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. For nearly 100 years the home has been meticulously cared for and features hardwood flooring, enclosed front porch, and renovated kitchen. Thornton is also 8/9. We have a Sears Craftsman home that was built in 1910-1912 and would love to identify the style off home. And give us the country and city of location of the home. By downloading, youll automatically subscribe to our weekly newsletter. by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. Sears promised that this sheet plaster was superior to lath and plaster for many reasons, including its fire resistant qualities. Homes has been a family owned & operated home center. The columns are pure Sears Modern, as is the awning, but like 920 North Madison, it seems to have grown in size over the past few decades. We have encountered such a home in northern Dutchess County in New York State, one which looks just like a Sears model but this house in near Novato California in Marin County. 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? Galeries Lafayette - department store; France. It would be worthwhile to gain visual access to the next rafter or stud bay to the left of that shown in your photo where you may see a kit number or manufacturer's name. Between 1908 and 1940, more than 70,000 of these Sears Kit Homes were built across America. BOOKS ON SEARS AND OTHER KIT OR CATALOG HOUSES. Hipercor - hypermarkets; Spain. Choosing the best hard money lenders for your investment projects can be tricky. Tucker/Crossroads. Im looking for information pertaining to Robinsons Kits. The Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan. Are you able to tell me the model name is of the kit? Here are five recent sales and listings of Sears homes around Chicagoland. 1908 was a heady year for technology. It also has a daydream-worthy covered porch with three exposures; a perfect spot for a late summer dinner. 1920. 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. However, we do work with a select group of software companies and service providers that we feel provide real value for our readers. Outdoors, a large deck in the backyard offers an ideal spot for warm-weather entertaining. description of this home at 15 N. Remsen, Wappingers Falls, NY. Tell us about you so we know what to send. Thanks for your interest! This Sears Sunbeam is a lovely example and in original condition. I would love an opinion. @Amy, A 1921 catalog of Sears kit homes offers the Magnolia for $6,488. The first complete Sears Kit homes, that is, residences, were marketed Your planned basement project may very well give you added clues to your home's identification. a blog post about the Sears houses in Kirkwood, A few catalog covers (1918 through the 1920s) for. One of many Sears houses built in 1912 by a realty company. Presented at the Hudson Valley American Society of Home Inspectors HVASHI Annual Historic Homes Inspection-Seminar, Kingston, NY - Homes Q&A: : Does Sears Holdings give permission to reproduce catalog pages or images from its catalogs, and or other . Apartment in Munich, Upper Bavaria. Sears estimated that a plasterer would charge you $200, which included nailing up all those thin strips of lath and applying three coats of plaster (1916). Apologies for the delay. In addition to the four-bedroom home, the purchase price includes a workshop, a covered, outdoor entertaining area, an 1894 restored barn with attached two-car garage, a clubhouse, and a horse barn. Price: $179,900 Historic house:Built in 1911, this Sears home sits on a large, corner lot in a historic district, surrounded by antebellum homes. 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. cited at "References" below. 1915. and this 1941 ALADDIN KIT HOME CATALOG (see for example the Brentwood, Brewser, Bristol, and Norfolk model Aladdin homes) The total cost for this house was $1500. Minor andmajor changes - from adding a few more windows to changing from a hip roof to agabled roof - were suggested and encouraged. So look instead for those key ID points, hardware, stencil marks, etc. The best place to start would be see I did find some blue grease pencil numbers but they are hard to make out. also see our Aladdin kit homes and catalogs found at Sears Goodwall was touted as more fire-resistant than alternative plant-based fiberboard sheathing products. We believe it might be a Sears Elsemore model, as it has the exact same floor plan, including the "reception room" in the front entrance, which was apparently unique to that model. If My House Is Not A Kit, Where Did It Come From? She explains that often a specific A Sears catalog home fan website, searshomes.org discusses the plaster systems used in older homes, including Sears kit homes. match, interior hardware, and stencil marks make the identification of this home as a Sears catalog house quite clear. by danjoefriedman (mod). Sure, the windows are modernized along with a few skylights and what looks like an addition with vaulted ceilings, but the facade has largely stayed true to its architectural vision. 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. Continue to look for the kit house identification clues discussed above on this page and in this article series. 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. 5 stars for john, the appliance guy. Historic house: Built in 1911, this Sears home sits on a large, corner lot in a historic district, surrounded by antebellum homes. Even better, unlike the other homes weve seen so far, 1670 Whitcomb seems largely untouched from its original design. the identification of Sears Catalog or Kit homes and including references to other expert books and resources on Located in the desirable Converse Heights neighborhood, the home greets visitors with a large front porch. Price: $239,000 Converse Heights: Built in 1925, this three-bedroom, Arts and Craftsstyle home shines. In Chicago, Richard Sears had an equally disruptive idea. I would love some insight! More than 30 readers responded, with stories about how much they loved their Sears homes. Bill and Diana Zoeller's dog Bear stands on the original flooring inside their Craftsman home. (See below for clarification on that concept. ], Sears began offering Goodwall sheet plaster as a replacement for the more labor-intensive wood lath plaster systems used in older homes. - 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 Try looking through the Sears kit home ID tips and photos and catalogs given on this page above. Nor do I include the collection of homes in Wood River, Illinois (both towns had neighborhoods of Sears Modern Homes kits built by the Standard Oil Company, around 1918). now, this woman was the head of facilities for the company and knew her stuff, but looking at the . by Sears & Roebuck in 1908, and eventually Sears offered 370 different models of residential homes, ranging from small bungalows Customers were given everything needed for basic assemblyincluding the nailsdelivered by rail, and most folks with adequate carpentry expertise could put up their new house in just a few days. In 1952, my grandfather put up a Cape Cod style kit house in Wilton, CTModel # NM2137-4. It has a sears name plate in basement. GUIDE TO KIT HOUSES AND HOMES On 2021-05-27 Hello! However the combination of catalog @Jessica, Thanks. Download Our Free E-book. Corona is derived from the Latin word for crown. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N61, Aladdin Homes. The Madeira Historical Society has this Sears home kit catalog from 1932. These customizable homes could be manufactured for anyone, anywhere. The cover house is the Sears Lewiston.Rachel Shoemaker Collection . 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. - source: https://searshomes.org/index.php/2014/02/14/its-a-mystery/. after 1940. at $500. 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. 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! It helps to narrow that search through Sears home catalogs if you can find the year that your home was constructed. Zillow says it was built in 1939 and the original square footage was 1,362 (before additions were made). Would love to find them. 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. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N6, Aladdin Houses. Sears Whitehall. Offices Locations.jpg download. 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. The Close has a policy of fierce editorial independence. Sears is estimated to have sold about 70,000 of their home building kits from 1908-1940 and it's currently estimated that about 70% of the original Sears homes built from kits are still standing today. Any help is appreciated! @Adrian McCullough, Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago, Illinois. That last house in Boulder, Colorado is a perfect example of the 1920s version of the Sears Oakdale, not the Clyde. 3385); ($1,359 to $1,671) Kit homes used drywall, asphalt shingles, and "balloon" style. Most real estate company names are boring at best. I believe it is a Sears crescent model, built in 1935. The Fullerton Sears Kit House - Photos and examples [Click to enlarge any image] . New York ranks fourth on the list with 1,679. by InspectApedia (mod). @Gail Minthorn, NTL Stacks: NA8480.N61, Aladdin Homes. 1. Post a photo of what you find. Because kit homes made wide use of already-popular house styles you cannot be sure of a kit status from the photo alone. Details on the first floor indicate original to 1925 as the deed says. 1917. Asking: $475,000 Sears Modern Homes Model: Vallonia (?) The Ohio bungalow as it looks today. And with this stroke of genius, the Sears & Roebuck Kit Homes were born. This was the norm in the era of kit houses kit houses were not the norm. I realize that there were 7 or so kit house companies at the time. This home retains its beautiful o. Ohio and Illinois are still leading, though, with 2700+ and 2300+, respectively. Specially prepared plaster was also sold in bags of the hard plaster and top coat hard plaster to be applied over this Sears plasterboard. 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). My home was built in 1915 , an addition was built on in the 1980s , but I believe the original home was from a kit. 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. 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. Also see this Sears Milford Kit home from the same 1933-1940 period: (Model No. https://inspectapedia.com/Design/Aladdin-Kit-Homes-Catalog-1941.pdf. If you havent sold it yet, Id be happy to refer someone to you in your area. Number 44. There are part number stenciled on the boards. 1924. You absolutely can make real estate your side hustle. You will see that a stencil marking on lumber or sheathing or even specific bits of hardware can identify the home even if its general layout and plan are similar to those produced by more than one manufacturer. Located in NYS Adirondack region. The oiled wood mouldings and built-ins look like they were designed yesterday and probably look even nicer in person. It's also helpful that you clarified what a not-a-Sears-house could be. 721 Illinois Street, Geneva, IL, 60134 Sold for $390,000. At these sales centers,sales agents helped home buyers design just the home they wanted. What year and style home? Wagon loads of house materials were brought wagon-by-wagon in the proper order for construction while the boxcar sat on a siding. 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. Added to our resources on Sears Kit homes is a now-available archive from Sears itself: http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/byimage.htm cit. Price: $334,000. Three neighbors - three Sears catalog homes were built in a row by Wappingers grocer Adolph Von Vorstel on N. Remsen Ave. in Wappingers Falls. Sears Modern Homes 1930 pg14, Elmhurst.jpg download. Our home in Orofino, idaho was built about 1913. 1936. Please take a look there as that's more thorough than if I'm asked to make up that advice de-novo here. Oddly, there is no sales blurb included in the Sears Modern Homes catalog for this one. Measuring in at a roomy 3,500 square feet, the four-bedroom home is ready for its new owner to take it into its next century. Possibly built in 1923. Buyers of a Sears Kit home saved about one third of the typical construction costs of their era. 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). The house was shipped by Gordon Van Tine Co. of Davenport IA, and delivered by railroad box car to the New Hamburg freight yard. While the retailer is clinging to life amid a changing consumer landscape, many of the kit homes it designed and sold will stand long after the last Sears store closes. A consummate salesman, Ford even joked that the Model T was available in any color his customers wanted, as long as it was black. Between 1908 and 1940, Sears provided house kits. 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. We are proud to carry Dutch Housing manufactured & modular homes. That year, the Aladdin Company of Bay City, Michigan, offered the first kit homes through mail order. Gunnison pre-fab kit homes. The Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan. Those in bold are ones that I have written blog posts about, and the link takes you to the blog post: A few years ago, author Rosemary Thornton published, I can tell you, definitively, that the following five houses from that blog post, are not, in fact, Sears houses. Most folks turned to their local lumberyard or a local contractor, who would have offered booklets of modest-to-elaborate house plans for American home buyers to choose from (we call these, simply. 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. Scroll down to the section with that title, to learn more about plans-only companies. 3. by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. True Bungalow Effect. 12 Shocking Real Estate Facts: FREE Social Media Posts [Download]. St. Louis is home to a small neighborhood of pre-fab kit homes made by the Gunnison homes company, in 1949. Thank you so much! C.H. The thickness dimensions do not include field-applied top coat layers of finished plaster. The best procedure would be to go through the Sears Kit House identification steps and details given above on this page. The closest I found was in the list of Sears kit homes sold between 1933 and 1942, the Cape Cod (Sears Kit Home Model No. Any idea where I might find plans from before 1908? 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. Like most well built craftsman homes, everything just works. Asking: $375,000 Sears Modern Homes Model: The Crescent Year Built: 1929 Listing Agent: Steve Heilig Listing Brokerage: Baird & Warner. Keep it classy, please. The clues you already have seem to indicate that it may very well be the Elsmore model - age, interior and exterior designs, and 'provenance' confirmation from previous owner. 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). In 1915 Sears kit homes included fiberboard panels used for ceilings and walls. In Detroit, The Ford Model T, the first car built using Henry Fords revolutionary assembly line, sputtered into life and changed the world. Hello, Im looking for help identifying my home. Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago, Illinois. For this weeks listing of the week, we decided to find seven charming Sears Catalog homes you can actually buy today. Measuring in at a roomy 3,500 square feet, the four-bedroom. (Plumbing and electrical systems, however, did not come with the kits.). North American Construction Company, Bay City, Michigan. . 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. On 2022-03-06 Number 26. Located in Cairo Illinois, the largest of these mills covered nearly 40 acres, and the sheer variety of homes it shipped out was staggering. $165,900 USD: First time on the market in 57 years. Any ideas about the model of this home? Framing is square-cut douglas-fir(Doug Fir) or southern yellow pine (SYP) (usually) free of knots and splits. I always thought it was a Sears kit house, but the work Keystone sits in my memory, as well. catalog homes in Dutchess County, NY. I discovered that the Sears Modern Homes program sold 447 ready-to-build, customizable house varieties via catalog to buyers between the years of 1908 and 1940. Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago, Illinois. Some of those houses are still around, and the custom houses shown in the photos from the Sears archives we have located. As you've indicated, you already have some helpful information from your home. NTL Stacks TH4819.P7C22 1914, Wardway Homes, Montgomery Ward, Chicago, Illinois. The American Foursquare house, defined by its distinctive cube shape and hip roof, was popular in the 1890-1930s, especially for its affordability. Sold under the Sears Modern Homes brand, the kits soon became a huge hit; selling thousands of homes all across the country in the companys 33-year history. Rosemary Thornton The answer to this question can be found on this Sears House Seeker blog post. That's because, unfortunately, just finding a house in a catalog that looks like your home does not mean yours is a Sears kit. Because the homes were so easy to tailor to their owners tastes, true Sears Modern Homes can be tricky to identify today. SEARS KIT HOME IDENTIFICATION at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice. I'm trying to find the plans for a Sears house that we're buying, but it was built in 1906. 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 heavily promoted these large sales in their advertising materials. Americans anywhere could flip through the four-pound, 1,400-page . which lacks the Sears identifying stencils on framing and other key details. However the owners and listing realtor had been unable to identify the Sears catalog model. and in the enamel of bath tubs in a corner near floor level. bungalow ordered in 1926 for $1000. One satisfied Sears homeowner, Edith Sides of Dallas, lived in a home that was built in 1911 and sold to her stepfather in 1917. ALADDIN KIT HOUSES https://inspectapedia.com/Design/Aladdin_Kit_Houses.php Maybe evidence that our Sears model spotting skills are improving, or maybe because of the distinctive peaked entryway and side porch, we immediately pegged 319 Sycamore as a Glen Falls. 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. 1935. Michael Better yet, can you identify the model for the listings we couldnt quite get? The houses were sold out of the pages of the Sears Roebuck catalog, and the houses in St. Louis were shipped from Cairo, Illinois. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Brief but Doomed Foray Into Kit Homes. The best place to start would be see 920 North Madison Avenue, Anderson, Indiana Asking: $379,900 How can you spot a Sears Catalog Home? with a few candidates with an expert like Thornton might see immediately as probable or improbable Sears Catalog Houses. The construction company ordered standard-length lumber through the lumber yards, measured, cut, and constructed the house. This home was built from a Sears & Roebuck kit delivered by rail & moved from the train depot to its current location in 1914. [Click to enlarge any image]. Hi Wizards, Eric: I've looked through the Sears kit house archives (that I do not think are actually complete) and don't see that exact cape cod design with the center chimney and with that lower roof level and smaller window on the right. The Crescent in Des Plaines is correctly identified. When people say. 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. Any help would be appreciated! After which it was relocated to Aurora, IL. I havent found any other obvious stamps. Any ideas? Asking: $374,900 Sears Modern Homes Model: The Sunbeam Year Built: 1924 Listing Agent: Robin Donovan Listing Brokerage: Coldwell Banker West Shell Northern Kentucky. After 1940: However some homes could have been purchased around 1939 or 1940 but not completed until several years later, depending MASONRY BLOCKS WITH A DECORATED EXTERIOR FACE, CENTER BLOCK UNDER FRONT PORCH ROOF (Vallonia), HISTORIC AND ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY FOR THE TOWN OF WILTON, CONNECTICUT, SEARS KENMORE WATER HEATER AGE & MANUALS, SEARS ROEBUCK VINYL ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE RECOGNITION, ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING DAMAGE, DISASTER, REPAIRS, Amazon Books on Sears and other Kit or Catalog Houses, Gentle Beam Publications - http://www.gentlebeampublications.com/, HOME INSPECTION EDUCATION COURSES (Canada), HOME INSPECTION EDUCATION: HOME STUDY COURSES, Although its outside appearance that closely resembles the home show in this, A Sears Catalog home built decades ago may by now have been covered with, These homes may also have been expanded at the side and/or, Some interior details remain and are easy to find, including a wide, This particular Sears catalog house in New York also had an interesting, Insulation in Sears houses: Mineral wool also called, In some of these photos of framing lumber stamps you may also recognize, Stamps or stenciled markings on ends of floor joists, Manchester Road in Poughkeepsie, NY (Dietz, late 1920s) which includes markings 'Order Chgo Milwk Sup', and 'hall closet' on a hall closet door frame.