Bill Latrany - Blog

What is a Sears Modern Home?

bill.latrany@cbhunter.com — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 23:47:58 GMT

What is a Sears Modern Home?

From 1908 - 1940, Sears, Roebuck & Company sold between 70,000 and 75,000 homes through their mail-order Modern Homes program. Over that time Sears designed 447 different housing styles, from the elaborate multistory Ivanhoe, with its elegant French doors and art glass windows, to the simpler Goldenrod, which served as a quaint, three-room and no-bath cottage for summer vactioners. (An outhouse could be purchased separately for Goldenrod and similar cottage dwellers.) Customers could choose a house to suit their individual tastes and budgets.

Sears was not an innovative home designer. Sears was instead a very able follower of popular home designs but with the added advantage of modifying houses and hardware according to buyer tastes. Individuals could even design their own homes and submit the blueprints to Sears, which would then ship them off the appropriate precut and fitted materials, putting the homeowner in full creative control. Modern Home customers had the freedom to build their oown dream houses, and Sears helped realize these dreams through quality custom design and favorable financing.

Designing a Sears Home

The process of designing your Sears house began as soon as the Modern Homes catalog arrived at your doorstep. Over time, Modern Homes catalogs came to advertise three lines of homes, aimed for customers' differing financial means: Honor Bilt, Standard Built, and Simplex Sectional.

Honor Bilt homes were the most expensive and finest quality sold by Sears. Joists, studs and rafters were to be spaced 14 3/8 inches apart. Attractive cypress siding and cedar shingles adorned most Honor Bilt exteriors. And, depending on the room interiors featured clear-grade (i.e., knot-free) flooring and inside trim made from yellow pine, oak or maple wood. Sears' catalogs also reported that Standard Built homes were best for warmer climates, meaning they did not retain heat very well. The Simplex Sectional line, as the name implies, contained simple designs. Simplex houses were frequently only a couple of rooms and were ideal for summer cottages.

While searching neighborhoods and communities for Sears Mail Order Kit homes, you may see houses that partially or even closely resemble a house that you own or have seen. Look closely because the floor plan may be reversed, a dormer may have been added, or the original buyer may have chosen brick instead of wood siding. Plumbing may look like it was added after construction, or storm windows may appear on the house but not in the catalog's illustration.

All of this and more are possible, because the Modern Homes program encouraged custom designing houses down to the color of cabinetry hardware. The difficulty in identifying a Sears home is just a reflection of the unique design and tastes of the original buyer.

Construction

As mentioned above, Sears was not an innovator in home design or construction techinques; however, Modern Home designs did offer distinct advantages over other construction methods. The ability to mass-produce the materials used in Sears homes lessened manufacturing costs, which lowered purchase costs for customers. Not only did precut and fitted materials shrink construction time up to 40%, but Sears' use of "balloon style" framining, drywall, and asphalt shingles greatly eased construction for homebuyers.

"Balloon style" framing. These framing systems did not require a team of skilled carpenters, as previous methods did. Balloon frames were built faster and generally only required one carpenter. This sytem uses precut timber of mostly 2 x 4's and 2 x 8's for framing. Precut timber, fitted pieces, and the convenience of having everything including nails, shipped by railroad directly to the customer added greatly to the popularity of this framing style.

Drywall. Before drywall, plaster and lathe wall-building techniques were used, which again required silled carpenters. Sears homes took advantage of the new homebuilding material of drywall by shipping large quantities of this inexpensively manufactured product with the rest of the housing materials. Drywall offered advantages of low rpice, ease of installation, and owas added fire-safety protection. It was also a good fit for the square design of the Sears homes.

Asphalt shingles. It was during the Modern Homes program that large quanities of asphalt shingles became available. The alternative roofing materials available included, among others, tin and wood. Tin was noisy during storms, looked unattractive, and required a skilled roofer, while wood was highly flammable. Asphalt shingles, however were cheap to manufacture and ship, as well as easy and inexspensive to install. Asphalt had the added incentive of being fireproof.

Modern Conveniences

Sears helped popularize the latest technology available to modern homebuyers in the early part of the twentieth century. Central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity were all new developments in home design that Modern Homes incorporated, although not all of the homes were designed with these conveniences. Central heating not only improved the livability of homes with little insulation but it also improved fire safety, always a worry in an era where open flames threatened houses and whole cities, as in the case of the Chicago Fire. Indoor plumbing and homes wired for electricity were the first steps to modern kitchens and bathrooms. Sears Modern Homes program stayed abreast of any technology that could ease the lives of it's homebuyers and gave them the option to design their homes with modern conveniences in mind.

* Source: Sears Archives.

IMAGINE

Imagine for a moment, living in the early 20th Century, 1908 thru 1940, and thumbing thru the Sears Modern Homes Catalog and planing your American Dream! Once a design and model was decided upon from the selection of 370 designs with precisely what he wanted, varying in price from $500. to $5,000. to the homebuyer, all that was required for ordering was answering one simple question, 'What is your vocation?' Sending and enclosing $1.00 in the envelope with the required paperwork provided in the Modern Homes Catalog, you would then receive a set of prints, and your quest for your chapter of The American Dream was underway. Most of the Sears Mail Order Kit homes are found within 1 to 2 miles of the railroad tracks, as these homes were delivered by way of railroad boxcar, often to the nearest train station. The homebuyer had only several days to unload the boxcar before being subject to a fine by the railroad. The homebuyer unloaded the boxcar containing anywhere between 12,000 and 30,000 pieces of house, and included in that order was a 75 page instruction book. These homes often found close to railroads as they were transported by the homebuyer by way of horse and wagon, or Model T truck. Included in the bill of sale were: 750 lbs of Nails, 27 Gallons of Paint and Varnish, 10 lbs of Wood Putty, 460 lbs of Window Weights, 72 Coat Hooks, ALL Pre-Cut Number Stamped Framing Lumber, Roofing Shingles, Trim, Doorknobs, and one Doorbell. The tagline in the Sears promotional brochures and catalog simply stated, "Hang your saw on the nail all day!" It's important to note that these were NOT pre-fab homes, but actual kits, and were often ordered and built by the homeowners themselves for their families, therefore often thorough and consciencious details were implemented into the construction of these homes, as many of them stand solid in communities today! Sears included spacing details of nail placement which added to the confidence to the homebuyer's craftsmanship. Finest Grade Lumber included Cypress Lumber and Southern Yellow Pine. By the homebuyer building the home himself without using the services of a contractor, he was able to accrue and enjoy a cost savings of 1/3rd, thus adding 1/3rd approximate equity. Many of these treasures, which are 100 years old, remain prominent in established communities to this day! Sears fanciest home was "The MAGNOLIA" which is a glorified Four-Square design. Below is a cover copy of the Original Sears Modern Homes catalog.

Sears Modern Brick Schoolhouse offered for $11,500. in 1908 Sears Modern Homes Catalog

bill.latrany@cbhunter.com — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 22:16:13 GMT

Sears, Roebuck & Company of Chicago Illinois offered in their 1908 Sears Modern Homes Catalog, according to their plans, specifications and itemized bill of materials, which they will furnish with out cost, would build this Modern Brick Schoolhouse for $11,500.. The catalog page further mentions that "If you were to buy a set of plans from your local architect that are as complete as those we furnish you, they would cost you at least $250.00. If you need a new schoolhouse in your locality, have your School Board send for a set of plans for this schoolhouse, as we can save them at least $5,000.00 on this building and this means that you will have much less taxes to pay."

The shoolhouse consists of the following rooms:

First Floor: Four Class Rooms ranging in feet around 23 feet by 29 feet; a Library 18 feet by 7 feet; Four Large Wardrobes (Coat, aka Cloak Rooms), and Two Toilet Rooms (Restrooms).

Second Floor: Auditorium with gallery: 29 feet by 77 feet; Two Class Rooms 24 feet by 29 feet; Superintendent's Office 12 feet by 24 feet; Two large Wardrobes and Corridors.

"We are in a position to quote you low prices on plans, specifications and bills of materials for schoolhouses to be drawn up specially to your order and ideas of your School Board. Don't order a set of plans until you have writen us and received our quotation" (Page 64 Book of Modern Homes)

Below is a picture from this vintage catalog: Schoolhouse No. 5008. Being from Lorain, and being the last elementary class (1970/1971) attending the former Brownell School built circa 1904 which was located 10th Street and Brownell Avenue, and being equally familiar with the only remaining standing schoolhouse from that same design, circa and era, Harrison School on 19th and Hamilton Avenue in Lorain, a picture of the former Brownell School building (taken in 1907) is below, which is a striking resemblance of the one offered in the Sears, Roebuck & Company "Book of Modern Homes".

Please e-mail me if you know of a schoolhouse in your respective community that strongly resembles either of these pictures and descriptions here and below. BillKnowsRealty@aol.com

"The CLEVELAND" Honor Bilt Mondern Homes by Sears, Roebuck & Company

bill.latrany@cbhunter.com — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 15:16:48 GMT

As I mentioned in my previous postings, Sears, Roebuck & Company offered "Ready Cut" homes from their house designs catalogs to be assembled on the customers location and all that was required was a hammer, screwdriver and a level. 'You can hang your up your saw as you won't need it.' These homes were delivered by railroad boxcar, and as a result, many of these homes were constructed very near railroad lines for expediency and efficiency of unloading from the railroad boxcar. Many city's that had a Sears, Roebuck & Company regional sales office for these homes, often dedicated a model of one of their homes to the name of that city. In this posting I'm sharing the model and styule dedicated and known as "The CLEVELAND".

The CLEVELAND was a two-story building with an apartment of four rooms and ba bathroom on each floor. The general practice followed by the owner is to rent out one apartment and live in the other. Such rental generallly pays the cost of the property and remains a source of income thereafter. Besides, there is always a ready market for a two-apartment house of this kind. Below is the circa 1926 model from the catalog.

The First Floor Apartment: Living Room: You enter from the spacious front porch into the living room. Here wall and floor space will accommodate a piano and living room furniture. A wide front window and a side winow admit light and air. Floor dimensions, 11 feet by 12 feet. The Kitchen: A swinging door connects the living room and the kitchen. Size 11 feet by 11 feet. The housewife will approve the arrangement of spaces for the range, the refrigerator, table, and chairs; the built-in cabinet is located next to the sink, thus saving considerable time in preparation of meals. A double window floods the kitchen with light and ventilation. One door leads to hall connecting the bedrooms and bathroom. Another leads to the side entry, which has stairs to the basement and outdoors. The Bedrooms: French doors open from the living room into the front bedroom. It has a clothes closet and is provied with corss ventilation. Floor space 9 feet by 10 feet. A door leads to the hall which connects with the rear bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. The rear bedroom is 9 feet by 10 feet and has a large clothes closet. Two windows assure cross ventilation. The Bathroom: measures 6 feet by 5 feet. All of the plumbing may be roughted in on one wall saving on installation. It has a medicine case.

SECOND FLOOR APARTMENT: The rooms in this apartment are exactly the same as those of the first floor, excelpt, however, enterance is made through the side entroy into the kitchen. The Basement: Room for furnace for both apartments or a furnace for each apartment; also, laundry and storage. Height of Ceilings: First and Second Floor, 8 feet 6 inches from floor to ceiling. Basement is 7 feet from floor to ceiling.

Do you recognize or know of anyone who owns "The CLEVELAND" model and style home below? If you would like me to e-mail a copy of this full page catalog, or any other Sears, Roebuck & Company Honor Bilt, Ready Cut mail order home, please contact me at: BillKnowsRealty@aol.com

Sears "Honor Bilt" Ready Cut Mail Order Homes: "The LORAIN"

bill.latrany@cbhunter.com — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:28:30 GMT

In the early to mid 1900's Sears Mail Order "Kit" homes were ordered out of a catalog and delivered by railroad boxcar to the customer. In various cities around the Country there were "Sears Catalog" regional offices, including one located in downtown Lorain, Ohio, just north of the Palace Theater on Broadway Avenue. Often in cities where there was a regional office, there would be an architectural style of home named after the city in which the regional office was located. This one here happens to be "The LORAIN". The LORAIN was introduced in 1934.

What's fun is that after you become familiar and develop a 'trained eye' with these architectural styles of yesteryear, you'll be able to spot them most anywhere in America while driving down "Main Street USA".

I'll be sharing more Ready Cut "Honor Bilt" Mail Order Kit Homes from Sears, Roebuck & Company in future postings. If you would like a copy of the catalog page in which these were featured, please feel free to e-mail me at: BillKnowsRealty@aol.com and I'll be happy to scan and e-mail back a copy of your curiosity. These catalog pages from the Sears, Roebuck & Company catalog are NOT copyrighted.

"Every home and building you see was once someone's American Dream!" ~

BILL Latrany

The LORAIN was a six room, Ready Cut home Colonial style house with circle head dormer, repeating the gabled lines of the gabled porch, lend grace to the Colonial simplicity of the design. Three bedrooms (1 down, 2 up), living room, dining room, kitchen and first floor full bath. Offered in the 1930's, the monthly payments were as low as $35 to $50.