Stamps or marks will tell you which supplier supplied Sears with the millwork, Norwood Sash and Door of Ohio. The updated five-bedroom home is zoned for residential and commercial use, which makes it a great opportunity for a bed-and-breakfast or live-work space. 1931. Small Prefab Homes: 'The Best-Kept Secret in America'? With this new book, even the inexperienced can make "educated" conclusions about whether or not a home is one of the 75,000+ Sears catalog kit homes that were sold between 1908 and 1940. You're welcome to post your photos - one per comment - on that page or on any of the recommended article pages you'll find at the end of that page. Above is the original catalog Sears homes can be found across the continental United States. Sears heavily promoted these large sales in their advertising materials. Bill and Diana Zoeller's dog Bear stands on the original flooring inside their Craftsman home. Take a look at the kit house identification clues discussed above on this page and in this article series. - source: https://searshomes.org/index.php/2014/02/14/its-a-mystery/. Share these engaging posts on Facebook & Instagram. @inspectapedia.com.moderator, These along with some houses I photographed Sears kit houses were built from 1908-1942. , and the models offered by Sears followed the design trends of those decades. I'm omitting the famous Wilton gingerbread house and Wilton gingerbread house kits sold by Sears as that's a food product not an actual house. The following excerpt is from Rosemary Thornton's book cited on this page: In 1915, Sears offered Wood Fiber Wall Board, an early sheetrock-type alternative to lath and plaster. I love the video from Chicago. On 2022-03-06 1936. I have included an image of it. They reportedly sold around 70,000 houses, and an estimated 70 percent of them are still standing. And give us the country and city of location of the home. 1925. I would love some insight! These type of details in addition to what we've noted in our earlier response may help with identification. Indoors, large windows welcome in natural light. I'm doubtful we can confirm the Sears kit origin from a photo alone; as you note there were Sears kits for popular home designs built stick by stick as well as copycat kits; You'd want to find stamps on lumber, hardware details or other details given above on this page. . Required fields are marked *. This is a great resource for people in the St. Louis area. Thanks!! 8/9. Kit and Plan Homes by Bungalow Man. - Keystone house plans (modern prefab construction) from Nelson Homes - https://nelson-homes.com/home-plans/keystone/ Rather than trying to include all the information from the above article, the best procedure would be to go through the Sears Kit House identification steps and details given above on this page. I have researched over th years trying to find the original plan or any information on the floor plan. then left the rest to the construction company. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N61, Aladdin Homes. AUTHOR:Eric Beechem (no email) Our client traced the sale and construction of the home to This photo is of an Aladdin kit home constructed in Tivoli, New York. Located on a tree-lined street in a lovely, mature neighborhood, the property has had the same owner for 25 years. From 1908 until 1940, Sears, Roebuck and Company, then headquartered on the West Side of Chicago, We describe and provide photographs of Sears Catalog homes, using examples of these homes located in the Hudson Valley of New York. the identification of Sears Catalog or Kit homes and including references to other expert books and resources on Homes Sears Homes Enthusiasts Following is a list of Sears Homes enthusiasts who have agreed to share their names with others who might be interested in contacting them by clicking on their name. Only one image can be added per comment but you can post as many comments, and therefore images, as you like. We may have a kit house, pic from the 30's, abandoned for 35 years, have more pics if needed What do you think so far? For more information on who we are, and what we do, visit our website: This question was recently posed in a FaceBook group that focuses on St. Louis history. This home retains its beautiful o. A nationally recognized founder, branding expert, and industry thought leader, Emile cut his teeth in real estate in 2007 crafting marketing strategies for the Chrysler and MetLife Buildings. I've searched many catalogs with no luck. Wagon loads of house materials were brought wagon-by-wagon in the proper order for construction while the boxcar sat on a siding. Any idea where I might find plans from before 1908? Thornton is also Here are some tips for how to make this career choice work for you. If My House Is Not A Kit, Then Where Did It Come From?? Fully renovated in 2011, the home won the Moore Country Home Builders Associations Excellence Award for the Best Historic Renovation. The article above gives both lists of Sears kit home identification points or details and also lists of plan books and catalogs that one can leaf through. They are always welcome. as we describe above on this page. We also had help - the home 1920. If you look at an old Sears catalog, youll find that while kit houses did not include plaster (due to shipping weight), your 12,000-piece kit house did come with good quality lath. When most people think of Sears catalog homes, they imagine Cape Cods or Craftsman style bungalows with columned porches. The houses were sold out of the pages of the Sears Roebuck catalog, and the houses in St. Louis were shipped from Cairo, Illinois. Here are five recent sales and listings of Sears homes around Chicagoland. All Locations for Home Improvement & Repair National team, Local service We serve all major metropolitan areas and more, with over 6,800 technicians in the field every day. Presented at the Hudson Valley American Society of Home Inspectors HVASHI Annual Historic Homes Inspection-Seminar, Kingston, NY - Instead of hiring an architect and an army of carpenters, prospective homeowners could now simply place an order and get plans and building materials delivered right to their property. A Sears house is: not a steel panel house (those are usually Lustron houses), not every Craftsman, bungalow, or Dutch Colonial style house you come across (though Sears did offer many Craftsman, bungalow, English cottage, Dutch Colonial, and Colonial style houses as did every other house company), not a house built after 1942 (or before 1908), not the only brand of kit house that existed (other companies include Gordon-Van Tine, Aladdin Homes, Bennett Homes, Wardway homes, and others). NTL Stacks TH4819.P7R42 1915, Robinson's Money-Saving Mill-Made Cut-To-Fit Houses. Specially prepared plaster was also sold in bags of the hard plaster and top coat hard plaster to be applied over this Sears plasterboard. Why not sell houses in kit form through his already ubiquitous Sears & Roebuck catalog? Keep it classy, please. Included in the overall purchase, were all elements needed for the house, from lumber to roofing; wiring and plumbing; windows and door knobs, and hinges and nails and screws; staircases and all of their parts, pre-mitered; flooring, bath tubs and sinks and faucets; kitchen cabinets and ironing boards; window screens, window shades, and light fixtures. More than 30 readers responded, with stories about how much they loved their Sears homes. In 1908, Sears issued its first specialty catalog for houses, Book of Modern Homes and Building Plans, featuring 44 house styles ranging in price from US $360-$2,890. 870,000. Buyers of a Sears Kit home saved about one third of the typical construction costs of their era. A nationally recognized founder, branding expert, and industry thought leader, Emile cut his teeth in real estate in 2007 crafting marketing strategies for the Chrysler and MetLife Buildings. On 2022-01-17 Please do take a look. We've had less success finding details about other kit home companies selling in the United States and Canada, though Rebecca Hunter has compiled a list of a variety of kit house companies. A local example of this is LaPorte, Indiana, where Sears sold 50 houses in one subdivision. The group has identified 2,700 Sears homes in Ohio and 2,300 in Illinois. the author of books on identifying Sears houses, cited at REFERENCES below, and @Carlyn, The Sears Modern Homes catalog from 1930. These "kits" came with almost everything that would be necessary to . Price: $629,000 Charming cottage:Sitting smack dab in the historic district of Pinehurst, this home was assembled from a Sears kit in 1929 on one of the largest lots in the area. Let us know in the comments! I always thought it was a Sears kit house, but the work Keystone sits in my memory, as well. homes have been much modified or expanded since their original construction. The family has owned the Sears kit house ever since. Would love to find them. Harris Brothers Company, Chicago, Illinois. BOOKS ON SEARS AND OTHER KIT OR CATALOG HOUSES. Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago, Illinois. I havent found any other obvious stamps. 1908 was a heady year for technology. For some of these items, there were options (type of wiring, heating, plumbing fixtures, for example, or upgrades for flooring and trim wood), and any masonry items were purchased through Sears, but obtained through a local supplier, rather than being shipped by Sears. I know New Hamburg well, having spent a lifetime nearby in Poughkeepsie. So far we haven't found Sears identifying marks, but will be renovating the basement soon and will be able to look more closely. In 1952, my grandfather put up a Cape Cod style kit house in Wilton, CTModel # NM2137-4. For readers whose Sears Kit home used Sears Goodwall plasterboard as a plaster base (in stead of wood or wire lath) you might be able to find a "Goodwall Sheet Plaster" stamped on the wall-cavity side of the rock lath and you might notice that the rock-lath sections were usually 4' x 4' - unlike modern drywall and fiberboard products that were and are more-often 4' x 8' or longer. Get actionable real estate strategy in your inbox. Your planned basement project may very well give you added clues to your home's identification. Sears opened Modern Homes sales centers in several cities, including two inMissouri - one in St. Louis and one in Kansas City. Only seven Magnolias are known to exist, including one at 1500 James St., Syracuse. Additional keys for identifying kit homes are given on the page above. North Avenue, in Pleasant Valley, NY, a "gothic cottage" Crescent model built in 1932 for $1761. The 1913 volume featured 112 designs for homes for which homeowners could purchase a kit that was delivered with all the materials needed to construct the home. SEARS KIT HOME IDENTIFICATION at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice. Beds/Baths: 2 bedrooms and 1 full bath. The house has been expanded and modified. Thornton rattles off some statistics about Sears Catalog homes and modular home company) - https://www.homesbykeystone.com/ C.H. Please take a look there as that's more thorough than if I'm asked to make up that advice de-novo here. by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. What About The Train's Role In All Of This? with the KETC reporter, walks past and identifies several Sears home models. Also note how the large shed dormer comes off the ridge of the roof. That last house in Boulder, Colorado is a perfect example of the 1920s version of the Sears Oakdale, not the Clyde. which lacks the Sears identifying stencils on framing and other key details. Better yet, can you identify the model for the listings we couldnt quite get? The fact that there was a railroad in the town, or running behind a house, does not really make it any more likely to have Sears houses in the town. Sears Modern Homes were catalog and kit houses sold primarily through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Co., an American retailer.. From 1908 to 1942, Sears sold more than 70,000 of these houses in North America, by the company's count. match, interior hardware, and stencil marks make the identification of this home as a Sears catalog house quite clear. We did not examine the mechanicals closely in this house, as they were not provided by Sears and Roebuck and were obtained locally. Price: $649,900 Horse haven:This 1932 catalog home sits on nearly 7 acres of fenced horse property. NTL Stacks TH4819.P7H27 1918, Ready Built buildings. For most of its years in operation, the Sears Modern Homes department served its customers from three locations: In Cairo, Illinois, Sears had a 40-acre lumber and millwork plant. Later volumes offered up to 370 designs. Sears Homes. tips and photos with this article. Thank you Rus, that's helpful detail. As the need for suburban housing grew, construction of neighborhoods of modest homes was needed. The Keystone name has come up before in searching for kit house history and plans, but searching is confounded by current companies using that name. Asking: $2,395,000 Sears Modern Homes Model: Wabash Year Built: 1913 Listing Agent: Hartman Cole Real Estate Listing Brokerage: Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Venice, In the non-conformist boomer paradise of Venice, California, we stumbled across this jaw dropping and lovingly renovated Wabash model Sears Catalog home. Price: $200,000 Happy home: This 880-square-foot, ranch-style home has two bedrooms. I wonder what else is in those archives! The best starting place is to read through the article above on this page. Sears promised that this sheet plaster was superior to lath and plaster for many reasons, including its fire resistant qualities. In fact, the Chelsea (a 2,000-square-foot foursquare) came with 840 square yards of wooden lath. Apologies for the delay. This home is in Dansville, NY and was built in 1930. Hello, Im looking for help identifying my home. @Dee, Examples have also been found in Alaska. While I have expanded, edited, and illustrated this list based on our own field experience, and we have added photographs and other details, this material has its origin in Thornton's books Or use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia, Questions & answers or comments about Sears kit homes: sources, history, identification, repair, inspection. Asking: $379,900 Sears Roebuck Model: Elmhurst Year Built: 1932 Listing Agent: Julie Armington Listing Brokerage: F.C. - Stacey Vairo et als, HISTORIC AND ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY FOR THE TOWN OF WILTON, CONNECTICUT [PDF] (2018) Wilton Historical Society, http://wiltonhistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-Survey-Narrative.pdf also available at So before you open up yet another Superior Realty, check out these examples, branding tips and our very own name generator. and this 1941 ALADDIN KIT HOME CATALOG (see for example the Brentwood, Brewser, Bristol, and Norfolk model Aladdin homes) From 1908 until 1940, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold over 70,000 kit houses through their Modern Homes and Honor Bilt catalogs. North American Construction Company, Bay City, Michigan. In the early 20th century, Sears sold up to 75,000 mail-order homes (per NPR).In 1888, the Chicago-based company launched their first catalog.According to The Craftsman Blog, a variety of goods could be bought and delivered to the customer's front door.In 1908, however, the company decided to push the envelope; Sears was now going to sell and deliver houses via their Sears Modern Homes Catalog. Once again, Sears has made history. As an amateur historian and NOCO Realtor, this list will be most helpful. Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca, Click to Show or Hide Citations & References. You will not receive a notification when a response to your question has been posted. Asking: $375,000 Sears Modern Homes Model: The Crescent Year Built: 1929 Listing Agent: Steve Heilig Listing Brokerage: Baird & Warner. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N6, Thanks to Ralph & Elizabeth Arlyck for information regarding Aladdin Kit homes - June 2010, Aladdin House Catalog, in reprint form, is available from Amazon.com, Aladdin Houses are cataloged by the Arts & Crafts Society at http://64.66.180.31/archive/aladdin.shtml, More information including a description of the Aladdin model. ). Your #1 Source For Actionable Real Estate Advice. On 2021-12-22 In short, it's a house whose blueprints and building supplies were ordered from a specialty Sears catalog, and all of these supplies were shipped, by rail (primarily), to the homeowner (who either chose to build the house himself, or use a contractor to arrange the construction). Also see this Sears Milford Kit home from the same 1933-1940 period: (Model No. ADORABLE Sears-kit home! this house in near Novato California in Marin County. it has a small enclosed front porch. Between 1908 and 1940, Sears sold about 70,000 kit homes in 48 states through their mail-order Modern Homes program, with 370 designs that you might not readily recognize as a kit. Above is the original catalog description of this home at 15 N. Remsen, Wappingers Falls, NY Three neighbors - three Sears catalog homes were built in a row by Wappingers grocer Adolph Von Vorstel on N. Remsen Ave. in Wappingers Falls. Great finda Sears "Magnolia" in Canton, Ohio, and its catalog listing. Look for additional clues besides lumber stamping, such as hardware, windows, etc. Sears Archives Home Page On 2022-02-01 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. Minor andmajor changes - from adding a few more windows to changing from a hip roof to agabled roof - were suggested and encouraged. One of the most fascinating parts of the story, is that the framing lumber was (in most cases) pre-cut and labeled, allowing the homebuilder to follow an instruction booklet to help in the organized construction process. St. Louis is home to a small neighborhood of pre-fab kit homes made by the Gunnison homes company, in 1949. One of the most fascinating parts of the story, is that the framing lumber was (in most cases) pre-cut and labeled, allowing the homebuilder to follow an instruction booklet to help in the organized construction process. - Thornton, op. This home was built from a Sears & Roebuck kit delivered by rail & moved from the train depot to its current location in 1914. Aladdin Homes. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N61, Aladdin Houses. Here, then, is a list of all of the Sears Modern Homes kit houses that we have found, in the broad area of the city of St. Louis, and St. Louis County (and those two examples in St. Charles County). Lake Worth, Florida. Asking: $374,900 Sears Modern Homes Model: The Sunbeam Year Built: 1924 Listing Agent: Robin Donovan Listing Brokerage: Coldwell Banker West Shell Northern Kentucky. NTL FOLIO TH4819.P7S435 1920, A Plan Book of Harris Homes. And with this stroke of genius, the Sears & Roebuck Kit Homes were born. These customizable homes could be manufactured for anyone, anywhere. A 1925 Colonial-style home in Washington, D.C., that sold last year for $1.06 million had humble beginnings. While sold primarily to East Coast and Midwest states, Sears homes have been located as far south as Florida and as far west as California. Sears offered these houses from 1908-1940 and there were 370 different designs. I once owned a home in Houston Tx, which according to records was built in 1906 (Although the date could be a few years off either way) I am having difficulty confirming if this was a Sear kit home or a copy cat mfgr. Square Footage: 1,356. 1917. Some early experiments by Sears included selling a kit to build Have you gotten your home sold yet? @Rossman6798, A couple of years ago I became more interested in catalog and kit houses as Chicagoland is full of them, many coming from local companies like Sears, Montgomery Ward, and the Harris Brothers. A Sears house is: every Craftsman, bungalow, or Dutch Colonial style house you come across (though Sears did offer many Craftsman, bungalow, English cottage, Dutch Colonial, and Colonial style houses as did every other house company), a house built after 1942 (or before 1908), the only brand of kit house that existed (other companies include Gordon-Van Tine, Aladdin Homes, Bennett Homes, Wardway homes, and others), The answer to this question can be found on.