Case Studies

When Chris Vierhaus of American Monumental Co. was working with the Koppls to create a two-crypt mausoleum, the couple wished to avoid a structure with ground level entry points. Vierhaus, who has a longstanding relationship with Coldspring, worked with the company’s designers to customize a Private Estates^® mausoleum that fit the couple’s needs.

“Coldspring and I worked closely to develop a design that would have the desired sense of security, with minimal joints and no entry points,” says Vierhaus. “Another consideration was that the memorial was to be situated between large, walk-in mausoleums at the Home of Peace Cemetery. These two factors caused the design of the Koppl mausoleum to take on larger proportions than are typical … and therefore it required larger stone pieces.”

Coldspring’s ability to fabricate large piece sizes and build the mausoleum with few joints was a major differentiator for the company.

“We did several drawings, from which I created a simple wooden mock-up on the site to demonstrate to the couple what the finished height would be,” says Vierhaus. “Then Coldspring and I generated detailed colored renderings.” The memorial was built on a solid base measuring 12 feet in diameter and 1 foot, 10 inches high. The roof is also solid, with a diameter of 10 feet and a height of 1 foot, 6 inches. Assembled, the memorial is approximately 9 feet tall, with a total stone weight of roughly 150,000 pounds. Positioning the structure on the site, which has an uphill slope, involved using boom trucks and cranes to lift stone pieces weighing up to 32,000 pounds. Interments will involve lifting the building’s roof with a crane. The Koppl family chose Coldspring’s Sierra White stone for the mausoleum. The product is a popular choice in California both because of its local origin (it’s quarried in Raymond, California) and its light color. “Sierra White has excellent consistency, being free of cracks or fissures, even when quarried in big pieces,” says Vierhaus.

The mausoleum’s roof and central cylinder are finished in Rub and Sand, a semi-smooth surface with a subtle contrast between the stone’s color and crystals. The mausoleum’s base is finished in Rock Pitch, which has a natural, jagged cleft-face design.