1920 Gordon-Van Tine Kit Houses

Table of Content

• “In 1916 my great-grandfather built his house from a Sears home kit. 100 years later we’ve restored it to its original beauty.”
• Sears The CRESCENT 1921 Model, HonorBilt, Already Cut and Fitted, Five Rooms-Neat Porch, POSTER Print
• Sears WESTLY, 1921 Seven Room Bungalow, Porch, Balcony, HonorBilt, Already Cut and Fitted, POSTER Print
• Sears 1921 AMERICUS Two Storey House, "HonorBilt", Already Cut and Fitted, Six Rooms and Bath, POSTER Print
• HO-Scale - Sears Silverdale 1920s Kit Home - 1:87 Scale Building House
• Vintage Fashion from the 1960s adult coloring book: 50 pages of retro ’60s clothing for women
• Footer

That is not to say that the quality control is necessarily lacking on site-built homes, but there have been more than a few stories about lacking quality. With prefab homes, the quality control is higher because they are being made in climate-controlled settings by the professionals who build homes regularly. Customizations can include plumbing and electricity, which can add to the costs, but this kit starts at just under $8,000. Best of all, so long as site work is completed, it should take two experienced DIYers roughly four days to complete, according to the company. Each of the kits comes with features like beautiful red cedar siding. Not to mention that there are a ton of window and door options through the a la carte feature, allowing for optimal customization from top to bottom.

Additionally, it can be anchored to a concrete slab or to piles depending on your preference. Recalling the Medieval-era cottages of England, Tudor Revival homes were built in all shapes and sizes, from sprawling Tudor manors to smaller suburban versions. Their decorative half-timbering, steeply pitched roofs, casement windows, and other ornate flourishes are easily recognizable.

“In 1916 my great-grandfather built his house from a Sears home kit. 100 years later we’ve restored it to its original beauty.”

The Jamaica Cottage Shop Vermont Cottage is the perfect blend of simplicity, functionality, and rustic appeal. Each cottage is timber-framed and sits atop skits made of hemlock wood. Building it on top of a trailer with wheels allows for simple, stable mobility from your new tiny home.

Less spent on labor, less spent on construction loan interest, and getting into the home quicker are all major wins. When the structure has been assembled, you can coat the smooth milled logs utilizing clear-wood preservatives. By following it up with paint or penetrating sealer stain, you can achieve the color that you want with ease. At 211 square feet, each kit comes with a double-wide door, a pair of windows, and the necessary trims for both. Perhaps the perfect prefab kit home for novice DIYers to put together themselves.

Sears The CRESCENT 1921 Model, HonorBilt, Already Cut and Fitted, Five Rooms-Neat Porch, POSTER Print

If you want modern contemporary, the Allwood Arlanda XL may be hard to beat. It has clean lines that are created by the full-length windows, the vertical wood paneling, and the flat roof. It is the equivalent of a tiny studio that has a certain contemporary look to it that can fit right into any urban setting.

There are some prefab kit companies that will say things like two “handy” adults can build one of their prefabs in just a couple of days. But the thing to keep in mind is that the process is the same whether you are buying a tiny home or building something much larger. Allwood has an entire line of products that would make for a perfect prefab kit home for even the most amateur of DIY builders. Though the Avalon is one of the more expensive offerings they have at almost $39,000, it offers a lot more than some of the other Allwood options.

Sears WESTLY, 1921 Seven Room Bungalow, Porch, Balcony, HonorBilt, Already Cut and Fitted, POSTER Print

The Star Energy Tiny Home is right in the middle, clocking in at 667 square feet. In the living room, the original trim still stands strong, one that Netz was insistent on preserving during the remodel. “Because the trim work was so dark and beautiful, we definitely wanted to keep it that way,” she notes. After sealing it with a matte clear polyurethane, they took to the walls with a fresh coat ofwhite paintto establish a delicate contrast between the two tonal elements. With a handful of strategically placed mirrors that reflect light throughout the space, the living area was instantly refreshed.

The Guest House is no different, offering a weathertight structural shell that can be custom-designed with its owner’s needs in mind. Coming in at just 100 square feet, the Nomad can make the most of that space thanks to high ceilings and an open loft. Not only that, but it can also be customized with a front porch, a slatted wood awning, and a variety of other features that can make the structure feel unique and different from the rest of the offerings on the market. Coming in at 480-square-feet, it is one of the smaller spaces on the list but still packs plenty of punch. It has a living room, bathroom, bedroom, loft, and even a little bit of storage to make the most of that 480-square feet. The square footage requirements all come down to personal preference; some prefer the tiniest setups for a minimalist living experience while others prefer a little more room.

Sears 1921 AMERICUS Two Storey House, "HonorBilt", Already Cut and Fitted, Six Rooms and Bath, POSTER Print

Site-built homes can also run into contractor delays, damage to the materials caused by weather, vandalism, theft, delivery issues, and a litany of other things that can inflate costs and timelines. With the cost of lumber and other components used in the building process on the rise, it creates cost and uncertainty in site-built homes. But with prefab materials, they’re stored safely in climate-controlled buildings, which leads to less waste from defective materials along the way.

Some of these places have been spruced up with upgrades like wine cellars, modern kitchens, and bathrooms with custom tile. The Gordon-Van Tine Co. offered many designs using “top grade lumber” for customers of its kit houses, but also had a special residential planning department for customizable options. So anything like porches, windows, siding, and all the additional features will come separately and cost a lot more.

From handmade pieces to vintage treasures ready to be loved again, Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. It’s also home to a whole host of one-of-a-kind items made with love and extraordinary care. While many of the items on Etsy are handmade, you’ll also find craft supplies, digital items, and more.

Even bringing in professional labor won’t make the timeline all that much longer. Deltec offers some of the most beautiful, adaptable, durable, and distinctive prefab kit homes on the market today. The 360 Collection features a round architectural design which means that there are no interior load-bearing walls.

Notes on home architecture

For starters, it is 540 square feet on the ground floor, all of which can be creatively configured. It can fit two bedrooms, a small bathroom and kitchen, a living room, or any other configuration that you want to achieve thanks to the ample space. It is a ranch-style home, complete with a corner deck that can make for a great hangout space when the weather permits. Even better, the kit comes with all of the necessary materials required to build on a pre-existing foundation other than the doors and windows. Summerwood is popular in the prefab kit home field because their homes are highly customizable.

It appears to have some Swiss Chalet influence, as advocated by Gustave Stickley in The Craftsman magazine of this period. That said, it is important to check for any zoning and building permit requirements before starting. They are different all throughout the United States, so checking with your local building department would be a prudent move before beginning. That said, these are some of the easiest to build for DIYers out there and come in both single- and two-story options. What makes these structures stand out is that they utilize interlocking pieces, which makes it easier for less-experienced DIYers to assemble.