Over a century ago, Aladdin Homes began offering a kit home package. The “homes by mail” concept worked and it is estimated that over 100,000 kit house packages were sold between 1906 and 1940. Aladdin continued to sell kit houses until 1981. The homes were offered in a wide variety of styles and sizes and were generally less expensive to build. The packages typically included all the components, including the kitchen sink, and were assembled by the homeowner or a builder on site. The homes were shipped by rail and included home plans and detailed construction instructions. Mortgages were available from the catalog company.
Sears (or those of us old enough to remember “Sears, Roebuck and Company) and Wardway (Montgomery Ward) followed Aladdin’s lead and offered homes through their catalogs. Montgomery Ward partnered with Van Tine to produce and deliver their kits.
There are many of these homes still occupied today. They may (or may not) have been renovated once or more and identifying the home as a kit home may require some research. However, the discovery would surely add to the value of the home and home ownership.
Today, with home improvement stores in most towns, it would be hard to ship every piece of a home and still be competitive. Local building codes would require modifications (though Aladdin promised that their packages met every building code) and most of us would be overwhelmed when a package with thousands and thousands of parts arrived on our site.
Timber frame kits offer a step into that simpler time. TFH has offered kits since 1997 and still provides a shell for each home. The kits are designed and engineered to meet each local code and plans are revised to work for each client. The finish work is completed by the homeowner or builder, but on a much simpler level than in the days of a Sears or Aladdin kit. The Timber Frame Homes kit home will be energy efficient, sustainable and also a treasure a century or more from now.
That said, I’ll sign off for now.
