Goals

"Tristan" (casselts) 03/29/2017 at 14:55 • Filed to: None

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Pictured above is the Sheridan Bungalow. It’s a kit house sold by Sears in 1925-29. I’m obsessed with it, and have been for years. My parents lived in this model from 1981-84ish. It still stands, and it is still gorgeous, but I can’t get a street view of it because Google doesn’t care about Podunk, MN.

It is the absolute pinnacle of residential architecture. Scientifically proven, no need to argue.

My plan is to buy some acres in the $150k-ish range, and build a replica of this. Afterwards, I will die happily one warm summer evening sitting in my rocking chair on that porch...

Okay, maybe the floor plan could use some tweeks.

Seat Safety Switch > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:00

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I bet there’s still a couple of these kicking around some warehouse somewhere, forgotten for decades after some records fire or data-entry mishap.

Now that Sears is imploding maybe it’ll turn up on eBay.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:01

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It’s these types of houses that MADE ME want a porch in my future.

TorqueToYield > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:01

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Did people really build their own houses from kits?

Talk about world’s manliest men...

Also, I’m fascinated by the old Sears catalogs. They were like the Amazon of the 1800s. You could order goddamn anything mail order.

Future next gen S2000 owner > TorqueToYield 03/29/2017 at 15:03

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You literally could order just about anything. It is amazing the rise and fall that Sears has experienced.

Stapleface > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:05

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They are nice looking homes. There’s a Sears home a few towns over from me. They seem to be pretty well built homes. I wouldn’t mind living in that design there myself. Get a nice piece of land with a lake and no other people around, I could retire there quite comfortably.

Party-vi > TorqueToYield 03/29/2017 at 15:08

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Yes - and not all of them were so glorious.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:11

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there are a bunch of these in and around the chicagoland area. theyre pretty neat

facw > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:11

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My dad lived in a Lustron kit home for a bit. Definitely less attractive than the Sears, but as the whole thing was built from enameled steel, you could stick things on the walls with magnets.

Frank Grimes > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:11

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I wonder if the plans still exist? There are prefab house companies that basically build the whole house in a factory and then ship it out to be put together on site. I saw a show on it on This Old House. They had CNC machines that would cut all the lumber and these cool air powered clamping jigs to assemble all the framing.

Would be cool to get the plans put into CAD or whatever program they use and spit out a house kit in a few hours or so.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:14

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My house could possible be a Sears house, that it was very similar to one of the kits and there were a good amount built in the area at the same time as mine. I have no proof it is or isn’t a Sears house though.

fintail > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:17

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There are some interesting blogs devoted to kit homes, a lot of these houses survive in fine condition:

http://www.searshomes.org/

I think they are still everywhere around the US and Canada - even kit homes were built better than much stapled together stuff today engineered to survive a 25 year mortgage, then all bets are off.

Sovande > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:20

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My parents house (and another 3 on their street) is a Sears house. Built in the 30's, I think.

Shamoononon drives like a farmer > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:31

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Thanks, very interesting to read. Can’t help but think “five to eight bedroom home!”... That’s like a 5 million dollar home in my neighborhood! Of course land prices are a monster.

Milky > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:38

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Something, something respecting your opinion, but nah.

Frank Loyd Wright, Usonia home in the 30s for about $5k. Or roughly $100k today. I don’t know why these didn’t catch on.

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 03/29/2017 at 15:39

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Five to eight rooms plus bath* If you check the plans out, it’s for a 2 bed/1 bath or 5bed/1 bath plus a kitchen, living room and dining room.

AfromanGTO > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:42

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5 or 8 rooms with one bathroom. So ideally you’ll build an 8 bedroom and tweak it so you have at least 4 baths or 3 baths with a 1/2 bath downstairs.

Shamoononon drives like a farmer > Little Black Coupe Turned Silver 03/29/2017 at 15:43

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I’ve been trying to find a better copy of the plans, hard to read and see it on this one.

rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:54

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I own a Sears Craftsman home in Napa ordered out of the catalog around 1918/1919. It’s not original anymore which is good - originally the kitchen was dirt floor and the bathroom was outside.

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 15:55

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We used to own a Sears Kit home on the coast up in Massachusetts. My grandfather built it, and then his sister lived in it. My dad bought it in 2000, and just sold it a couple of years ago to get a house in the Adirondacks. Sadly the new owner tore it down to build a beach house. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/21-Smith-Rd-Rockport-MA-01966/56958777_zpid/

ttyymmnn > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 16:00

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Warning: All items strictly coded. Check packing list carefully before opening.

Phantom of the Open Hearth (1976), an early film by Gene Shepherd, the man who gave us A Christmas Story .

benchslap > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 16:23

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My house looks almost exactly like this! Sadly it’s not a Sears house. Just one built to look similar.

awmaster10 > Sovande 03/29/2017 at 16:53

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any streetview pics?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 22:52

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We lived in a two-storey model for a year or so. It was built in the early ‘30s, but had a few updates along the way. The one update it never received was decent insulation. It was incredibly cold and drafty in the winter and expensive to cool in the summer. We liked the design, but I’d rather tweak the design and build it with modern materials.

ranwhenparked > TorqueToYield 03/29/2017 at 23:21

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Yes, they did. Some people hired builders, of course, and Sears did have arrangements with approved contractors, if someone wanted to have the construction cost rolled into the purchase price.

But, in those days, yep, a lot of homeowners did put them up themselves, with help from friends and family.

ranwhenparked > Milky 03/29/2017 at 23:23

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Sears did some vaguely Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced houses, too.

ranwhenparked > Tristan 03/29/2017 at 23:26

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I love Sears houses, my dream has been to build a copy of something like the Bryant from 1938. Its an interesting design that I don’t think Sears ever actually sold a copy of. Maybe find a way to get a second bathroom upstairs, though.

Somewhere, I’ve got a CD with a bunch of catalog PDFs on it, bought years ago when CDs were still a normal means of file storage, I think this plan was in it.