A Life Spent Learning from Old Buildings

Rob Cagnetta, Founder & President

Rob Cagnetta founded Heritage Restoration in 2001, and he has spent the 25 years since working on the buildings that carry New England’s history, from timber frames and church steeples to one-room schoolhouses and Gilded Age homes. His approach has never changed. Understand why something failed before you fix it, save every piece of original material that can be saved, and leave the building ready for the next hundred years.

Education and Training

Rob graduated from the Historic Preservation Program at Roger Williams University with a minor in Architecture. He apprenticed in the traditional building trades, then served as Director of the Institute for Preservation Training (IPT) at Goodwill Industries of Rhode Island, where he led hands-on preservation training while completing work on National Park Service properties, state historic sites, and private homes throughout New England.

Trades and Standards Leadership

Rob is an active voice in the preservation trades. He serves on the Preservation Trades Network and the Window Preservation Standards Committee, where he helps shape national best practices for window conservation. Heritage Restoration also co-authored Newport’s lead-safe historic window guide with the City of Newport and the Newport Restoration Foundation.

Awards and Honors

  • Askins Achievement Award, for exceptional contributions to the traditional building trades and preservation community

  • 2022 Rhody Homeowner Award, 1898 Queen Anne, Providence

  • 2010 Doris Duke Historic Preservation Award, LeRoy King House, with Heritage recognized for “window restoration and devoted attention to innumerable details”

  • 2010 Providence Preservation Society Project of the Year, 1790 Cooke House

  • 2009 Rhody Award, 1790 Cooke House

  • 2006 Rhode Island State Historic Preservation Award for Best Project, Bridgeton School, Burrillville

In the Community

Today, Rob serves as President of Heritage Restoration, Inc., Vice President of Sutherland Welles, Ltd., and Chair of the South Kingstown Zoning Board.

Heritage is more than a workplace. The crew brings back buttons for each other after vacations, there is a cake for every birthday, and whoever is celebrating has to hold the party potato while everyone sings. That same care goes into every old window, door, and floor we save for the people who live with them.

Meet the Team

  • Paul, Project Supervisor at Heritage Restoration

    Paul

    Project Supervisor

    As Project Supervisor, Paul oversees restoration and construction projects from start to finish. He manages scopes and budgets, works through the surprises old buildings tend to reveal, and makes sure each client’s expectations are met. Paul also conducts historic building surveys that help owners prioritize and plan their restoration work. Before joining Heritage, he served as Director of Preservation for Preserve Rhode Island and as Construction Project Lead for the Newport Restoration Foundation.

  • Jackie of Heritage Restoration with one of the office dogs

    Jackie

    Jackie is a Boston native and a self-described history nerd. She has worked with historical societies and museums, studied at MassBay Community College and Framingham State University, and is one class away from a master’s in public history. Education has always been her passion, so a job that teaches her something new every day suits her well, and the office pets are a bonus. She also holds four black belts and a sensei title, which turned out to be an unexpected path into historic restoration.

  • Kaitlyn, carpenter at Heritage Restoration, working on site

    Kaitlyn

    Carpenter

    Kaitlyn joined Heritage in March 2025 and is grateful to be learning carpentry from the talented craftspeople around her. She studied drawing and painting at Pratt, earned a BFA in Metalsmithing from SUNY New Paltz, and spent seven years as a silversmith at Tiffany & Co. Her interest in preservation grew out of work on her own old house. She enjoys both shop and site work, is always glad to lend her expertise on anything metal, and especially likes the projects that get her outside on a beautiful day.

  • Bellamy, carpenter at Heritage Restoration

    Bellamy

    Carpenter

    Bellamy works as Heritage’s “shop swing,” splitting time between the window shop, the wood shop, and job sites in roughly equal measure. That work covers a little of everything, from window repair and restoration to door fabrication, onsite framing and structural repair, and finish trim. Bellamy started in carpentry as a handyman’s apprentice, then spent years in professional theater as a scenic carpenter and later as a Technical Director running the scene shop.

  • Bryan

    Carpenter

    Bryan has been a carpenter for 30 years. He grew up in Connecticut, studied at Roger Williams University, and moved to Rhode Island in 2025, joining Heritage that June. In his words, it is a great company with an awesome crew, and he feels lucky to be part of it.

  • Lindsay Hart, Chief Operating Officer of Heritage Restoration

    Lindsay Hart

    Chief Operating Officer

    Lindsay Hart is a graduate of the Historic Preservation Program at Roger Williams University and the steady heart of Heritage Restoration. She began her career working alongside Rob in the field, tackling everything from roofs and foundations to framing and siding, and traveling up and down the East Coast in challenging conditions, even while expecting her first child. After time spent raising her family, Lindsay returned to Heritage and quickly became the organizational force that holds the company together. As Chief Operating Officer, she oversees operations with clarity, compassion, and competence, and she is the patient, knowledgeable presence behind every phone call and email who keeps projects on track and clients supported.