The Sears Homes of Beautiful Roanoke, Virginia

[JBloggs]

This is just so interesting. Do you have Sears homes in your town/city? Is your home a Sears home? Looking at these homes I feel like half the homes in this town must be Sears homes!
Sears Homes of Roanoke
and
Is That A Sears Kit Home? 9 Easy Ways to Tell[/h2]

 

[JBloggs]

There is one on the street behind us, actually our parking area that is a Sears Kit home that was totally made of metal. The inside walls included, which was supposed to be safer in a nuclear attack. Butt ugly it is!

 

[Samster]

Yes, I've read up on this before and it's really interesting. We had many local architects/builders here at the time of the Sears catalog homes so I'm not sure if we have any. I'll ask our exec director of our historic foundation.
We found lumber in this house with the name of the original owner on it, which is how it came from the lumber yard. We also found true 4x4s in the wall that were slightly rough hewn, which was really interesting.
What I found most interesting from the photos in your link was the mission style 2-story home. Our house which is c. 1908 originally had a mission style double porch front facade made of stucco. When the house was moved, that was pulled off because of its poor condition and the front porch with upper pavilion was built more in the traditional "accepted" style of other surrounding homes. The mission facade was in contrast to the more elaborate ionic columns in the front formal rooms of this house. It was a more unique home in its original facade, I think.
How about those prices for those Sears homes?

 

[Mini]

Here in Canada the Eaton's catalog home was more popular.
http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cpm/catalog/cat2104e.shtml#020

 

[white pine]

Any interested may also want to check out "Houses by Mail" by Stevenson and Jandl pub thru Natl Trust for Hist Preservation. Over 300 pages of homes and floor plans.

 

[Joey Camb]

ironically in the UK this is comming back as a way to build new custom houses! there are companies in Germany (you have to remember the whole of europe is about the same size as the USA so not a big whoop to ship from there) they make the house to your specs ie work with the germans to design your house down to the kitchen sink, then they ship it out to you in shipping containers. Its absolutely facinating to me! plus the prices are very reasonable.