If My House Is Not A Kit, Where Did It Come From? My home was built in 1915 , an addition was built on in the 1980s , but I believe the original home was from a kit. The gorgeous 2-acre lot has plenty of room to expand. North American Construction Company, Bay City, Michigan. COMMENT:Here's is a photo of the Sears ready-cut house that my grandfather build. by Sears & Roebuck in 1908, and eventually Sears offered 370 different models of residential homes, ranging from small bungalows Notes: this product was sold by Sears beginning in 1916. Illinois has the largest collection of Sears kit homes in the country after the state of Ohio. Price: $421,000 Waterfront wonder: Sitting just a few steps from the waters edge on Triangle Pond, this 898-square-foot cottage was delivered in 1954 and assembled on-site. @Rossman6798, The Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan. The Sears Modern Homes catalog from 1930. St. Louis is home to a small neighborhood of pre-fab kit homes made by the Gunnison homes company, in 1949. A Sears Castleton model with 4 bedrooms, 1 bath, living room, dining room, kitchen and tiny den just past the vestibule entry. What year and style home? Only seven Magnolias are known to exist, including one at 1500 James St., Syracuse. So look instead for those key ID points, hardware, stencil marks, etc. On 2021-05-27 the identification of Sears Catalog or Kit homes and including references to other expert books and resources on There is no list of homes sold by Sears, as all of their records were discarded. I work with a group that maintains the national database of Sears Modern Homes. On 2022-04-20 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. Sears and all of the kit home manufacturers replicated popular house designs built before, during and after the kits themselves were available. Capture from Google Streetview. Sears Goodwall was touted as more fire-resistant than alternative plant-based fiberboard sheathing products. Apologies for the delay. Sears Modern Homes 1930 pg14, Elmhurst.jpg download. We have a Sears Craftsman home that was built in 1910-1912 and would love to identify the style off home. homes have been much modified or expanded since their original construction. They are classic. 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. 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. R.R. Any ideas about the model of this home? 1910. Sears kit homes were popular in the earlier part of the 20th century. Thornton rattles off some statistics about Sears Catalog homes and 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. the author of books on identifying Sears houses, cited at REFERENCES below, and 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. The first mail order for a Sears house was filled that year. Why not sell houses in kit form through his already ubiquitous Sears & Roebuck catalog? We settled on Vallonia, because of the awning, but the porch and columns are all wrong. Sears Archives Home Page I realize that there were 7 or so kit house companies at the time. On 2021-09-09 I purchased a home in Keokuk County, Iowa one year ago . That "Bungalow" stencil or stamping appears to be on the wall or roof cavity side of wood sheathing - and may indeed indicate that the home was built from a kit. After which it was relocated to Aurora, IL. 73 m 1 2. and this 1941 ALADDIN KIT HOME CATALOG (see for example the Brentwood, Brewser, Bristol, and Norfolk model Aladdin homes) Download Our Free E-book. It was also built in 1902, and Sears didnt start selling homes from their catalog until 1908. was so identified and its history written in a Poughkeepsie Journal article in 1990. 3385); ($1,359 to $1,671) Since 1971 Sears Mfg. The Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan. @Em H, 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 (. @Jessica, You absolutely can make real estate your side hustle. 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. 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; 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. You will not receive a notification when a response to your question has been posted. Could this be a Sears Elsemore home? A local example of this is LaPorte, Indiana, where Sears sold 50 houses in one subdivision. Thank you for this set of photos of your lovely home. A review of some of our inspection photos came up Post a photo of what you find. They were shipped by rail, with pre-cut lumber stamped for assembly. NTL Stacks TH4819.P7R42 1915, Robinson's Money-Saving Mill-Made Cut-To-Fit Houses. Located in Cairo Illinois, the largest of these mills covered nearly 40 acres, and the sheer variety of homes it shipped out was staggering. with the KETC reporter, walks past and identifies several Sears home models. Try looking through the Sears kit home ID tips and photos and catalogs given on this page above. 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. 613.3K . Robinson Company, Providence, Rhode Island. However the combination of catalog More than 100 years of history now available online.Sears has a rich, long history to tell dating back to 1886 when Richard Sears sold the first batch of watches. 61 proven lead gen ideas from coaches & top-producing agents to help you close more deals. 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. by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. Offices Locations.jpg download. @Judy Gehrlich, While Sears no longer has records of where each of the nearly 75,000. 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. This home was built from a Sears & Roebuck kit delivered by rail & moved from the train depot to its current location in 1914. 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 opened Modern Homes sales centers in several cities, including two inMissouri - one in St. Louis and one in Kansas City. Thank you so much. Item #1 is a great reference catalog of home designs, Description. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N6, Aladdin Houses. Even better, unlike the other homes weve seen so far, 1670 Whitcomb seems largely untouched from its original design. One of sears original models. (Plumbing and electrical systems, however, did not come with the kits.). by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. We also fell in love with the stone facade, leafy front yard, and awesome built-ins inside. Sears offered these houses from 1908-1940 and there were 370 different designs. Sears Homes. 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. 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). NTL FOLIO TH4819.P7S435 1920, A Plan Book of Harris Homes. 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 . 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. SEARS KIT HOME IDENTIFICATION at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice. Ready Built House Company, Portland, Oregon. Enthusiasts call the Magnolia the "holy grail of kit houses." (Photo: Courtesy Andrew and Wendy Mutch) This past . The house was financed through Sears which along with interior details helped authenticate that its from Sears. The Fullerton Sears Kit House - Photos and examples [Click to enlarge any image] . This home is in Dansville, NY and was built in 1930. 3. Sears Roebuck company began selling buildings or components of buildings in 1895. With so many of these homes sold, many still come up for sale. If you read about a product or service on this website, its because we genuinely think its great. NTL Stacks TH4819.P7C22 1914, Wardway Homes, Montgomery Ward, Chicago, Illinois. 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. Between 1908 and 1940, Sears provided house kits. Share these engaging posts on Facebook & Instagram. 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. https://inspectapedia.com/Design/Aladdin-Kit-Homes-Catalog-1941.pdf. she offers a Sears house identification service. Sears Houses: This article series provides detailed photographic and historic clues to assist in a complete school or office building. Thank you. It's also helpful that you clarified what a not-a-Sears-house could be. 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 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. When most people think of Sears catalog homes, they imagine Cape Cods or Craftsman style bungalows with columned porches. Specially prepared plaster was also sold in bags of the hard plaster and top coat hard plaster to be applied over this Sears plasterboard. Just inquiring about good history. 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. Here are those we know of from Lewis Homes, Gordon-Van Tine, Wardway (Montgomery Ward), and Aladdin: . The construction company ordered standard-length lumber through the lumber yards, measured, cut, and constructed the house. 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. I hope Sears has the common sense to donate those materials rather than throw them away.Thanks for this! 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). A handful of Sears homes have been identified in Canada. . This was the norm in the era of kit houses kit houses were not the norm. Thanks - anonymous by private email 2021/11/06, another photo of this house was posted on this page. We have affiliate partnerships with these companies and make money when we feature their products on the site. Located in the desirable Converse Heights neighborhood, the home greets visitors with a large front porch. As you've indicated, you already have some helpful information from your home. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N61, Aladdin Homes. Stamps or marks will tell you which supplier supplied Sears with the millwork, Norwood Sash and Door of Ohio. - Keystone homes (50 y.o. 1936. Thanks. I love the video from Chicago. ALADDIN KIT HOUSES https://inspectapedia.com/Design/Aladdin_Kit_Houses.php 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. Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago, Illinois. Thornton is also 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 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. 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. They reportedly sold around 70,000 houses, and an estimated 70 percent of them are still standing. Rock lath plaster systems like the Goodwall sheet plaster product are detailed. Oddly, there is no sales blurb included in the Sears Modern Homes catalog for this one. 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. 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. It helps to narrow that search through Sears home catalogs if you can find the year that your home was constructed. bungalow ordered in 1926 for $1000. Thank You, Marsha Blankenship, Your email address will not be published. Stamps on millwork or labels from "Norwood Sash and Door" (maybe) indicate Sears suppliers. The Madeira Historical Society has this Sears home kit catalog from 1932. It was said to be in the original Chicago worlds fair. Sears Mfg. 1915. by Matthew Mackowiak. 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! Between 1908 and 1940, more than 70,000 of these Sears Kit Homes were built across America. That year, the Aladdin Company of Bay City, Michigan, offered the first kit homes through mail order. 1908 was a heady year for technology. Number 26. Starting in 1916 [? Let our vast experience and top picks guide your decision. 1917. @Cathy, The best procedure would be to go through the Sears Kit House identification steps and details given above on this page. The Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan. From 1908 until 1940, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold over 70,000 kit houses through their Modern Homes and Honor Bilt catalogs. This house, #15 N. Remsen, in Wappingers Falls, NY, arrived by train. I do have the original receipt, but it does not list the name of the company. Asking: $484,500 Sears Modern Homes Model: The Glen Falls Year Built: 1928 Listing Agent: Markus Cross Listing Brokerage: Keller Williams Bluegrass. Presented at the Hudson Valley American Society of Home Inspectors HVASHI Annual Historic Homes Inspection-Seminar, Kingston, NY - 2. At least, we think this is a Wabash. Details on the first floor indicate original to 1925 as the deed says. 1935. Both sections span from 1886 to today. The house was shipped by Gordon Van Tine Co. of Davenport IA, and delivered by railroad box car to the New Hamburg freight yard. I believe it is a Sears crescent model, built in 1935. Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland . See full bio. 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. On 2021-12-22 1. a blog post about the Sears houses in Kirkwood, A few catalog covers (1918 through the 1920s) for. A 1925 Colonial-style home in Washington, D.C., that sold last year for $1.06 million had humble beginnings. which are definitely not Sears Catalog Houses are included in this list as a fun exercise for readers. Ssrah. Our client traced the sale and construction of the home to Lake Worth, Florida. Also see this Sears Milford Kit home from the same 1933-1940 period: (Model No. Other details can include finding specific stamps, lumber marks, or hardware in your particular house that confirm it as a Sears kit home and also paging through the Sears kit home catalogs we list to match that roof design and entry porch. Wanted your thoughts as to could this be a kit house? Sears Whitehall, also located in the Mordecai area of Raleigh Mordecai has several Sears Homes, including this Sears Sunbeam. 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. 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. 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. Daniel Friedman has inspected and identified Sears catalog homes in the Hudson Valley of New York, and has included additional identification I would love an opinion. which lacks the Sears identifying stencils on framing and other key details. 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. These "kits" came with almost everything that would be necessary to . mercer county sheriff accident report,