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            For roughly 250 years, a small saltbox once owned by Silias and Lucian Stuart, who produced sewing machine needles out of their South Nelson Road shop, has been a reminder of the town’s industrial past.

            Tom Green of Colonial Restorations and current property owner Ken C. of Sterling didn’t expect the ailing structure to last much longer.

            “It was time to start preserving it or tear it down,” Ken said, “and it seemed a shame not to keep it.”

            On the verge of collapsing last fall, the building needed to be stabilized as soon as possible.  Green, who specializes in structural restoration and repairing post and beam houses and barns, knew he had his work cut out for him.

            The unoccupied structure just feet from South Nelson Road was without a stable roof for decades.  With the roof’s large holes and rotted beams, it was more than obvious the building was going to eventually topple.

            “It was sagging so bad that it formed the letter C,” said Green as he pointed to a beam in the cellar.  “You don’t want things to collapse naturally. You want it controlled.” 

            Green started working on the saltbox last September.  It took weeks just to stabilize the building so it was safe enough to work on.  He did a lot of jacking and pulling together of the building.  He had as many as 30 jacks in the basement to secure the feeble structure.

Rough shape

            “I started off doing things so the building wouldn’t fall over,” he said.

            The structure was in rough shape.  The brick wall at the base of the foundation was slanted at a 45 degree angle, ready to give way.  It took five days just to clean out the building, as they filled a dumpster with years worth of junk. 

            Green, a Brookfield resident, replaced 15 major beams and repaired many others.  He installed a new roof, rafters, and board sheathing covered with plywood.  The right side and back of the saltbox were covered with cedar shakes, while the front was clad with a specially-cut clapboard, which were scarfed and attached with Tremont nails.

            Green said doing the little things, such as using nails from Wareham’s Tremont Nail Company, the oldest nail manufacturer in the United States, is what makes his work stand out.  For this project, he also used floorboards from a barn in Pepperell and most of the beams came from a carriage shed on the same South Nelson Road property.

            Green want to make sure his restorations, such as the boards on the front of the saltbox, are as authentic as possible.  “It’s very subtle, but it’s one of the things that makes the house look older.”

            He topped off the project by painting the barn door, front door, and trim red.

            “He’s done such a good job,” owners said.

Rich history

            The saltbox, built in the 1730s, originally had a gable roof.  In the 1850s, the owners moved the house across the street to its current foundation and attached an addition to the rear, converting it into a saltbox.  The building was then used as a workshop for the Stuarts’ sewing needle business.

            “If it’s built in 1880, I consider it a new building,” laughed Green, who prefers to work on older structures.

            Ford Road resident Vern G. hired Green to work on his Princeton Road barn, then recommended him to the Cransons.  “His building was literally the most dangerous I’ve worked on,” noted Green, referring to his barn.  “This saltbox might be in second place behind the barn as far as not being stable.”

            After seven months of tedious labor, Green can stand back and appreciate his work.  It’s tough to tell now that the house was on the verge of collapsing last fall.

            “You have to enjoy this work or you wouldn’t do it,” he added.

            Green hasn’t always been interested in restoring old structures.  A graduate of UMass, he was working for a railroad company when he decided to help a friend renovate his house.  After that project Green was hooked, and has been in the business for 17 years.

            Now, 85 percent of his business is work of mouth, referrals or repeat customers.  He also takes part in restoration shows in Boston, and has served on a panel of restoration experts.

            “I’ve done projects ranging from $45 to six figures,” Green said.  “When I do a building, I was to say that it’s going to last another couple hundred years.”