OT Eternal?? Home

[Dean Hoffman]

A story here about a guy who built caskets for himself and his wife.

[Sonny]

He better check the statutes in his state. In most states, if not all, you're not allowed to make you own casket. You have to obtain/ purchase them from a certified maker/supplier/mortician. There has been only one exception to the statutes, that I am aware of. Monks, at an old monestary in New Orleans, I think, which for ages made their own individual caskets for themselves, were/are allowed to continue to do so, contrary to state law. Addendum: Likewise, you're not allowed to have yourself buried or to bury someone just anywhere you wish, like on your private property. Burial has to be in a dedicated/public graveyard.

Sonny

[Hell Toupee]

Not true. The Federal Trade Commission requires any funeral parlor to accept whatever container you choose to be buried in, whether you've made it yourself or bought it elsewhere. You can be buried just wrapped in a sheet if you want to.

That's not universal, either. Most if not all states permit the scattering or burial of cremains on private property, and many states permit private burial of a body, with conditions. For instance, in my state, you can create a private cemetery on your property, but it must be surveyed and platted and registered with the gov't before burial can take place.

[Twayne]

All you mention can be done with proper permitting and conditional zoning laws in most every state, including being buried on your own private property. I only happen to know these things via a local mortuary whose owner I grew up and graduated high school with. There are conditions, rules and all kinds of things included but to say it's not possible is misleading. The reason for such rules is to avoiid polluting wells, septic systems, errant digging, etc etc etc.. It's the cities and towns that may have the rulings you are referring to but they must adhere to the permitting process and WILL inspect the area beforehand.

On this group, you're conversing with a lot of people who don't know but like to put their guesses and hear-say in print and sound good. If you really want to know, talk to the PTB in your own state.

Now here's the ringer: ANYthiing can be used for a casket, including rentals. If what you built doesn't meet the requirements, then they will put the casket inside another complant container when it's placed in the ground. As I understand it, the casket remains visible for the funeral, has a carrier-bottom, and after the mourners leave, the rest of the contaner is lowered in and attached to the carrier. Supposedly it can save a few dollars but not like it used to a few decades ago. Did you know that some caskets are cardboard? Yes, they are; look it up. In a cemetary, it's all going to rot away, casket and all, so ... what does it matter? All that other stuff is for non-cemetary, non-cremation disposals. They're on cardboard when the body's slipped into the furnace unless you purchased instead of rented the casket, in which case it is supposed to get burned, too. If you're curious, go have a look at what you get in the urn when someone is cremated. It's all interesting stuff.

HTH,

Twayne`

[Frank]

Looked it up here, and caskets must be waterproof. I know wooden caskets are sold so they must have waterproof liners.

[dpb]

On 12/12/2011 4:42 PM, Frank wrote: ...

The actual casket or the vault? Or casket when not used w/ a vault?

All I've seen is for the external box; generally that isn't the casket itself (any more, anyways; used to be a plain pine box was good enough for most anybody and better'n most got).

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