HISTORIC & TRADITIONAL PLASTER CONTRACTORS

John Canning & Co. is an architectural restoration contractor with over 40 years’ experience. We specialize in services for historic preservation, conservation, restoration, and replication. John Canning & Co. is an expert in the architectural arts and finishes such as ornamental plaster restoration, plaster stabilization, decorative finishes, gilding, historic woodwork and stone, as well as exterior services of architectural gilding and selective decorative finishes. Our principals are professional associates of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). We are guided by the principle "do no harm" and advance that principle by providing treatments that are reversible and supplying owners with thorough documentation of research, conditions, actions taken and materials used.

Historic Structures is a general contractor specializing in historic preservation in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Over the last 30 years, we have participated in the restoration of some of the best known historic residences in the US, including The White House, the Lincoln Cottage (President Lincoln's summer residence), and the Blair House (the presidential guest house). Our primary mission has been to produce elegant, integrated solutions in the widest range of historic materials. Our principal, Stephen Ortado, is a carpenter by trade, an engineer by training and a preservationist by avocation. Mr. Ortado has over several decades developed the comprehensive array of historic restoration services necessary for the sound, economical preservation of historic structures. In addition, we have nurtured valued working relationships with some of the most accomplished artisan specialists in the country. Whether or not any American presidents have ever stayed at your house, we will employ these skills to preserve your unique, historic and equally irreplaceable period home.