The materials of traditional New England
The Old Canaan Standard is the specific identification of a material — the grade, source, specification, and context that makes it the right choice for traditional New England work.
The knowledge that separates a well-built traditional property from one that merely approximates the aesthetic has always existed. It lives in the heads of old builders, in the sample rooms of good suppliers, in the specifications of architects who have been doing this work for decades. Old Canaan makes it findable.
Each entry in the archive ends with The Standard — a precise, plain-language specification you can bring to a supplier. Not a brand recommendation. Not a product endorsement. The identification of the thing itself.
Over time, the Standard becomes a shorthand. A homeowner walks into a supplier and asks for the Old Canaan Standard for pea gravel. The supplier knows what that means. This is how trust accumulates — entry by entry, material by material.
River-washed pea gravel, 3/8" grade. Native New England origin. Color range: warm grey, buff, pale rose. Installed over compacted crusher run base at 2 to 3 inches depth. Edged in Belgian block or granite cobble.
Read the full entry →Natural cleft bluestone, full range or select blue, for traditional terraces and historic applications. Thermal bluestone for formal, precise applications. Specify the finish, specify the color range, and look at it wet before committing.
Read the full entry →Reclaimed New England fieldstone for walls, foundations, and landscape applications. Dry-laid construction for freestanding walls at grade. Mortared construction for foundations and chimneys with grey or tan mortar. No manufactured stone veneer.
Read the full entry →Eastern white cedar shingles, Extra grade, 16-inch, re-butted and re-jointed. Unfinished for coastal installations. Bleaching oil at installation for inland projects where true silver-grey is the goal. 5-inch maximum exposure.
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