Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, photograph, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. Get actionable real estate strategy in your inbox. @Dee, Download Our Free E-book. Sears Modern Homes, Sears Roebuck, Sears Kit Homes, Sears Catalog, Home Plans, Vintage Homes, Bungalow Plans, Sears Honor Bilt, . Number 26. Continue to look for the kit house identification clues discussed above on this page and in this article series. 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, Sears provided house kits. Located in Cairo Illinois, the largest of these mills covered nearly 40 acres, and the sheer variety of homes it shipped out was staggering. 2 Additions later and its still standing. 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. Outdoors, a large deck in the backyard offers an ideal spot for warm-weather entertaining. Whatever Happened to Those Mail-Order Houses From the Sears Catalog? I would love to get more information about the Sears Roebuck Home I have recently purchased in Fresno, CA. @Gail Minthorn, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold about 100,000 kit houses from catalogs between 1908 and 1942. As you've indicated, you already have some helpful information from your home. @Rossman6798, 920 North Madison Avenue, Anderson, Indiana Asking: $379,900 Thornton cites a Sears house which was completed around 1944. modular home company) - https://www.homesbykeystone.com/ Sears House Seeker: 800+ Sears Houses In Pennsylvania! Montgomery Ward sold Van Tine homes under their own name. 61 proven lead gen ideas from coaches & top-producing agents to help you close more deals. One of the surviving Sears kit homes stands along Oak Springs Road in Chartiers Township. Of course, the home has been heavily modified from what we think its roots were as an Elmhurst model Sears catalog home, but that just adds to the charm, not to mention the square footage. And with this stroke of genius, the Sears & Roebuck Kit Homes were born. 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. Sometimes, people will say. We recommend those books for any owner or serious investigator of Sears Catalog homes. 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. The Ohio bungalow as it looks today. 20 items. This was the norm in the era of kit houses kit houses were not the norm. 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. There is no list of homes sold by Sears, as all of their records were discarded. Because kit homes made wide use of already-popular house styles you cannot be sure of a kit status from the photo alone. Only the very wealthy would have hired their own architect to design their home. 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 And give us the country and city of location of the home. On 2021-09-09 As I live in this part of St. Louis, I have been inside some of these houses, have spoken to owners of some of these houses, and have been able to notice details, from the exterior, that show elements on the house that are from other companies. Sears kit homes weathered decades, now quite valuable - SFGATE More than 100 years of stories, product and brand histories, photographs, catalog images and more are now available online. This Is the House That Sears Built: Historic Sears Kit Homes I love the video from Chicago. @Adrian McCullough, NTL Stacks TH4819.P7H27 1918, Ready Built buildings. The Story on Sears Houses - Old House Journal Magazine Sears kit homes were popular in the earlier part of the 20th century. Fully renovated in 2011, the home won the Moore Country Home Builders Associations Excellence Award for the Best Historic Renovation. In the 19-teens, 1920s, and 1930s, American suburban neighborhoods were growing. Please call or text 815-603-7338. 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. This is a great resource for people in the St. Louis area. What seems likely here is that the original structure might have been modified after 1908 with heavily modified plans from a Sears Modern. I have included an image of it. by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. If My House Is Not A Kit, Then Where Did It Come From?? 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. I havent found any other obvious stamps. It has always been used as a seasonal summer cottage and is uninsulated. thank you kindly. From 1908 until 1940, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold over 70,000 kit houses through their Modern Homes and Honor Bilt catalogs. 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). 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. The Sears Modern Homes catalog from 1930. Elgin's Sears Homes - by Rachel Freundt - Substack Note how the rear roof is much shorter than the front side of the roof. It was a Sears, Roebuck and Co. kit home, the Martha Washington, advertised in. 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; would a S&R house have had bead board on all walls and ceilings?? Well, what did you think of our picks of the best Sears Catalog Homes on the market? Here are some tips for how to make this career choice work for you. Apartment in Munich, Upper Bavaria. 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. Whether their customers needed a simple cottage without a bathroom (an outhouse could be purchased separately), or wanted to submit their own multistory blueprints to Sears, there was a Modern Home for every location and budget. How To Find Sears Modern Homes | Old House Web homes have been much modified or expanded since their original construction. after 1940. Sears promised that this sheet plaster was superior to lath and plaster for many reasons, including its fire resistant qualities. On 2021-08-18 @Roseanne R., it certainly could have, but also certainly not in all Sears Kit homes. We describe and provide photographs of Sears Catalog homes, using examples of these homes located in the Hudson Valley of New York. One of sears original models. From 1908 until 1940, Sears, Roebuck and Company, then headquartered on the West Side of Chicago, If you read about a product or service on this website, its because we genuinely think its great. sears osborn, sears wilmore, sears jewel, sears jewell, sears hillsboro, sears houses in Pennsylvania, Sears houses in Pittsburgh, national database of sears houses, sears houses in the u.s., sears house seeker, 5242 towers terrace, 1213 fairmont avenue, 118 poplar street, sears modern homes, sears home construction division, sears house catalogs, antiquehome.org, kit houses, mail order houses . Think you know Sears catalog 'kit' houses? You haven't seen Alabama's Luckily, the owners also kept lots and lots of original goodies intact that are highly sought after (and highly expensive to build) by design conscious folks across the country. Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Sears Houses In the U.S. Sears Homes Enthusiasts Sears Homes. catalog homes in Dutchess County, NY. A 1921 catalog of Sears kit homes offers the Magnolia for $6,488. 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. They were shipped by rail, with pre-cut lumber stamped for assembly. 10+ American Foursquare Sears Kit House Plans [Part 1] This home retains its beautiful o. In 1908, when Sears began selling homes by mail, one-fifth of the country subscribed, according to a 99 Percent Invisible podcast about the program. Starting in 1916 [? 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. InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. The answer to this question can be found on this Sears House Seeker blog post. We did not photograph the kitchen and bath as they had been remodeled leaving no obvious original materials. The best starting place is to read through the article above on this page. 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. Sears mail-order homes prove plentiful in Western Pennsylvania Excerpting from this new website: (Plumbing and electrical systems, however, did not come with the kits.). 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. More than 370 different home designs in a wide range of . 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. She explains that often a specific - 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 Sears offered these houses from 1908-1940 and there were 370 different designs. Attractive top floor apartment in the best location This dreamlike top floor apartment is on the fourth floor of a house built in 1890. Sears kit houses were built from 1908-1942 (see this blog post for substantiation of the 1942 date, and this follow up article), and the models offered by Sears followed the design trends of those decades. Homes Q&A: : Does Sears Holdings give permission to reproduce catalog pages or images from its catalogs, and or other . Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago, Illinois. If the house at 35 Point St., New Hamburg, NY, was "shipped by Gordon Van Tine" It is more likely a Montgomery Ward "Wardway" structure, or perhaps one of the Van Tine company's own. inspectapedia.com/Design/Kit_Houses.php 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. 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. . I'll try to post something. 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. at $500. The house has been expanded and modified. also see our Aladdin kit homes and catalogs found at Gunnison pre-fab kit homes. 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). We did not examine the mechanicals closely in this house, as they were not provided by Sears and Roebuck and were obtained locally. I am licensed in just Missouri and Kansas, however, I have a great network of agents with a few good ones in eastern Tennessee. An Abundance of Sears Homes in Raleigh, NC 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. How to Identify a Sears Kit Home: 9 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow 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. Researching Historic Kit and Plan Book Homes, 2) Unless you can recognize the many models offered in the Sears Modern Homes catalogs, houses built from kits are indistinguishable from those built through the standard process using a construction company. The best place to start would be see Though we don't search for them as diligently as we do Sears Modern Homes kit houses, we have found some kits from other kit-house companies of the same era, in the St. Louis area. 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. 613.3K . You absolutely can make real estate your side hustle. The company promised a man of average abilities that he could finish the house within 90 days if he followed the 75-page instruction . They are always welcome. Tell us about you so we know what to send. Used within a coal room door handle. I believe it is a Sears crescent model, built in 1935. Thank you Rus, that's helpful detail. One of many Sears houses built in 1912 by a realty company. In Alabama, dozens of historic homes are rumored to be kit houses but only a small percentage have been certified as . What About The Train's Role In All Of This? The materials were reportedly shipped in via railroad as a package. 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. Number 37. Wanted your thoughts as to could this be a kit house? We also edit Sears Kit House identification checklists and comment and books on Sears Homes by Rosemary Thornton. Sears recommended that wood molding be installed over the joints for superior results. The Close has a policy of fierce editorial independence. 13354A, 13354B); ($886 to $1,097) shown below. The National Trust Library offers catalogs of Aladdin kit houses. 240 Best Sears kit homes ideas - Pinterest 239 W. Russell Street, Barrington, $949,000. The Home Depot - hardware. 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. The Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan. Tucker/Crossroads. 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! It also has a daydream-worthy covered porch with three exposures; a perfect spot for a late summer dinner. Kirkwood homes that were originally thought to be Sears houses, but are not. On 2022-02-01 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. 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. Because the homes were so easy to tailor to their owners tastes, true Sears Modern Homes can be tricky to identify today. 870,000. To fully appreciate the impact of the Sears kit homes, it's important to understand the reach of the company's famous catalog. 5 stars for john, the appliance guy. Hipercor - hypermarkets; Spain. NTL Stacks TH4819.P7R42 1915, Robinson's Money-Saving Mill-Made Cut-To-Fit Houses. 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. St. Louis is home to a small neighborhood of pre-fab kit homes made by the Gunnison homes company, in 1949. By 1940 home designs, specifications (and building codes) Love these homes. 3. I have researched over th years trying to find the original plan or any information on the floor plan. homes were sold and built before that year, but it is certainly the case that the sale of some models continued to 1940. - Keystone homes (50 y.o. 1918. as we describe above on this page. i found this stamped on the inside of sheathing n a basement of a home I suspect is a kit house. 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. Sears Catalog 'Kit Homes' From the Early 20th Century - themindcircle In 2005, a high-end Sears home sold for $900,000. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website. The original 1926 Sears & Roebuck label identifying the house at 115 Belleclaire Avenue in Longmeadow as a Sears kit house. This Sears Sunbeam is a lovely example and in original condition. So it's probably true that most of these Lake Worth, Florida. We just bought a 1929 Vallonia and now Im obsessed! Choosing the best hard money lenders for your investment projects can be tricky. That was the way our American towns were built. I would love an opinion. Syracuse house, which came from a Sears catalog, is one of only seven 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. The thickness dimensions do not include field-applied top coat layers of finished plaster. While Sears no longer has records of where each of the nearly 75,000. So far we haven't found Sears identifying marks, but will be renovating the basement soon and will be able to look more closely. provides examples of clues useful in identifying Sears Catalog Kit Homes. by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. the identification of Sears Catalog or Kit homes and including references to other expert books and resources on Were All Sears Houses Delivered by Train? They put out a catalog offering dozens of styles of homes you could have delivered right to your future doorstep.. In fact, the Chelsea (a 2,000-square-foot foursquare) came with 840 square yards of wooden lath. In addition to trying the Sears Kit Home catalogs and identification resources we give here, you're welcome to post photos (one per comment - as many comments and thus photos as you need) of your home and to give what background you can about it (location, history etc) to see if other interested readers can offer suggestions. I purchased a home in Keokuk County, Iowa one year ago . 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? Asking: $475,000 Sears Modern Homes Model: Vallonia (?) Thank you so much! 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. 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. A review of some of our inspection photos came up There are part number stenciled on the boards. Ssrah. The Anderson, Indiana house is a custom design as are quite a few Sears houses in Anderson, some of which were featured in the Modern Homes catalog in the early 1930s. 415 Kenwood, LaPorte, IN. Stamps or marks will tell you which supplier supplied Sears with the millwork, Norwood Sash and Door of Ohio. had become more complex, detailed, and demanding, including stricter requirements for electrical wiring and plumbing, and Sears abandoned As you've indicated, you already have some helpful information from your home. Model name? Examples have also been found in Alaska. The Madeira Historical Society has this Sears home kit catalog from 1932. @Karen Marsh, She says from 1908 to 1942, Sears sold more than 70,000 kits nationwide, and more than 3,000 in the Cincinnati area. 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. The backyard is great for entertaining, and the Florida climate allows for the space to be . Hello! 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. @Jessica, 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). Built in 1930, and the grandson of the original owner/builder told us it was a Sears house. The big thinkers at Sears Roebuck took ready-to-build homes one step further. The Fullerton Sears Kit House - Photos and examples [Click to enlarge any image] . Considering Sears, Roebuck & Co. was founded in Chicago back in 1893, it's no surprise Illinois boasts many of the company's ready-to-assemble kit homes (second only to Ohio). tips and photos with this article. Seattle's historic mail-order homes | king5.com It helps to narrow that search through Sears home catalogs if you can find the year that your home was constructed. 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. Ohio and Illinois are still leading, though, with 2700+ and 2300+, respectively. Some early experiments by Sears included selling a kit to build Price: $239,000 Converse Heights: Built in 1925, this three-bedroom, Arts and Craftsstyle home shines. Thank you for the resources. I always thought it was a Sears kit house, but the work Keystone sits in my memory, as well. Sears Houses In St. Louis, Missouri: What Is A Kit House? Our national database of Sears houses in the U.S. has over 13,600 homes on it, and, after Ohio and Illinois, Pennsylvania is #3 in U.S. states with, at today's count, 1,963 Sears homes found. Or see SEARS KIT HOME IDENTIFICATION FAQs - questions and answers about Sears Kit Houses posted originally on this page. Kit homes used drywall, asphalt shingles, and "balloon" style. 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. Do look carefully for a stencil marks and do look at some of the hardware details that we give in the articles that I recommended to you. by Sears & Roebuck in 1908, and eventually Sears offered 370 different models of residential homes, ranging from small bungalows Historic house: Built in 1911, this Sears home sits on a large, corner lot in a historic district, surrounded by antebellum homes. Please use the add image button to post a photo or two of the home - one per comment. Illinois has the largest collection of Sears kit homes in the country after the state of Ohio. I'll be interested if you find any indication of just how widely plaster-lath construction was used in kit homes; our rock-lath article cited above gives some history, though not specific to kit homes; we need authoritative sources on the extent to which rock-lath or sheet-plaster systems were in wide use in North America before the 1940s. There are towns all over America that have railroads running through them, but in which we don't find any Sears houses. sometimes we do find Sears houses in those towns, but also, absolutely, in other towns far away from the railroad line.