What You Need to Know About the Different Types of Caskets

Whether it’s for yourself or a loved one, choosing a casket takes quite a bit of consideration—it’s certainly not a decision that should be made on a whim. The fact is that choosing a casket can be difficult, especially if you’re going through the grieving process.

To make it a bit easier, we put together this post with a few things to consider when choosing a casket.

Size

The first thing to consider is the casket’s size. The standard casket size is 28 inches wide by 84 inches long, which is a fine size for most folks. But if you or your loved one won’t fit in the casket for some reason, you’ll need to purchase a larger size. Keep in mind that a longer or wider casket may incur additional costs.

Material

Now that you know the casket’s size, you can start to look for different materials. Today’s caskets are often made of metal or wood and come in a variety of different finishes.

The standard options for metal caskets are steel, bronze and copper. Steel caskets provide the highest value, as they’re the least expensive and last the longest. If you’re considering a wood casket, your top options are mahogany, walnut or cherry. Wood caskets can come in a ton of different finishes, all of which provide a fantastic appearance.

Design

There’s nothing wrong with choosing a traditional casket, but if you have the budget to customize your casket, we say go for it. Some ideas for customization include adding the person’s initials or placing the logo of the deceased’s favorite sports team on the exterior of the casket.

If you’re willing to splurge, you can consider choosing what’s known as a fantasy casket. These are custom-built and can come in any size or shape you’d like. Some ideas include a guitar, car or a boat. A casket craftsman can make a casket out of anything you can imagine.

Interior

The standard interior is made of cloth lining, which is typically white or cream-colored. But just like the exterior, the interior can be upgraded and personalized to your liking. You can choose to make the cloth the person’s favorite color or upgrade to a higher-quality material.

Special features

A casket can also be outfitted with special features that customize it even further. Memory drawers are common features to add. Loved ones can place mementos or messages in these drawers, which can be another way to say goodbye. Again, the possibilities are endless when you work with a custom casket designer.

Cost

We mentioned the cost several times already, but that’s a big thing to consider when shopping for a casket. The average cost of a casket is $2,000, but that price can go all the way up to $10,000 if you choose a higher-quality material or choose to customize it.

Start planning today

To ensure you get the perfect casket at a fair price, we recommend preplanning your funeral right away. Preplanning includes everything from choosing your casket to taking care of the ceremony details. Talk to ICS Cremation & Funeral Home to start preplanning today.

Categorised in: Caskets

This post was written by Writer