Can I still buy a Sears kit home?
Can I still buy a Sears kit home?
Available in a variety of styles and at a range of price points, these “kit houses” would arrive via railroad boxcar as precut and fitted materials, which the owner or a local contractor would assemble into a new house. Sears ceased production of their catalog homes in 1940, but many still stand today.
Are there any Sears catalog homes still standing?
What is this? 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. The houses made it as far as Alaska and Canada, as the parts were delivered by railroad.
Why did Sears stop selling house kits?
So our answer is simple: Sears stopped selling houses because of the government’s regulation of resources during WWII and the national restrictions on construction materials. After the war, Sears re-entered the housing business in 1946 when they introduced Homart Homes.
When did Sears stop selling house kits?
1940
Sears houses, sold in kits and delivered to your local railroad station, were the biggest and most ambitious product offered by the company that sold everything via a catalog. Sears, Roebuck and Company’s Modern Homes program began in 1908 and ended in 1940.
How can you tell if a house is a Sears house?
On the shipping label, look for the address, “925 Homan Ave., Chicago, Illinois,” the Sears headquarters in the early 1900s. Also look for stamps or marks, showing that the millwork was shipped from Norwood Sash and Door of Ohio, a supplier of Sears millwork.
How do I know if I have a Sears kit home?
Look for stamped lumber in the basement, attic or crawlspace. Sears Modern Homes were kit homes and the framing pieces were stamped with a letter and a number. When the lumber arrived on site, that number told you how all the pieces went together.
How many Sears House Plans were there?
370 designs
More than 370 designs in a wide range of architectural styles and sizes were offered over the line’s 34-year history.
What is a Sears Catalog Home?
Sears Catalog Homes (sold under the Sears Modern Homes name) were catalog and kit houses sold primarily through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Company, an American retailer.
What is a Sears kit home?
Sears kit homes were an easy way for members of the middle class to realize their dreams of homeownership. Once purchased by catalog, the building materials were shipped in railroad cars and fully erected in as little as 90 days.
Why not sell houses in kit form through Sears catalog?
In Chicago, Richard Sears had an equally disruptive idea. Why not sell houses in kit form through his already ubiquitous Sears & Roebuck catalog? 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.
What happened to the Sears Modern Homes catalog?
Sears discontinued its Modern Homes catalog after 1940. A few years later, all sales records were destroyed during a corporate house cleaning. As only a small percentage of these homes were documented when built, finding these houses today often requires detailed research to properly identify them.