About Us
Located in Lancaster, PA, Keperling Preservation Services is a historic preservation and restoration company specializing in the restoration of 18th, 19th, and early 20th century buildings. We offer a whole house approach to restoration with a custom millwork and cabinet shop. We are Nationally acclaimed preservation contractor trusted by homeowners, general contractors, and the National Park Service to repair, protect, and preserve our nation’s historic architecture. We can provide everything to accurately restore a building. We also offer hands on classes in wood working and building preservation to help keep the traditional trades alive.
“A man who works with his hands is a laborer…. a man who works with his hands and brain is a craftsman…. a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.”
–– Louis Nizer, American Lawyer (1902-1994)
Our Philosophy
Using a holistic approach when approaching work on your older building helps to ensure that the repairs, reconstructions, or maintenance activities we perform are a long-term solution rather than a temporary fix.
Our understanding of how the various building systems interact helps us to ensure that the project we complete is not simply a band-aid solution but rather that the sequence of repairs we suggest ensures that the work that is completed is protected from future damage from the underlying problem.
Preservation (maintaining what is existing) is the original green building solution.
Many new products are being introduced as green building – we would argue that existing buildings are inherently green and have many sustainable features, such as, durable and repairable materials not found in modern construction. The embodied energy within an existing building is lost when we tear-down to create a new green building. The reuse/repair of buildings also creates a smaller carbon footprint than building a new green building. Many of the modern building solutions retro-fitted into older buildings have caused our older buildings to become less efficient by reversing these modern changes (using the traditional building features in the manner in which they were intended) we can help rethink the assumptions generally made about older buildings and their efficiency.
Restoration activities (recreating what has been lost through neglect, damage, or modernization) can also be a green activity by reusing materials that have been salvaged from buildings being demolished.
Many of the visible features we use are salvaged materials from wide-board flooring with its original patina to the first growth White Oak used to create our reproduction window and door frames. Using these materials in our restoration projects helps to ensure that the building materials have been kept out of the land-fill and are reused as the ultimate form of recycling.
The architectural design and essence of the home when it was built should not be, and does not need to be, compromised to enjoy modern materials and conveniences.
Our complimentary approach using traditional building methods together with modern materials and current problem solving methods (when appropriate) are the best of what our built heritage and modern progress has to offer.
An exchange of ideas between all parties in a project is the fertile ground needed to nurture the best solutions.
Whether you choose to work with your own architect for the design of your project or use our own Design/Build system, we have the ability to carry out your vision for your space. And we believe that the flow of ideas between everyone in your project is what will produce the best end result.
Our homes are more than mere shelter, where and how we live reflects who we are.
Homes much like our personal lives change and evolve. Architecture is the snapshot of place and time past and present. As good stewards to our environment our duty is to establish, where needed, and retain practices that will allow us to enjoy the heritage of those who have come before us.
We believe that restoration of our vintage homes is a necessity if we are to thrive as a nation and that the past is our legacy to the future.
Keperling Preservation Services personnel are artisan craftsmen that approach their trade with the same integrity onsite and offsite and are involved in local and national Preservation and Historic organizations.
- Do you want a company whose approach to restoration is to create art?
- Do you appreciate a company whose principles on the site and in the shop oversee every aspect of the job?
- Is it important to you that we are committed to continuing our personal education in the Preservation Trades?
Average Project Budgets Begin at:
These average prices are based on previous projects. Prices will vary depending on project size (scope of work/ square footage), materials used, location and the amount of labor involved to create the end result the you desire.
Custom Kitchen Cabinetry
– $30,000.00
Sympathetic Additions
– $100,000.00 (average $300.00 per square foot)
Renovation of existing space
– $60,000.00
Whole House Restoration
– $400,000.00 (average $300.00 per square foot)
You have seen what we say about ourselves.
In the Fall of 2013, the Franklin Street Train Station project won the Architectural Woodwork Institute’s “Award of Excellence” and was featured in an article in the Fall 2013 edition of their Design Solutions magazine.
Here is what other people have to say about us:
Sunday News, Sunday, June 9, 2013, Lancaster, PA
Pointers from preservationists
By PAULA WOLF, Staff Writer
Did you know:
- Repointing a historic building’s bricks with modern mortar can cause deterioration
- Using cheap paint can permanently damage the surface to which it is applied?
- Installing aluminum and vinyl siding over wood siding means trading a product that can last 200-plus years for ones that last 50 to 60 years? These are just three of 10 mistakes people make when upgrading historic properties, according to Danielle Groshong-Keperling and her father, Charles Groshong.
Sunday News, Sunday, May 26, 2013, Lancaster, PA
Building on a respect for old structures
By ENELLY BETANCOURT, Staff Writer
“I started my life in an old house,’’ says the native Nebraskan.
“I lived in a home that my grandfather built for his family,and I was drawn to it. I always felt a need to take care of it.”
A city resident, Groshong is chairwoman of the Lancaster Historical Commission, which oversees new construction
and demolition of properties within the Heritage Conservation District.
The 64-year-old is a partner at K&G Artisan Builders, which is also known to local residents as Historic Restorations.
Old buildings, she notes, have survived all kinds of changes and they have stories to tell. “To me it’s about taking care of them and keeping that piece of our history alive,’’ she says.
“I believe that being a preservationist is a small thing I can do to make the world a better place.”
Intelligencer Journal and the Lancaster New Era, Thursday, August 9, 2012, Lancaster, PA
Lancaster city firm is restoring battlefield landmark
By LARRY ALEXANDER, Staff Writer
At around 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1, 1863, Lancaster-born Gen. John F. Reynolds drew rein at the Lutheran Theological Seminary just west of the town of Gettysburg.
“What’s the matter, John?” he shouted to Gen. John Buford from the cupola atop the seminary roof. Buford had been anxiously watching as his cavalrymen held back the long lines of Confederate infantry approaching the town.
“The devil’s to pay,” Buford called back and climbed down to confer with Reynolds.
Those were the opening moments of the Battle of Gettysburg. And while Reynolds would die two hours later, and Buford within six months, the building where they met, Schmucker Hall, still stands.
To ensure that the landmark structure maintains its historical integrity, a Lancaster firm is performing extensive restoration work.
“When we’re finished, Schmucker Hall will look just like it did during the Civil War,” said Danielle Keperling, who, with her husband, Jonathan, owns and operates Historic Restorations.
Intelligencer Journal and the Lancaster New Era, Wednesday, May 5, 2011, Lancaster, PA
Breathing life into home were Lincoln died
People know of Ford’s Theatre, where on April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln. Fewer people know of the Peterson House, where the stricken president was carried and treated, and where he died the next day.
Now, a team of Lancaster County woodworkers is toiling to restore the federal-style rowhouse in Washington, D.C., which has fallen into decline.
“The National Park Service…wants to save it from falling apart,” Chuck Groshong, co-owner of Historic Restorations at 341 E. Liberty St., said. “There had been some repairs down over the years that were shortsighted. There were a lot of ‘Band-Aid’ solutions. Now they have a plan.”
The Peterson House, built in 1849 by a German tailor, is owned by the federal Department of the Interior and is maintained as part of the…. To read the full article, click on the picture.
Sunday News, Sunday, September 9th, 2012, Lancaster, PA
Making Old New Again
When Richard and Dasa Redmond wanted to upgrade the kitchen in their 19th-century home, they chose a contractor who specializes in old properties.
Historic Restorations is known for its work on such landmarks as the Pterson House in Washington, D.C. – where President Abraham Lincoln died after being shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theare – but the Lancaster company also does smaller projects too.
Before tackling the Redmonds’ kitchen, Historic Restorations redid the front windows in their home, located in Lancaster City’s Old Town neighborhood. The job required city approval because of the residence’s historic character.
Lancaster New Era, Thursday, April 24, 2008, Lancaster, PA
Stuck On The Past
Chuck Groshong is an artist who fears his art is dying. He takes a traditional approach to building, sticking with mortise and tenon in a particle-board world.
Chuck runs Lancaster-based Historic Restorations, along with his wife Lois, their daughter Danielle Groshong-Kerperling, and her husband Jonathan Keperling.
From solid-wood custom cabinetry to additions that complement an older home’s original style, the family sees restoration as not just a job, but an art.
Lancaster City Living, Fall/Winter 2009/2010
Like New, but Better: Common Concerns About Historic Homes
No one could dispute the charm and unmatched character to be found in older homes — especially those in Lancaster City. The old-world architecture calls out to many potential buyers … and yet, their interest is often tempered by wariness at the potential costs involved with operating and maintaining an old house.
Will their utility bills be through the roof? Will they purchase the house, only to be saddled with expensive repairs a few months down the line?
Both Chuck Groshong of Historic Restorations and Mike Zimmerman of City Brick Restorations will tell you that there are ways to alleviate the common problems of energy efficiency (or lack thereof) and structural repair that often plague some historic houses.…
Sunday News, Sunday, August 4, 2013, Lancaster, PA
Preserving History
As it expands for the first time in years with its Providence Park neighborhood, Willow Valley Retirement Communities is also busy preserving Lancaster County’s history. Preserving HistoryA 1787 stone farmhouse on Willow Valley’s Lakes Campus — built by the grandson of Martin Meylin, inventor of the Pennsylvania long rifle — has just been renovated.
The purpose is to turn it into an interpretive center, where the history of Willow Valley’s older buildings and the area in general will be told, said John G. Swanson, president of Willow Valley Retirement Management Inc.
This project is “a good example of taking a historic building and blending it” with the present, said Joe Patterson, executive director of the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County.…