Sears House Designs of the Thirties

Sears, Roebuck and Co.

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780486429946
• eBook ISBN: 9780486139487
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: History of Architecture

Proudly promoting itself as "the largest home building organization in the world," Sears, Roebuck and Company advertised in 1932 products in a handsome catalog that also displayed a full-size replica of Mount Vernon, created from Sears materials for a Paris exposition in 1932.
At the heart of this now-rare publication were measured floor plans for 68 Sears homes. Over 200 illustration displayed interiors and exteriors for such handsome residences as the Belmont, a six-room house with vestibule, breakfast alcove, three bedrooms, and one-and-a-half baths; and the Dover, an English-styled cottage with a massive chimney and unusual roof lines. Photographs of some interiors revealed a furnished living room with paneled side walls and hewed oak ceiling beams; a spacious kitchen with contemporary appliances; a 60-foot living room with a huge stone fireplace, built-in bookshelves, a vaulted ceiling, and other designs.
An invaluable sourcebook for restorationists, this handsome volume will also be of use to people interested in preserving homes of the period. It will be welcomed by anyone who relishes a glimpse of America's architectural past.

Answers to Your Questions reveal why Sears method is

AMERICA’S MOST POPULAR HOME BUILDING PLAN

Do You Require Me to Build From One of the Plans in This Book?

No. Your home may be built from any suitable plans you already have, or from plans prepared by your own architect, in accordance with your own ideas.

Are There Any Advantages in Building From One of the Plans in This Book?

Yes, there are distinct advantages. When you build from one of these designs, you get a house that you know in advance is efficiently planned, and economical to build. With a few exceptions, each plan has been built several times and proved desirable from many viewpoints—as to size and arrangement of rooms, with regard to adequate lighting and ventilation, time saving construction methods have been worked out, and other improvements have been made.

Also, building your home from one of these plans is a sure way to get a home you can easily sell at any time, because only the designs most in demand are shown in this book.

Can a Sears-Roebuck Home Be Any Size, or Any Style?

Yes. There is no limit to the kind or price of home that Sears-Roebuck is able to build or furnish materials for. Any kind of home from a cottage valued at a few thousand dollars up to a forty room residence or larger, costing seventy-five thousand dollars or more. The home may be Colonial, English, Spanish, Norman or any other architectural style which the owner prefers, with exteriors of brick, stone, wood, stucco or other materials suitable to the design.

Can I Build Where I Want?

Yes. Sears-Roebuck homes are built in every size and type of community—in the residential districts of New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and other metropolitan cities, as well as in smaller cities and towns.

How Much Cash Do I Need to Build?

Little or no cash is required. If your lot is fully paid for, or if you can buy one, its appraised value will be credited as part of your down payment. Your down payment need equal only one-fourth of the total valuation of both the lot and the house you build on it, so if the valuation of your lot is sufficient you need not invest any cash. In any event your cash down payment will be relatively small.

What Do Monthly Payments Amount to?

All the way from $25.00 a month and up depending on the value of the house. The designs illustrated in this book show the relatively low monthly payments which home seekers are called upon to make —payments that are less than the usual rent for houses of the same and even less value.

When Do Monthly Payments Start?

Not until four months (120 days) after you order your home.

How Long Can I Take to Pay for My Home?

You can have as long as you want—up to fifteen years.

Do I Have to Renew Mortgages?

No. Under our fifteen year plan there is no renewing of mortgages at any time. This is one of the most appreciated features of the Sears-Roebuck plan, especially by home owners who have experienced the worry and expense connected with the obtaining of new loans. When you buy your home from Sears-Roebuck you will not be saddled with unnecessary financing charges.

What Does Your Price Include?

Sears price includes full quantities of all materials and equipment necessary to make your home complete and ready to live in—window shades, linoleum on the kitchen floor, and in many cases, the electric refrigerator and other appointments you may wish to include.

In districts served by our Home Construction Offices, our price may, if you wish, also include the cost of complete construction of your home.

You know in advance exactly what you are going to get, and the price quoted is guaranteed as the final cost to you.

How Does Sears-Roebuck Handle the Construction?

In communities covered by field construction offices Sears-Roebuck engage the best building contractors and supervise all construction from start to finish. Materials and workmanship are tested and inspected each step of the way to insure meeting local building codes, as well as the requirements of the U. S. Bureau of Standards.

If you wish, you may engage your own contractor, in which case Sears-Roebuck will supervise the construction for you. In exceptional cases, where the owner is a contractor or a skilled building mechanic, he may do some of the building work himself under the direction of Sears supervising engineers, and the value of such work will be credited as a part of his down payment.

This constant supervision speeds up work and avoids material and labor liens, which so often cause expensive delays in home building.

The home owner is also assured of the best workmanship at the lowest costs, as the contractor knows he can rely upon Sears-Roebuck to pay him promptly and frequently for work well done, and he will not be forced, as he often is, to include in his price a hidden charge to cover the possible costs of borrowing money to meet his payroll.

If your home is to be built in a location not served...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Historic Mount Vernon Reproduced at Paris Exposition
• “If You Built That, I Want You to Build My Home”
• The Largest - Home Building Organization in the World
• Everything–We Need to Build –including Money!
• Answers to Your Questions reveal why Sears method is - AMERICA’S MOST POPULAR HOME BUILDING PLAN
• Index of Houses
• Alphabetical List of Designs
• Sears, Roebuck and Co. Offer a Complete Construction Service