have you ever been browsing through pictures of homes found one that you really loved and
just wish that you could have it shipped straight to your front door well for many americans this
was a reality in the earlier part of the 20th century hi everyone my name is ken welcome to
this house today we are exploring the history of the sears kid home sears roebuck and co was an
american retailer that sold sears modern homes as kits through mail order catalogs these kits
would include every piece that you needed to build a house from door handles to the lumber
from shingles to bathtubs everything would arrive on a boxcar sent by train and would include with
it a 75-page instruction manual and a set of blueprints that were designed so that anyone
without any prior construction experience could assemble their dream home in as little as 90 days
between 1908 and 1940 sears sold over 70 000 kid homes in north america with a vast majority
of them having been assembled in towns in the midwest and along the west coast though some
of them can be found as far north as canada and as far south as florida when the boxcars would arrive
homeowners would typically have 24 to 48 hours to unload them which is why most of these homes
regardless of the state they are in can be found within about two miles of a train station more
than 370 different home designs and a wide range of architectural styles and sizes were offered
over the program's 34-year history sears modern homes offered the latest technology available to
house buyers in the early part of the 20th century central heating indoor plumbing and electricity
were all new developments in house design that modern homes incorporated although not all of the
houses were designed with these conveniences sears discontinued its modern homes catalog after 1940
sales through the local sales offices continued into 1942. years later the sales records related
to home sales 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 because the various kid home companies often copied plan elements
or designs from each other there are a number of catalog and kit homes from different manufacturers
that look similar or identical to models offered by sears determining which company manufactured
a particular catalog in kit home may require additional research to determine the origin of
that home so in a time when homes were all very personalized why did sears start selling kit
homes in 1906 frank w cushell a sears manager was given responsibility for the catalog companies on
wieldly unprofitable building materials department sales were down and there was excess inventory
languishing in warehouses he is credited with suggesting to richard sears that the company
assembled kits of all the parts needed and sell entire houses through mail order in the same year
the aladdin company of bay city michigan offered for sale the first kit homes through mail order
in 1908 sears issued its first specialty catalogue for houses the book of modern homes in building
plans featuring 44 house styles ranging in price from 360 usd to 2890.00 the first mail order for
a sears house was filled in 1908. as sears mail order catalogs were in millions of homes sears had
a distinct advantage over many of its competitors as it was able to promote its modern homes plan to
a large number of prospective customers through its general merchandise catalog as sales grew
sears expanded its production shipping and sales offices to locations across the u.s to provide the
materials needed for the modern homes division sears operated a lumber mill in cairo illinois
later sears constructed a second mill in newark new jersey and purchased the norwood sash and
door company in norwood ohio the ability to mass produce the materials used in sears homes reduced
manufacturing costs which allowed sears to pass along the savings and lower prices for customers
pre-cut framing timbers and innovation pioneered by aladdin was first offered by sears in 1916.
pre-cut lumber was cut to the appropriate lengths and angles based on where the framing timber would
be used in the house prior to 1916 the prospective home builder had to cut their seer supplied lumber
to appropriate lengths these pre-1916 houses are not generally considered to be kit houses
but do fall under the definition of a catalog house construction of a house with pre-cut
lumber reduced construction time by up to 40 percent according to sears sears use of balloon
style framing did not require a team of skilled carpenters as did previous methods balloon frames
could be built faster and generally only required one carpenter the system used pre-cut timber of
mostly standardized 2x4 and 2x8 for framing balloon framing systems rely only on nails to
make connections between joints whereas previous methods use heavier members in pegs the method was
originally named in the sense that the structure was light and could be lifted away like a balloon
the balloon structures began very basic due to the need for homebuyers to be able to assemble
them independently and also because designers had yet to see the implications of the method
shipped by railroad boxcar and then usually trucked to a home site the average sears
modern home had approximately 25 tons of material with over 30 000 parts plumbing
electrical fixtures and heating systems were not included in the base price of the house
but they could be included at an additional cost with the house order the modern home features of
central heating indoor plumbing and electric wiring were the first steps for many families
to convert to modern hvac systems modern kitchens and modern bathrooms during the modern homes
program large quantities of asphalt shingles became available asphalt shingles were cheap to
manufacture and ship and easy and inexpensive to install sears also offered plasterboard products
similar to modern drywall as an alternative to the plaster and lath wall building techniques which
required skilled carpenters in plasterers this product offered the advantage of low price ease
of installation and added fire protection over the 32 years that sears offered homes by catalog
sears offered 370 different models in the early years the models were identified with numbers
after several years sears also began assigning names to the various models a convention that
carried through to the end of the program some models were offered with variations
the most common of those being expanded floor plans and additional finished living spaces sears
houses could also be ordered with reverse floor plans while the vast majority of models were for
single-family house designs sears did offer duplex house designs and even a few larger multi-family
buildings the most popular models appeared in the catalog over multiple years other models
only appeared for one year of those less popular models built examples have yet to be found some
models were offered in both wood siding and brick veneer versions with different names attributed
to the same or almost identical home plan some of the most popular models were the alhambra
the argyle the avondale the barrington and the conway also known as the uriel there was no
singular architect for the sears designs in fact many of the famous designs were commandeered from
other sources and or purchased from architects but given just enough change to be advertised as
their own later on in the modern homes timeline sears had in-office designers but titled them as
experts rather than actual architects so how do you know if you have seen a sears get home
or if perhaps you have lived in one well there are a few ways to tell number one are the shipping
labels often found on the back of the mill work like baseboard molding or door and window trim
shipping labels associated with sears may indicate that the home is a sears modern house
most of the mill work was fulfilled by the sears owners norwood sash and door company of cincinnati
ohio however building materials like millwork could be purchased separately from the sears so
mill work with shipping labels is not by itself a definitive indicator of a sears modern house
the second way we can tell is by stamped lumber most easily found in unfinished
spaces like a basement or attic framing members were stamped with a letter and a number these
stamps were normally located on or near the ends of pieces of framing timber however
these stamps were not used on lumber shipped before 1916 when sears first started offering
pre-cut lumber the third way we can tell is by comparing house designs to original catalog images
some models of sears homes were very similar in design to models offered by other kit home
manufacturers or through plan books designs may have been modified but generally should match
in layout and dimensions number four sears modern homes built in the 1930s may have a small circled
sr cast into the bathtub in the lower corner furthest from the tub spout and near the floor
and on the underside of the kitchen or bathroom sink the fifth way is the good ol sheet plaster
was an early drywall like product offered by sears and may be an indication of a sears modern home
now that you know how to identify them maybe you'll start looking at some of these older
homes a little differently the next time you stroll through a neighborhood if you like this
video please make sure to like comment share and subscribe i'll see you next time on this house!