Tips for Picking Out a Custom Cremation Urn

If you want to personalize your loved one's funeral service, then most funeral homes will be more than happy to work with you to make sure your wants and needs are precisely met. If you are thinking about cremation, then this may mean picking out a unique urn for your loved one. You can purchase your own urn and bring it to the funeral home for the placement of the ashes. If you decide to do this, then follow the tips below to choose the right one.

Make Sure it Is Large Enough

In your quest to pick out the perfect urn, you may overlook the basic size of the container. This is a common problem, especially since most people have little experience with cremation ashes. Due to this fact, individuals either overestimate or underestimate the size of the urn that is needed. This should best be avoided.

The volume and amount of ashes that are created will depend on several different things. Weight, height, and sex are a few factors that need to be considered. If your loved one was tall, heavy, and male, then more ashes will be created than if they were a petite female. This may mean that ashes may weigh closer to 10 pounds than 3 pounds. While this is true, 5 pounds is average for an adult individual. 

It can be difficult to convert weight to volume, so consider the fact that about one pound of weight will usually produce about one cubic inch of ash material or a bit less. About 14.44 cubic inches will be about one cup of ash. If your loved one weighed 150 pounds, then you will need an urn or container that holds about 150 cubic inches or about 10.4 cups of ash. 

Ensure a Proper Lid

Spreading of the ashes in your loved one's favorite place or at a local waterfront area may be a great way to honor their memory after the funeral service. However, many people like to keep at least a small portion of the remains in their home. If this is something that you want to do, then you should make sure that the lid of the urn is removable, but secure. Accidents do happen, but you do not want to make it easy for the remains to spill.

When picking out your urn, you may like the ones that have the standard sealed lid on top. For the most secure urn, look for one with a threaded closure. These need to be twisted off. Openings on the bottom of the urn are also standard on some urns and are extremely secure. The closure is a stopper that is threaded in place. Some types of urns, like the wooden box style varieties, feature a top or bottom closure that screws into place. This is probably the most secure lid or closure type. 

To learn more about your options, contact services like Flynn Funeral & Cremation Memorial Centers Inc.