with a few candidates with an expert like Thornton might see immediately as probable or improbable Sears Catalog Houses. There are two truths to understand about Sears kit houses: 1) They are actually pretty rare, making up only about 2% of the homes constructed during their era, So, if you come upon a neighborhood full of wonderful bungalows, or full of Craftsman-style houses, or full of Dutch Colonials, dont jump to the conclusion that they are Sears houses (some people, weve noticed, confuse the name of the Sears tool line , with the architectural style by that name, and think that a Craftsman style house is what we mean when we say. Price: $649,900 Horse haven:This 1932 catalog home sits on nearly 7 acres of fenced horse property. If you havent sold it yet, Id be happy to refer someone to you in your area. Each of the links in this section shows a photo with additional details of the interior of a Sears Kit Home. 217 Dutchess Turnpike, in Poughkeepsie, NY, a (1917) 7-room cape which used a basement cistern for its water supply and a fieldstone fireplace. 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. 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. They reportedly sold around 70,000 houses, and an estimated 70 percent of them are still standing. Some early experiments by Sears included selling a kit to build One satisfied Sears homeowner, Edith Sides of Dallas, lived in a home that was built in 1911 and sold to her stepfather in 1917. 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. 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. @Em H, After 1940: However some homes could have been purchased around 1939 or 1940 but not completed until several years later, depending Wilton is thinking of designating houses from this era as worthy of preservation, so this is why I am trying to gather more information. I wonder what else is in those archives! Continue reading at KIT HOMES, ALADDIN, SEARS, WARDS, OTHERS or select a topic from closely-related articles below, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX. Benefiting from Hunter's work as well as our own search we list a number of kit or catalog home manufacturers here. 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. Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca, Click to Show or Hide Citations & References. The original 1926 Sears & Roebuck label identifying the house at 115 Belleclaire Avenue in Longmeadow as a Sears kit house. 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). a complete school or office building. (kit cost) to larger homes costing $5000. 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. Download Our Free E-book. Number 26. 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 1925 Colonial-style home in Washington, D.C., that sold last year for $1.06 million had humble beginnings. Sears has opened the doors to its vast archival collection and invited the public to peek inside. Beds/Baths: 2 bedrooms and 1 full bath. The rest are not Sears houses although that house identified as a Glen Falls is close but not a match. You will not receive a notification when a response to your question has been posted. This home was built from a Sears & Roebuck kit delivered by rail & moved from the train depot to its current location in 1914. The houses were sold out of the pages of the Sears Roebuck catalog, and the houses in St. Louis were shipped from Cairo, Illinois. Let our vast experience and top picks guide your decision. For the first time, Sears has opened the doors to its vast archival collection and invited the public to peek inside. The thickness dimensions do not include field-applied top coat layers of finished plaster. The best starting place is to read through the article above on this page. And which kit? 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. More than 370 different home designs in a wide range of . From 1908 until 1940, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold over 70,000 kit houses through their Modern Homes and Honor Bilt catalogs. Some people like to mention the huge collection of Sears Modern Homes in Carlinville, Illinois, when they speak of Sears Houses in the St. Louis area, but, given that Carlinville is a 90-minute drive from St. Louis County, in a different state, I don't include them in my list. in the Kit House Identification article above we cite Thornton's books describing Sears kit homes, but you may want to step through the definitive list of key Sears Kit Home identification points given in the article above right here; The American Foursquare house, defined by its distinctive cube shape and hip roof, was popular in the 1890-1930s, especially for its affordability. 3. by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. Notes: this product was sold by Sears beginning in 1916. Sears homes can be found across the continental United States. Added to our resources on Sears Kit homes is a now-available archive from Sears itself: http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/byimage.htm We describe and provide photographs of Sears Catalog homes, using examples of these homes located in the Hudson Valley of New York. 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). Details on the first floor indicate original to 1925 as the deed says. And, like all of the companies, Sears offered homes of many sizes and styles. 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. 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. The cover house is the Sears Lewiston.Rachel Shoemaker Collection . This photo is of an Aladdin kit home constructed in Tivoli, New York. For nearly 100 years the home has been meticulously cared for and features hardwood flooring, enclosed front porch, and renovated kitchen. The homes are located in Ortega, Murray Hill, and Fairfax Manor neighborhoods, and Jacksonville Historical Society historian-at-large Wayne Wood said Wednesday they represent an important part of American history. North Avenue, in Pleasant Valley, NY, a "gothic cottage" Crescent model built in 1932 for $1761. 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. I hope Sears has the common sense to donate those materials rather than throw them away.Thanks for this! The best procedure would be to go through the Sears Kit House identification steps and details given above on this page. Thanks!! ). For this week's listing of the week, we decided to find seven charming Sears Catalog homes you can actually buy today. That was the way our American towns were built. Continue to look for the kit house identification clues discussed above on this page and in this article series. The construction company ordered standard-length lumber through the lumber yards, measured, cut, and constructed the house. I love the video from Chicago. ALADDIN KIT HOUSES https://inspectapedia.com/Design/Aladdin_Kit_Houses.php this house in near Novato California in Marin County. Here are some tips for how to make this career choice work for you. 1 story, 2 br, chimney In middle. Long before Amazon Prime, shoppers across America turned to the Sears catalog to purchase all kinds of consumer goodsnot just products for the home, but also the homes themselves. The Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan. Easily identified by its hanging bay window on the side (which extends up to the roof line) and its distinctive Castleton dormer with 3 windows. Try the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly. The homes were sold through the Sears Roebuck catalog from 1908 to 1940. 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. Any ideas about the model of this home? The article gives lists of Sears kit home identification points or details and also lists of plan books and catalogs that one can leaf through. 2 Additions later and its still standing. the trains didn't stop at the homeowner's lot, and let them unload, there, just because their lot happened to have rail lines near it, or behind it. and this 1941 ALADDIN KIT HOME CATALOG (see for example the Brentwood, Brewser, Bristol, and Norfolk model Aladdin homes) NTL Stacks TH4819.P7M66 1924, Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the. Sears Houses: This article series provides detailed photographic and historic clues to assist in 13354A, 13354B); ($886 to $1,097) shown below. @Sara, we'll look through our references to see what we can add to the Sears kit home notes above for those earlier models and will follow up here. It also has a daydream-worthy covered porch with three exposures; a perfect spot for a late summer dinner. Rock lath plaster systems like the Goodwall sheet plaster product are detailed. Thank you so much! Your #1 Source For Actionable Real Estate Advice. 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. 1. 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). Architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Brief but Doomed Foray Into Kit Homes. I have researched over th years trying to find the original plan or any information on the floor plan. The Journal article (1/7/1990 F1-2), also identified other Sears We recommend those books for any owner or serious investigator of Sears Catalog homes. 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 first mail order for a Sears house was filled that year. I'll try to post something. 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. Geoffrey's Toy Box - toys, video games, videos (Revival of Toys R Us) Harvey Norman - furniture, housewares, electronics; Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Ireland, United Kingdom (Northern Ireland), Slovenia and Croatia. Small Prefab Homes: 'The Best-Kept Secret in America'? Realtors love to include Sears in their listing of old houses but many of those are incorrectly identified including the others that are on your list. Rosemary Thornton's two books 1925. In 1915 Sears kit homes included fiberboard panels used for ceilings and walls. Sears recommended that wood molding be installed over the joints for superior results. Offices Locations.jpg download. It helps to narrow that search through Sears home catalogs if you can find the year that your home was constructed. Stamps on millwork or labels from "Norwood Sash and Door" (maybe) indicate Sears suppliers. See full bio. Detailed in her book entitled, The Houses That Sears Built , Rosemary Thornton writes: "Between 1908 - 1940, more than 75,000 Sears's homes were built. The oiled wood mouldings and built-ins look like they were designed yesterday and probably look even nicer in person. 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. had become more complex, detailed, and demanding, including stricter requirements for electrical wiring and plumbing, and Sears abandoned Number 32. Possibly built in 1923. 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). Scroll down to the section with that title, to learn more about plans-only companies. (order #51300) by George and Gorgianna Hasbrook in honor of their golden wedding anniversary. Located on a tree-lined street in a lovely, mature neighborhood, the property has had the same owner for 25 years.