How Much Does a Casket Weigh?

Wood

Caskets are often made of hard wood, and popular woods include mahogany, cherry, walnut, maple, oak, and pine. Each wood has a different weight, and even specific boards of wood can have a different weight depending on how much moisture is in the wood, where it comes from, how dense it is, etc. Among the popular casket woods listed above, pine is typically the lightest, at 43 pounds per cubic foot, and cherry or mahogany would be the heaviest, at 53 to 56 pounds per cubic foot.

Metal

Caskets can also be made of a wide variety of metals, from carbon steel and stainless steel to even precious metals like copper and gold. The weight of a metal casket doesn't just depend on the metal used, but also on the thickness of the metal, the production method, and other factors.

In this instance, stainless steel weighs about 494 pounds per cubic foot, while gold weighs a whopping 1,200 pounds per square foot, while 20-gauge steel is thinner (and therefore lighter) than 18- or 16-gauge steel. Most steel coffins are between 16-20-gauge steel in thickness.

Plywood or fiberboard. Plywood or fiberboard caskets are usually covered with a solid wood veneer to look like a solid wood coffin at a more affordable price. They can also be finished and painted in a large number of ways. Or they can be covered in fabrics, for a comfortable, more natural and environmentally sustainable option.

Casket Fittings and Furnishings

Of course, caskets aren't simply the wood or metal box. They have decorative and functional hardware, including clasps and hinges, rods to make it easier to lift or move the casket, casket corners, and other options that will all affect the final weight of the casket. Casket fittings are often made of brass, which is a heavy, attractive, corrosion-resistant metal, but will add to the overall weight of a casket.

Compared to the weight of the materials on the outside, the materials of the fabrics on the inside, which may be velvet, satin, crepe, or other materials, do not significantly affect the overall weight.

Casket Size

Naturally, the size of the casket will play a huge role in what it weighs.

Standard casket

Standard caskets are 24 inches wide and 79 inches long on the inside. This casket will typically fit a person up to 6.5 feet tall, although people who are 6'7” or 6'8” can often be made to fit, if the funeral director bends their knees a bit. The width of a person needs to be measured straight across at the elbows or shoulders, since they are usually the widest part of the body. Generally speaking, a standard casket will fit a person who weighs up about 350 pounds.

Oversize casket

Caskets are also available in larger sizes for people who are taller or wider. Caskets are available in widths of 27.5 and 30.5 inches. However, a standard cemetery vault or plot is only 30 inches wide, so some oversized caskets will not fit into a standard burial space. Oversized caskets can increase related burial costs, and of course affect the final weight of the casket.

Caskets are usually fitted with rods and handles to make them easy to lift, even when they are quite heavy. There are also a variety of machines designed to help lift, move, and transport heavy caskets while being quiet and discrete. In many instances, a 4-wheeled “church truck” is placed beneath the casket, and pallbearers walk alongside, in a more symbolic role than actually lifting and carrying the casket.

In short, the total weight of a casket depends on how large it is, what it's made of, and what fittings are attached to it. With all these different factors to consider, it's understandable why caskets vary so much in weight. Caskets can range from as little as 60 pounds to as much as 400 pounds or more. A typical wooden casket weighs approximately 150-200 pounds when empty.