Fairfield Foundation directors knew it would be a long-term, expensive project to restore the deteriorating Edgehill service station they purchased in May, but they did not anticipate the need for immediate repairs. Now they have found a leaking roof has led to rotting sills and the danger of walls collapsing in on the Gloucester Main Street landmark.

"The gable roof can be repaired, but we need to replace the flat section of the roof," said Foundation co-director Thane Harpole during a tour of the building last week. "Water has been pooling on it, leading to rot and termites. And because it drips down inside the walls, the sills are gone at the bottom. A lot of the studs will be okay but, in a lot of ways, plaster and lath are holding the building up."

Replacing the flat roof was a priority in the restoration plans but a recent behind-the-walls inspection has revealed the immediacy of that work. "The building may look like a masonry structure from the ou...