Sears kit homes were made of first-class building materials, such as #1 southern yellow pine (framing members). The exterior sidings were offered in red cedar, redwood or cypress.  Most frequently, exterior sidings were cypress, and exterior trim pieces (corner boards, door and window trim, eaves, etc.) were also cypress.

The cypress came from Louisiana and Mississippi and it was a quality of lumber which we’ will never see again in this country. To learn more about building materials used in these early 20th Century kit homes, click here.

With that being said, it’s a puzzle as to why homeowners feel a need to cover this old siding with substitute materials, such as vinyl (bad, bad idea) or permastone (almost as bad as vinyl) or even this fake half-timber effect (shown below).

Half-timber may have been appropriate on houses built in the 17th Century, but it doesn't look so good on kit homes from the early 1900s. (Photo is copyright Rebecca Hunter 2011, and may not be used or reproduced with written permission.)

Here's the original catalog image for the house above. It came from "Harris Brothers" (Chicago).

Sears Madelia, as it appeared in the 1919 catalog.

Sears Madelia (built in 1919) clad in its fake 17th Century garb. (Photo credit Dale Wolicki. Photo is copyright 2010, Dale Wolicki and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

To learn more about kit homes, click here.

To contact Rebecca Hunter, click here.

To learn more about early 20th Century building materials, click here.

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