NTL FOLIO TH4819.P7S42 1936, One House or a Hundred. 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). 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. ALADDIN KIT HOUSES https://inspectapedia.com/Design/Aladdin_Kit_Houses.php 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. 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. 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. Keep it classy, please. Added to our resources on Sears Kit homes is a now-available archive from Sears itself: http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/byimage.htm Sears Homes. Ohio and Illinois are still leading, though, with 2700+ and 2300+, respectively. Cairo had access to five railroad lines, and the Illinois Central line abutted the Sears plant. Robinson's Kit Homes are often cited along with Sears and Wards, we're still looking for details - I'll post what I can find under Robinson's in the article above - give me an hour or so and don't forget to refresh your browser or clear your browser cache to see the updated page. Sears Modern Homes 1930 pg14, Elmhurst.jpg download. We have encountered such a home in northern Dutchess County in New York State, one which looks just like a Sears model but which lacks the Sears identifying stencils on framing and other key details. 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. Sears opened Modern Homes sales centers in several cities, including two inMissouri - one in St. Louis and one in Kansas City. Harris Brothers Company, Chicago, Illinois. North Avenue, in Pleasant Valley, NY, a "gothic cottage" Crescent model built in 1932 for $1761. 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. 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). These customizable homes could be manufactured for anyone, anywhere. We recommend all three of these publications. All of the house designs of the era of kit homes, were of similar styles Sears, and the other kit companies, were not offering anything unique. Please refrain from any comments or jokes about anything else. A 1921 catalog of Sears kit homes offers the Magnolia for $6,488. Hi Wizards, On 2022-09-16 1910. Thank you. As you've indicated, you already have some helpful information from your home. The Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan. Presented at the Hudson Valley American Society of Home Inspectors HVASHI Annual Historic Homes Inspection-Seminar, Kingston, NY - The oiled wood mouldings and built-ins look like they were designed yesterday and probably look even nicer in person. 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. by Matthew Mackowiak. Capture from Google Streetview. 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 . Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold about 100,000 kit houses from catalogs between 1908 and 1942. Thanks. 20 items. 1. tips and photos with this article. @inspectapedia.com.moderator, On 2021-05-13 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. That includes both 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 hipped gable roof design and entry porch. 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. by Adrian McCullough, @Inspectapedia Com Moderator, by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. Well, as fun as a puzzle can be under deadline I guess. After 1940: However some homes could have been purchased around 1939 or 1940 but not completed until several years later, depending with the KETC reporter, walks past and identifies several Sears home models. The Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan. 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. Becky Bracken covers celebrity and other notable real estate for Realtor.com. Asking: $484,500 Sears Modern Homes Model: The Glen Falls Year Built: 1928 Listing Agent: Markus Cross Listing Brokerage: Keller Williams Bluegrass. 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 . 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. An April 1955 photo of the Zoeller home shows the siding now painted white instead of the original wood color. 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. The list, below, gives you model names and addresses of 80 houses that we have located in the St. Louis area. Thank you so much! That was the way our American towns were built. 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. - Thornton, op. 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. then left the rest to the construction company. Please use the add image button to post a photo or two of the home - one per comment. In Alabama, dozens of historic homes are rumored to be kit houses but only a small percentage have been certified as . To fully appreciate the impact of the Sears kit homes, it's important to understand the reach of the company's famous catalog. For the first time, Sears has opened the doors to its vast archival collection and invited the public to peek inside. @George, I do have the original receipt, but it does not list the name of the company. Continue to look for the kit house identification clues discussed above on this page and in this article series. I would love an opinion. As the need for suburban housing grew, construction of neighborhoods of modest homes was needed. Many original featuresincluding built-in cabinets and hardwood floorshave been maintained and add heaps of character to the four-bedroom home. A Sears Castleton model with 4 bedrooms, 1 bath, living room, dining room, kitchen and tiny den just past the vestibule entry. One of many Sears houses built in 1912 by a realty company. A couple of years ago I became more interested in catalog and kit houses as Chicagoland is full of them, many coming from local companies like Sears, Montgomery Ward, and the Harris Brothers. 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. (order #51300) by George and Gorgianna Hasbrook in honor of their golden wedding anniversary. (kit cost) to larger homes costing $5000. One of the most fascinating parts of the story, is that the framing lumber was (in most cases) pre-cut and labeled, allowing the homebuilder to follow an instruction booklet to help in the organized construction process. Since 1971 Sears Mfg. We may have a kit house, pic from the 30's, abandoned for 35 years, have more pics if needed What do you think so far? Aladdin kit home photos wanted, CONTACT us. We have affiliate partnerships with these companies and make money when we feature their products on the site. Please bookmark this page to make it easy for you to check back for our response. With so many of these homes sold, many still come up for sale. 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. On 2021-09-09 was so identified and its history written in a Poughkeepsie Journal article in 1990. We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need. The Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan. 870,000. North American Construction Company, Bay City, Michigan. would a S&R house have had bead board on all walls and ceilings?? 8/9. 1918. They also sold an economy grade wallboard made of cardboard and asphalt, which sold for 42 cents per sheet. Any help is appreciated! by Adrian McCullough. Are there old catalogs we can view to know whether this is a Sears Kit home? 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. NTL Stacks: NA8480.N61, Aladdin Homes. Examples have also been found in Alaska. No matter where the depot was, to which the kit was delivered, homeowners found a way to haul the materials to their lot. 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. 1931. When most people think of Sears catalog homes, they imagine Cape Cods or Craftsman style bungalows with columned porches. That year, the Aladdin Company of Bay City, Michigan, offered the first kit homes through mail order. I did find some blue grease pencil numbers but they are hard to make out. Offices Locations.jpg download. 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. One of the most fascinating parts of the story, is that the framing lumber was (in most cases) pre-cut and labeled, allowing the homebuilder to follow an instruction booklet to help in the organized construction process. 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. Here are five recent sales and listings of Sears homes around Chicagoland. Price: $200,000 Happy home: This 880-square-foot, ranch-style home has two bedrooms. You will want to look for additional key details such as those given above on this page. 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! I'm trying to find the plans for a Sears house that we're buying, but it was built in 1906. had become more complex, detailed, and demanding, including stricter requirements for electrical wiring and plumbing, and Sears abandoned And with this stroke of genius, the Sears & Roebuck Kit Homes were born. Stamps or marks will tell you which supplier supplied Sears with the millwork, Norwood Sash and Door of Ohio. Some early experiments by Sears included selling a kit to build 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 . 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. While Sears no longer has records of where each of the nearly 75,000. 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. From 1908 until 1940, Sears, Roebuck and Company, then headquartered on the West Side of Chicago, 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. 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. Take a look at the kit house identification clues discussed above on this page and in this article series. As shown here in September, 2005 this charming house was listed for sale by its owners for $299,000. Asking: $475,000 Sears Modern Homes Model: Vallonia (?) $165,900 USD: First time on the market in 57 years. this house in near Novato California in Marin County. A Sears catalog home fan website, searshomes.org discusses the plaster systems used in older homes, including Sears kit 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. by danjoefriedman (mod). 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). 1917. @Roseanne R., it certainly could have, but also certainly not in all Sears Kit homes. Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago, Illinois. Yes Mary; Rosemary Thornton, whose work is referenced in this document, is a leading expert on Sears catalog homes. Sears homes can be found across the continental United States. The rest are not Sears houses although that house identified as a Glen Falls is close but not a match. The first mail order for a Sears house was filled that year. Even better, unlike the other homes weve seen so far, 1670 Whitcomb seems largely untouched from its original design. by Inspectapedia Com Moderator. Sears Whitehall, also located in the Mordecai area of Raleigh Mordecai has several Sears Homes, including this Sears Sunbeam. 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. Hello, I know my friend's house was built from a kit but I'm trying to determine from which company the kit house was built by. 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. 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. 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 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. In . 10+ American Foursquare Sears Kit House Plans [Part 1] by Jen July 27, 2022. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website. The cover house is the Sears Lewiston.Rachel Shoemaker Collection . Your planned basement project may very well give you added clues to your home's identification. Additional keys for identifying kit homes are given on the page above. St. Louis is home to a small neighborhood of pre-fab kit homes made by the Gunnison homes company, in 1949. However, we've boiled Sears history down to a short narrative and event timeline for you: Sears narrative history tells the story of the founding of Sears and the Sears chronology is an up-to-date primer of Sears milestones and events.