Mausoleums are essentially monuments where dead bodies are made to rest. Mausoleums can be grand (such as the Taj Mahal in India) or they can be private (for individuals or even families). You may choose to have this for your family so that all of your loved ones can rest together and so that you can come visit them all at once in the same space. Although before you make such a big decision there are a few things that you should know.

This article will provide you with seven useful things you should know about family mausoleums so that you can make an informed decision about them.  

1. Mausoleums Keep Your Loved Ones Together

A great thing about family mausoleums is that you can have one that is big enough for the entire family. This will depend on your beliefs regarding the afterlife, but you may want your loved ones to have their final resting place together. This is a great option if you want to have one specific place where the whole family can be, rather than having everyone spread out in different parts of a cemetery. Evidently, the number of members you want to have may dictate how big a space you will need, so try to consider this before deciding that you want a mausoleum for your family’s remains. 

2. You Can Decorate it How You Want

Decorating one’s grave once they have passed away is a way of still feeling close to the deceased loved one. You may bring flowers occasionally and even candles. Considering that mausoleums are private, you can decorate it however you want, including with special photographs and other items that are personal to you and your family. Decorating this area personalized to your loved one may bring you a sense of happiness and closure and further help you during your grief stages. 

3. There Are Different Types of Mausoleums

One of the main things you need to know is that there are different types of mausoleums that you can choose from. It is likely that you will need to build this monument from scratch, so will need to have some basic understanding of what you can have. Think about columns and moldings, what you want the interior and the exterior to look like, whether you want specific engravings as part of the build as well as the type of roof and doors you will use. You can see what is out there and make a decision. The mausoleum mavens over at www.mausoleums.com suggest consulting with professionals and advise them that you want a family mausoleum so that they can help you put a plan together. This way you will know where to start and what choices to make.

4. Consider The Cost

As you can expect, building a mausoleum is not cheap. If you have gone through any funeral and service planning, you will already know that this can be extremely expensive. If you want a family one, which will need to be bigger to hold more than one person, the costs will increase further. Although this can be a good investment and it will be there forever, you need to consider whether you are able to afford such an expense. Usually, a family mausoleum to hold about eight people can cost around $500,000, which is more than most people can afford. 

5. Mausoleums Provide Family With Privacy

Paying your respects to your loved one can be difficult when you are doing it in a public place with little privacy as there will be many other people grieving their loved ones. A family mausoleum will give you the privacy and peace you want to be with your loved ones after they have passed away. The atmosphere is calm and will give you an opportunity to speak to your loved ones and make you feel closer to them. 

6. They Provide Above Ground Burial

This will depend on the type of mausoleum that you choose but most of them are built with ground burial in mind. This means that the remains of your loved ones will stay above ground rather than being buried. This does not mean that you or anyone else can have easy access to the remains of the body as they will be appropriately sealed. There are other options for mausoleums where you can also keep urns if your loved ones are cremated, which means you will have more space for more people. 

7. The Smell Inside of Mausoleums 

Many people wonder whether mausoleums smell, considering that they are literally rooms filled with dead bodies! However, you do not have to worry about this. Mausoleums incorporate appropriate drainage and ventilation systems, which allow the space ‘to breathe’. It will not smell no matter the size of the mausoleum or how many of your family members you want to keep here. 

If you are considering a family mausoleum, make sure to inform yourself on the subject beforehand. The page above should provide you with useful information that you should know about family mausoleums.