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. For the first time, Sears has opened the doors to its vast archival collection and invited the public to peek inside. We have encountered such a home in northern Dutchess County in New York State, one which looks just like a Sears model but To learn more about what houses we have found, where to learn more about Sears houses, how to find our blogs, and how to contact us for interviews or presentations, please follow the links available at the top of the page: The National List Authenticating Information & Education. Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago, Illinois. The materials were reportedly shipped in via railroad as a package. Once again, Sears has made history. Rosemary Thornton, a recognized expert on Sears kit homes, offers several tips to verify a homes Sears lineage. Scroll down to the section with that title, to learn more about plans-only companies. Presented at the Hudson Valley American Society of Home Inspectors HVASHI Annual Historic Homes Inspection-Seminar, Kingston, NY - I believe it is a Sears crescent model, built in 1935. 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). Period. Asking: $475,000 Sears Modern Homes Model: Vallonia (?) @Karen Marsh, The family has owned the Sears kit house ever since. One satisfied Sears homeowner, Edith Sides of Dallas, lived in a home that was built in 1911 and sold to her stepfather in 1917. But nestled in a golf course in Anderson, Indiana, we found this gorgeous and stately Sears catalog home that wouldnt look out of place in Greenwich, Connecticut or Westchester. with the KETC reporter, walks past and identifies several Sears home models. I believe we own one of the original sears homes. See full bio. This is a great resource for people in the St. Louis area. In 1952, my grandfather put up a Cape Cod style kit house in Wilton, CTModel # NM2137-4. - Keystone house plans (modern prefab construction) from Nelson Homes - https://nelson-homes.com/home-plans/keystone/ These customizable homes could be manufactured for anyone, anywhere. We just bought a 1929 Vallonia and now Im obsessed! . at $500. Unless you have developed a really good eye for recognizing the several-hundred models offered by Sears, for example, youd never know what house on a block with a kit house mixed in with other 1920s or 30s houses, was from a kit from Sears. Sears estimated that the average carpenter would charge $450 to . Homes offers a wide variety of energy efficient homes ranging in size from 950 to over 2300 square feet with prices starting as low as fifty dollars per square foot depending on style & size. We have affiliate partnerships with these companies and make money when we feature their products on the site. 1920. Thornton also suggests that inspectors check for identifying marks at plumbing access panels where you may find marks on wall studs in the bath wall cavity. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N61, Aladdin Homes. 35 Point St., New Hamburg, NY, a 936 sq.ft. 1920. Here are two examples of plans-only books, available through lumber yards and construction companies: Nonetheless, We're Always Looking For More Sears Modern Homes Kit Houses! The best place to start would be see If My House Is Not A Kit, Then Where Did It Come From?? Any ideas about the model of this home? @inspectapedia.com.moderator, @Jessica, Thank you so much. They included location specifics and many photos. two boxcars were needed to ship all of the parts to build a complete home) were brought by wagon to this site in the village of Wappingers Falls, NY. Here are five recent sales and listings of Sears homes around Chicagoland. If you havent sold it yet, Id be happy to refer someone to you in your area. 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. Have you gotten your home sold yet? This home retains its beautiful o. Try looking through the Sears kit home ID tips and photos and catalogs given on this page above. Sears prefabricated almost all of these homes in giant mills situated across the country. A 1952 kit home could have been a Sears Roebuck product, though that construction year is a decade past the Sears Modern kit home series. She explains that often a specific On 2022-01-17 They reportedly sold around 70,000 houses, and an estimated 70 percent of them are still standing. @Cathy, In fact, the Chelsea (a 2,000-square-foot foursquare) came with 840 square yards of wooden lath. They put out a catalog offering dozens of styles of homes you could have delivered right to your future doorstep.. Kit homes used drywall, asphalt shingles, and "balloon" style. We also had help - the home Please take a look there as that's more thorough than if I'm asked to make up that advice de-novo here. In 1940 the last "official" Sears kit house was sold and shipped to its owner. It comes with a 10-year-old garage, garden house in the backyard, an unfinished basement, and a floored attic. 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. The group has identified 2,700 Sears homes in Ohio and 2,300 in Illinois. Price: $569,000 Bungalow beauty: This beauty of a bungalow is tucked in the historic Westside neighborhood and has a newly remodeled kitchen and other modern upgrades. Please do take a look. On 2022-01-26 @Amy, We did not examine the mechanicals closely in this house, as they were not provided by Sears and Roebuck and were obtained locally. I wonder what else is in those archives! It's a duplex with a floorplan similar to model number 154 (1908-1914 cataloge). We know that there are two purported Sears kit homes on Route 302 in Bridgton, a Sears house in Saco, and there are likely more kit homes that have not yet been surveyed and identified in subdivisions from the 20s, 30s, and 40s in our communities. North American Construction Company, Bay City, Michigan. We describe and provide photographs of Sears Catalog homes, using examples of these homes located in the Hudson Valley of New York. Thanks for your interest! Indoors, large windows welcome in natural light. The first mail order for a Sears house was filled that year. which are definitely not Sears Catalog Houses are included in this list as a fun exercise for readers. By 1940 home designs, specifications (and building codes) Each house has a link that you can click on, that takes you to a resource to see the house (blog post, real estate listing, or Google map). and in the enamel of bath tubs in a corner near floor level. 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. There we list the manufacturers of kit or catalog homes sold in the United States and provide links to additional references, kit home identification, kit or catalog home restoration and repairs, and kit home architectural and hardware details, markings, and stencils. On 2021-08-18 Why not sell houses in kit form through his already ubiquitous Sears & Roebuck catalog? I am about to sell and would love any help in finding out more to pass on to the next buyer. Choosing the best hard money lenders for your investment projects can be tricky. These along with some houses I photographed Excerpting from this new website: Kirkwood homes that were originally thought to be Sears houses, but are not. Sold under the Sears Modern Homes brand, the kits soon became a huge hit; selling thousands of homes all across the country in the company's 33-year history. 69 reviews of The Home Depot "4 stars for home depot. Could this be a Sears Elsemore home? The houses were sold out of the pages of the Sears Roebuck catalog, and the houses in St. Louis were shipped from Cairo, Illinois. would a S&R house have had bead board on all walls and ceilings?? Each of the links in this section shows a photo with additional details of the interior of a Sears Kit Home. 1931. Most real estate company names are boring at best. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N61, Aladdin Houses. Asking: $379,900 Sears Roebuck Model: Elmhurst Year Built: 1932 Listing Agent: Julie Armington Listing Brokerage: F.C. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N61, Aladdin Homes. If My House Is Not A Kit, Where Did It Come From? Built in 1930, and the grandson of the original owner/builder told us it was a Sears house. Tucker/Crossroads. Thornton is also I've searched many catalogs with no luck. For example, Sears sold only, Rose and I have communicated recently about these houses, and she very graciously agreed to update her blog post to reflect that we now know that these are not actually Sears houses, as she is a strong believer in the importance of the accuracy of historic records (. From 1908 until 1940, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold over 70,000 kit houses through their Modern Homes and Honor Bilt catalogs. Sears Modern Homes were purchased primarily by customers in East Coast and Midwest states, but have been located as far south as Florida, as far west as . The reason these companies want to work with us is that they know our readers represent the most engaged, professional, and committed real estate agents online today. NTL Stacks TH4819.P7R42 1915, Robinson's Money-Saving Mill-Made Cut-To-Fit Houses. More difficult to find in some homes is the definitive stamp/stencil letter-number identification on framing lumber and trim, but it is often there for the diligent inspector, for example on. Most of the interior has been untouched other than the kitchen, which was remodeled by the previous owner (son of the builder) - the woodwork and detail is truly beautiful! For this week's listing of the week, we decided to find seven charming Sears Catalog homes you can actually buy today. 415 Kenwood, LaPorte, IN. The elegant archways and what looks like the coziest home office south of the Mason Dixon gave us an excuse to linger and wonder if running the site from Lexington, Kentucky would make sense, Asking: $1,150,000 Sears Modern Homes Model: Oakdale Year Built: 1923 Listing Agent: John McElveen Listing Brokerage: RE/MAX of Boulder. The Journal article (1/7/1990 F1-2), also identified other Sears Any idea where I might find plans from before 1908? More than 100 years of stories, product and brand histories, photographs, catalog images and more are now available online. Thornton rattles off some statistics about Sears Catalog homes and Price: $649,900 Horse haven:This 1932 catalog home sits on nearly 7 acres of fenced horse property. This article Love these homes. Thank you for this set of photos of your lovely home. We also edit Sears Kit House identification checklists and comment and books on Sears Homes by Rosemary Thornton. Since its original construction, especially viewed from the exterior, it would be tough to identify this as a kit home much less as an Aladdin kit home. 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. Any ASHI, NAHI, or other serious home inspector who has been working in the Hudson Valley of New York or for that matter in many other U.S. cities and towns for a decade or more has probably inspected several Sears Catalog homes, even if s/he did not recognize it at the time. as we describe above on this page. Sears kit homes were shipped via boxcar and came with a 75-page instruction book. Continue to look for the kit house identification clues discussed above on this page and in this article series. And, boy, did that post get some answers 743 comments, last I saw (of course, probably 50 or more of those, are my comments, trying to clarify and correct some of the answers that were, So, I thought maybe it's time to do a definitive blog post about where, in fact, the, Sears Modern Homes kits were sold from 1908 through about 1942, There were other major kit-house companies, (only a "possible"very likely NOT Sears, but a "lookalike"--possibly an Aladdin), The Back Story Of Kit Houses vs Non-Kit Houses. https://inspectapedia.com/Design/Aladdin-Kit-Homes-Catalog-1941.pdf. Some of the earliest kit houses had few markings or stencils but you still may be able to recognize common Hardware. 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. [Click to enlarge any image]. You will want to look for additional key details such as those given above on this page. 1 story, 2 br, chimney In middle. Located in Cairo Illinois, the largest of these mills covered nearly 40 acres, and the sheer variety of homes it shipped out was staggering. Share these engaging posts on Facebook & Instagram. Not every house in a community of 1920s-era houses, is a Sears house, for example far, far from it, in fact, as only about 2% of houses built in the kit era, were built with kits from Sears. Sears homes came in all shapes and sizes, and this Colonial hits a sweet spot with four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms spanning nearly 4,000 . 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. List of kit home catalogs available at National Trust Library: Log Cabins. More than 30 readers responded, with stories about how much they loved their Sears homes. In Chicago, Richard Sears had an equally disruptive idea. One of the best known Sears house locations is in Carlinville, Illinois, where Standard Oil of Indiana built a million-dollar development of 192 Honor Bilt houses for employees of Schoper coal mine (156 intended for miners and other workers, an additional 28 nearby and somewhat more deluxe meant for supervisors). C.H. 1924. Want even more free resources? detail which is still in place on a Sears house was unique to those homes and can help in their identification today, even though Between 1908 and 1940, more than 70,000 of these Sears Kit Homes were built across America. Sears "Lynnhaven" in York County, Virginia 2 /22 This exceptionally well-preserved Lynnhaven in York County, Virginia, retains that model's interior layout, which includes a kitchen, breakfast. 1. 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. Asking: $375,000 Sears Modern Homes Model: The Crescent Year Built: 1929 Listing Agent: Steve Heilig Listing Brokerage: Baird & Warner. The best place to start would be see match, interior hardware, and stencil marks make the identification of this home as a Sears catalog house quite clear. The milestones, introductions and stories fill volumes. Because the homes were so easy to tailor to their owners tastes, true Sears Modern Homes can be tricky to identify today. More than 370 different home designs in a wide range of . Located in NYS Adirondack region. Benefiting from Hunter's work as well as our own search we list a number of kit or catalog home manufacturers here. Also note how the large shed dormer comes off the ridge of the roof. Post a photo of what you find. As an amateur historian and NOCO Realtor, this list will be most helpful. Number 26. 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. ], Sears began offering Goodwall sheet plaster as a replacement for the more labor-intensive wood lath plaster systems used in older homes. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website. These type of details in addition to what we've noted in our earlier response may help with identification. A highly modified Sunbeam model Sears Modern (we think) this house also had a tasteful, adult hip renovation that looks like a Southern Home spread brought to life. Sears Homes. Price: $200,000 Happy home: This 880-square-foot, ranch-style home has two bedrooms. 12 Shocking Real Estate Facts: FREE Social Media Posts [Download]. The big thinkers at Sears Roebuck took ready-to-build homes one step further. We have a Sears Craftsman home that was built in 1910-1912 and would love to identify the style off home. Their best wall product was Goodwall Sheet Plaster, which was plaster encased in layers of heavy cardboard. was so identified and its history written in a Poughkeepsie Journal article in 1990. 920 North Madison Avenue, Anderson, Indiana Asking: $379,900 Daniel Friedman, Rosemary Thornton. Year Built: 1902 Listing Agent: Wally Kerr Listing Brokerage: Kerr Team Real Estate, Admittedly, this next listing gave us a fun puzzle to solve while we were trying to figure out its provenance. Keep it classy, please. @Judy Gehrlich, Using the Sears numbering system, the contents of the railroad boxcars (typically Thank you for the resources. Well, as fun as a puzzle can be under deadline I guess. 7 Tips for Building Your Sphere of Influence in Real Estate (+ Script), 31 Clever Real Estate Marketing Ideas for 2023, 33 Underrated Real Estate Lead Generation Ideas for 2023, Real Geeks Review: An In-depth Look at Features & Pricing, Want More Leads? GUIDE TO KIT HOUSES AND HOMES Are you able to tell me the model name is of the kit? 1917. Sears reported that more than 70,000 of these homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. You can read more about them here, here, here, and here. The American Foursquare house, defined by its distinctive cube shape and hip roof, was popular in the 1890-1930s, especially for its affordability. Please bookmark this page to make it easy for you to check back for our response. Im looking for information pertaining to Robinsons Kits. 2. and of course In some inspections you will find a few rafters or beams which show, Framing marks on other kit house brands and their framing lumber are discussed below at, Labels may be present on the back of millwork (baseboard, window, door trim, staircase) as Sears used a common supplier, "Sears, Roebuck and Company," or "925 Homan Ave. Chicago" may be present on shipping labels. 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. The Madeira Historical Society has this Sears home kit catalog from 1932. Sears heavily promoted these large sales in their advertising materials.

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