
A.Every cemetery has rules and regulations, you must check with the cemetery prior to purchasing a stainless steel memorial. If you would like to contact us, we can contact the cemetery on your behalf to check eligibility.
Q. What is an approved Monumental Mason?
A. This is a list of companies which are approved to install a monument in the cemetery. Each cemetery has an approved list, for most cemeteries’ paperwork must be completed by the approved monumental mason prior to installation.
Forever Shining is an approved Monumental Mason for Metropolitan Cemeteries Board (Perth, WA), and we do installations all over Australia. We use only approved monumental masons who erect the memorials to above Australian Standards.
Timing
Q. What is the timeframe from buying a memorial to installation?
A. Every memorial is different and the time frame depends on a few different factors. The average time frame from creating a memorial to installation is approx. 12- 14 weeks. Sometimes this can be delayed due to business closures over public holidays, however we endeavour to keep within this time frame.
We can meet anniversary dates; however, the more time given is always better due to unforeseen circumstances. We are here to help and do all we can, as we understand the special moment when a memorial is erected. How this can give peace to loved ones.
Q.What is the turnaround time for my product?
A.Every product has a different turnaround time please see below time frame for each product. This is manufacturing time frame only not including installation. This is approx. and may change due to unforeseen circumstances.
Laser Etching into Premium Black Granite Headstone 10-12 weeks
Traditional Engraved Headstone 10-12 weeks
Stainless Steel Laser Cut with coloured backing 10-12 weeks
Laser Etching into Premium Black Granite Plaques 4-6 weeks
Cast Bronze Plaques 4-6 weeks
Vitreous Enamel Plaques and Images 4-6 weeks
Thin Stainless Steel Plaque YAG lasered 2-4 weeks
We can produce certain products within a shorter time frame, please contact us for a quote as a surcharge may apply. With Laser etching into premium black granite, we have plaques and headstones sizes in stock so they can be produced within a week. Our sales and design team will be more than happy to assist.
Design My Own Memorial
Q. How do I design my own memorial?
A. There is a brief description of the design process on the “Design Your Product” page.
Q. What if I am looking for something more decorative or elaborate, something that your Design Tools do not do?
A. We can design and create a custom memorial for you based on your individual needs. Whilst custom designs are naturally more expensive, you are limited only by your imagination in what you could achieve with a custom monument. Please feel free to discuss your ideas with us. Design fees and specialist manufacturing fees will be incurred.
Price
Q.How much do Forever Shining memorials, portraits and signs cost?
A.Generally, the cost of Forever Shining products is determined by the size of the item and the quantity and size of any photos, motifs, logos,text, etc. that are applied to the product. Larger, more complicated products will cost more than smaller less complicated products of the same type. An itemized price of your personalised design is available by clicking “Check Price” on the design screen of your chosen product. General information about the pricing of products is available on the “Product Pricing” page.
Stainless steel headstones from $1234.50 for a 300mm x 300mm headstone
Laser etched granite headstones from $744.00 for a 300mm x 300mm headstone
Stainless steel glass-backed plaques from $494.80 for a 100mm x 100mm plaque
Laser etched granite plaques from $186.35 for a 50mm x 50mm plaque
Bronze plaques from $124.13 for a 100mm x 60mm plaque
Stainless steel single thickness plaques from $76.46 for a 40mm x 40mm Plaque in Brushed Finish
Delivery
Q. What is the delivery time for a Forever Shining memorial?
A. Our current lead-time from date of order and payment for standard products is as follows:
Stainless steel headstones – 6 to 10 weeks
Laser etched headstones and traditional engraved granite headstones – 10 to 12 weeks
Stainless steel glass backed plaques – 4 to 6 weeks
Laser Etched Granite plaques and Marble portraits –
normally 6 to 8 weeks but in special circumstances 2 to 3 weeks
Cast Bronze plaques – 6 to 8 weeks
Stainless steel single thickness plaques – 3 to 4 weeks
Customizing the shape, size or colour can add a considerable amount of time to delivery. It is best to check the delivery time of specialized products prior to placing your order.
Installation
Q. Who will install my memorial?
A. In many country areas you will be able to install your own memorial. We can provide simple, straight forward instructions for installing plaques and headstones. Alternatively, a stone mason or experienced builder could install your memorial. We can arrange installation of your memorial at an additional cost. In larger country shires and metropolitan areas cemeteries usually require a stone mason to install memorials. Please discuss this issue with your cemetery. You can arrange the installation or we can arrange installation of your memorial at an additional cost.
Urns
Q. What size of urn is required?
A. The approximate body weight of a person or pet will determine the size of the urn required.
Various cremation processes, temperature variations and bone structure of the decedent will vary the amount of ashes produced by the cremation process.
Approximately 1 kg. of body weight will yield approximately 0.029 litres of ash.
As a rule of thumb, the following capacities may act as a guide to the size of urn required:
A 100kg person requires an urn of 2.9 litres or larger
A 80kg person requires an urn of 2.32 litres or larger
A 60kg person requires an urn of 1.74 litres or larger
A 40kg person requires an urn of 1.16 litres or larger
A cremation urn can only be too small but never too large. An urn will only be too large if you think it is. It is far better to purchase an urn that is too large than to purchase one that will not contain all the ashes of your loved one.
The standard capacity of a single adult urn should be approximately 3 litres.