Controlliamo il tarlo prima che il rigattiere restauri il legno massello.

Controlliamo can mean either:

• we check / we are checking
• let’s check

Formally, the form is the same: 1st person plural present.

So without more context, both readings are possible. In a standalone sentence like this, many learners understand it as let’s check, because that sounds natural with an action to be done before something else happens. But grammatically, we check is also possible.

Because prima che is used when it is followed by a full clause with its own subject and verb:

• prima che il rigattiere restauri il legno massello

Here you have:

• subject: il rigattiere
• verb: restauri

By contrast, prima di is normally followed by an infinitive:

• prima di restaurare il legno massello

A very useful rule is:

• prima di + infinitive → when no new subject is introduced
• prima che + finite verb → when there is a clause with a subject

For example:

• Controlliamo il tarlo prima di restaurare il legno massello.
  = We/let’s check for woodworm before restoring the solid wood.
• Controlliamo il tarlo prima che il rigattiere restauri il legno massello.
  = We/let’s check for woodworm before the dealer restores the solid wood.

Because prima che normally requires the subjunctive in Italian.

So:

• prima che + subjunctive

That is why you get:

• il rigattiere restauri

and not:

• il rigattiere restaura

This is very common in Italian after conjunctions that introduce something uncertain, expected, or not yet realized. Since the restoration has not happened yet at the moment of checking, Italian uses the subjunctive.

For the verb restaurare, the forms are:

• Indicative present, lui/lei: restaura
• Subjunctive present, lui/lei: restauri

So the final -i is the clue here.

This pattern is very common with -are verbs in the present subjunctive:

• parlare → parli
• comprare → compri
• restaurare → restauri

Because the subject is il rigattiere (3rd person singular), restauri must be the present subjunctive.

Here tarlo is the literal noun referring to a wood-boring worm/larva, often translated more naturally as woodworm.

In Italian, tarlo can also be used figuratively to mean a nagging thought, obsession, or something that eats away at you mentally, but that is not the meaning here.

Because the sentence also mentions wood and restoration, the literal sense is clearly intended.

Rigattiere usually means something like:

• junk dealer
• second-hand dealer
• dealer in old furniture/used objects

It does not always mean a refined antique dealer. If you specifically mean an antique dealer, antiquario is often the better word.

So rigattiere gives a more humble, second-hand, old-goods feeling than antiquario.

Italian uses the definite article more often than English does.

In this sentence, the articles help present the nouns as specific or contextually identifiable:

• il tarlo = the woodworm / the woodworm problem
• il rigattiere = the dealer
• il legno massello = the solid wood

English often drops articles where Italian keeps them, so you cannot always translate word-for-word.

For example, English might say:

• check for woodworm before a dealer restores solid wood

But Italian naturally prefers:

• controllare il tarlo
• il rigattiere
• il legno massello

So this is partly vocabulary and partly normal Italian usage.

Because in Italian, the main noun usually comes first, and the describing word follows it.

So:

• legno = wood
• massello = solid, solid wood type

Together:

• legno massello = solid wood

This is the normal fixed expression. In English, the modifier usually comes first (solid wood), but in Italian it often comes after the noun.

It functions like a descriptive element, but legno massello is also a very common set phrase meaning solid wood.

You will often see:

• mobile in legno massello = solid-wood piece of furniture
• tavolo in legno massello = solid-wood table

So it is best to learn legno massello as a chunk.

Italian word order is somewhat flexible, but this version is the most neutral and natural.

Standard order here is:

• verb: Controlliamo
• object: il tarlo
• time/subordinate clause: prima che il rigattiere restauri il legno massello

You could change the order for emphasis, for example:

• Prima che il rigattiere restauri il legno massello, controlliamo il tarlo.

This is still correct, but it emphasizes the before clause more strongly.

So the original order is not the only possible one, but it is a very normal, straightforward choice.