The number one question I’m asked again and again – How do you identify a Sears Kit Home?
First, begin by eliminating the obvious. Sears sold these homes between 1908-1940. If your home was built outside of that time frame, it can not be a Sears catalog home. Period. Exclamation mark!
The nine easy signs follow:
1) Look for stamped lumber in the basement or attic. Sears Modern Homes were kit homes and the framing members were stamped with a letter and a number to help facilitate construction. Today, those marks can help prove that you have a kit home.
2) Look for shipping labels. These are often found on the back of millwork (baseboard molding, door and window trim, etc).
3) Check house design using a book with good quality photos and original catalog images. For Sears, I recommend, “The Sears Homes of Illinois” (all color photos). For Wardway, there’s “The Mail-Order Homes of Montgomery Ward.”
4) Look in the attic and basement for any paperwork (original blueprints, letters, etc). that might reveal that you have a Sears home.
5) Courthouse records. From 1911 to 1933, Sears offered home mortgages. Using grantor records, you may find a few Sears mortgages and thus, a few Sears homes.
6) Hardware fixtures. Sears homes built during the 1930s often 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.
7) Goodwall sheet plaster. This was an early quasi-sheetrock product offered by Sears, and can be a clue that you have a kit home.
8 ) Unique column arrangement on front porch and five-piece eave brackets (see pictures below).
9) Original building permits. In cities that have retained original building permits, you’ll often find “Sears” listed as the home’s original architect.
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Lumber was numbered to facilitate construction
The numbers are usually less than an inch tall and will be found near the edge of the board.
See the faint markings on this lumber? This mark was made in blue grease pencil and reads, "2089" and was scribbled on the board when the lumber left Cairo, Illinois. This was a photo taken in a Sears Magnolia in North Carolina. The Sears Magnolia was also known as Model #2089
Sears Magnolia was also known as Model #2089.
Shipping labels can also be a clue that you have a Sears Home.
"The Sears Homes of Illinois" has more than 200 color photos of the most popular designs that Sears offered and can be very helpful in identifying Sears Homes.
Ephemera can help identify a house as a Sears Home. This picture came from an original set of Sears "Honor Bilt" blueprints.
Ephemera and paperwork can provide proof that you do indeed have a Sears Home.
Plumbing fixtures - such as this bathtub - can provide clues, as well. I've found this "SR" (Sears Roebuck) stamp on bathtubs, sinks and toilets. On the sink, it's found on the underside, and on toilets, it's found in the tank, near the casting date.
Goodwall Sheet Plaster was sold in the pages of the Sears Modern Homes catalogs. This was a "fireproof" product that was much like modern sheetrock.
About two dozen of Sears most popular designs had a unique column arrangement that makes identification easier. The Vallonia was one of those 24 Sears Homes with that unique column arrangement.
Close-up of the columns.
And in the flesh...
Houses should be a perfect match to original drawings found in the Sears Modern Homes catalog. This is where people get into trouble. They ignore the details.
Sears "Mitchell" in Elgin, Illinois.
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The Sears Winona, as featured in the 1921 Sears Modern Homes catalog. The house in Raleigh (see below) is just a spot-on match, a rarity in a house of this age!
Sears Winona in Raleigh, looking PERFECT!
Sears Auburn
And a dazzling Auburn in Halifax, NC.
Sears Pheonix from the 1919 Modern Homes catalog.
And a lovely Sears Pheonix in Newman, IL. Photo is courtesy Rebecca Hunter.
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Send Rose an email at thorntonrose@hotmail.com
To read more about Sears Homes, click here.
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Hi Rosemary,
Periodically I read about the wonderful Sears Homes in the St. Louis area. I wanted to let you know that about 30 years ago, I purchased The Walton in St. Charles, Missouri.
We loved it and lived there for 15 years. If you want the address, please send me a note!
Bonnie
I wanted to pass along this house for sale on Zillow; I recognized it right away by the unique upper windows. You could say the home has been “enhanced” to keep up with current buyers tastes.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/IA/771759_zpid/19_rid/1800-1910_built/globalrelevanceex_sort/44.083639,-88.571778,39.753656,-98.206788_rect/6_zm/4_p/
Thank you for all of your research.
Best Regards,
Frederick
I’ve received a lot of advice on building a small bungalow that resembles the Sears kit homes like the one you show in this article.
Unfortunately, none of them have led me to a house plan that looks like this home.
You mentioned an architectural survey but I’m not sure how to go about getting a plan aside from hiring an architect to design one for me which I want to avoid.
I can’t imagine these kit homes didn’t come with some sort of blueprint at least that could be used to design a home.
Any suggestions or link to a home that looks like this would be so greatly appreciated.
I am in the process of purchasing a wonderful Sears Ardara Home in Connecticut. I thought I’d share with you. But, I don’t know how to share pictures on here..
Hi Rosemary,
My husband and I just recently purchased a home that was built in 1927 in Michigan and we were told it was a Sears home by the owner of the house. However, I cannot seem to find it. I have been researching for a few days and it looks similar to the Dover with another peak. If you wouldn’t mind helping me figure out what model the house is, that would be wonderful! If you want to shoot me an email (you should have mine) I will send you pictures. Your help would be much appreciated!
Best regards,
Ivonne
Hi Rosemary,
I just purchased a home and it was a Sears catalog 1952 bedroom one bath 816 ft.²
I believe Cape Cod I was wondering if you would be able to help me and maybe find a blueprint.
We are renovating this house and would like to put a picture of that inside.
We’re keeping original light switches and refurbishing cabinets to keep original Beauty. I have a picture.
Hi Rosemary,
I bought my home in 2016 and was told by my neighbor that both of our homes were originally Sears Homes.
Externally they look similar to the Marina and Model 190, but I have not been able to confirm this. Both were built in 1926.
I have not found any stamps but the parts of the house that are original appear to match what I saw on your website. Are there any other things I can look for?
Thanks,
Matt Cook
Hello Rosemary,
We have been attempting to locate the exact style of our home, whether if be a Sears or another type of kit home and which one. It was built in 1934 and can be seen here: https://www.trulia.com/p/mi/lansing/3020-westwood-ave-lansing-mi-48906–2051833961
Do you believe it is a variation of Riverside or Claremont? There are 2 bedrooms on the main floor and two upstairs with a small middle room between them, so it has led to some confusion. We have not been able to find any stamps so far.
Thanks!
Daniel
I believe I have a 1920 Sears kit home but I’m not able to identify the name of the home.
I believe we have a Sears kit house located in rural Shelby County Ohio. My research and evidence found within the house has me convinced it is a model 2015 listed in the 1921 catalog as “The Greenview” How do I go about having it authenticated? We have tons of pics to share if you like.