Is this a kit home?

[mtmNJ]

Greetings,
I've been researching kit home companies to try and see if mine is indeed one of them. I've had no luck. Located in Monmouth County NJ, the earliest records show that the land was sold/subdivided in 1923 and 3 homes were built in 1933. These 3 homes are almost exactly alike, each having a different feature. Neighbor has clipped gables, I have fireplace and dormer in front, other neighbor has "base model". Can't find any markings on the rafters, etc.
Closest floor plan that is similar is "The Rodessa" but definitely not a match. Has anybody seen a bungalow like this without the signature front porch spanning the width of the house?

[Gothichome]

MTM, welcome to the he district. I’m afraid I can’t answer that. But you mentioned there are two more in close proximity with only exterior differences, to me it sounds like the same builder built all three homes with changes to the exterior. This was done frequently, one set of drawings, able to leverage purchases of materials, guys on site so they can be shuffled about. Now whether the builder ordered kits and modified on site I can’t say.
Your home looks very nice, is all that upkeep your work?

[mtmNJ]

Thanks for the reply. Definitely makes sense that this was one builder. Too bad they never submitted plans to the county. I pretty much handle all the upkeep, slowly removing all the bad decisions made by previous owners from the interior and trying to get it back to what it was but with a few modern upgrades.

[mjt]

I also cannot help answer your original question about whether it's a kit home.

Either way it's a lovely place. Please share more photos!

[JacquieJet]

Sorry I can't help with your original question, but I just wanted to say welcome!
Also, if your home was built by a builder company (which seems likely), you may be able to find some evidence in old architecture journals in and around the years before your build date. For me, I found my builder's proposal to build our subdivision was published (maybe there is/was a rule requiring this?). My city didn't have these records, I needed to look at old journal archives from Toronto (online! Imagine!). So far I have found zero information about the house model/build details for my specific house, but I've mapped the subdivision on microfiche using the city records office.
Might be a lead to explore. Goodluck!

[Gothichome]

MTM, a long time ago we had regular poster, MaryT, if my memory is correct. She was (and hopefully still is) the kit home guru. Check around some of the kit home chat sites. There’s bound to some one who will know. And as MJT mentioned, we all love pics of old homes.

[phil]

most of the houses near me anyway that are of that age had really low handrails. it was part of the style and does not fit modern code but houses with this feature are grandfathered. I noticed the roof above the stairs has a different slope from the rest so there could be some changes? the chimney on the side of the house is common in the 50's houses here but most of the older houses kept the chimney indoors so the heat wasn't wasted but towards the 50's I guess the heat was cheap enough so the fireplaces were intended for ambiance but not heat so much. It looks like you have two!

If you have houses with a similar footprint near you perhaps you could notice how these other features and the dormer, fit with those ones to try to determine if they were later mods or part of the original build.

It sure looks like a pretty house and it sure does have a finished look to it. likely it had shingles originally so it's got an updated exterior, hopefully they spared painting the interior woodwork as another feature would likely be long plank edge grain fir floors and big 8"fir baseboards and 4" casings on all the doors and windows inside. Many by now have been painted over or have received laminate floors or carpet rather than refinishing.

If it was a craftsman style house other features would be the triangular brackets at the roof line and window and door casings where the top casing has a trapezoid shape. these may be lost features that could be restored to make it look more in keeping with the original style. I suspect it was a craftsman style house and I suspect a flipper tried to modernize it a lot but they also made it look clean and new for sale and that was probably their intention. Switching back would be not profitable and it would be strictly a labor of love to try to change it all.

You might choose to notice what it originally had and keep the craftsman style in mind if you do future mods. Maybe keep your eyes out for antique windows if they have gotten to those. they may be standard sizes. Near me they tear down a lot of nice old houses to get the lots because they like to divide the wider lots so you might see some of that happening there and be able to get some of the missing original bits while keeping costs down.
A lot of the houses near me have received a total gutting and they lift them and pour new foundations that are deeper so they can build suites on the basement floor. In old houses the basements weren't' really living space but now people lift them because they want the space for rentals. . Often they loose the original siding , all the windows and casings and such during the process. they bust out all the lath and plaster and insulate and plumb to modern standards. since they are then modifying the structure so much they can't have things that don't fit code so along with it go features like low handrails. If houses are owned and maintained but not completely reno'd then owners can keep the features since they are not pulling permits or changing the design but if you start lifting and modifying then the plans have to meet a more modern inspection. Sadly most of these modified houses also loose their original fireplaces but it looks like yours has been kept intact, so that's a good sign. You can't replace fireplaces here now. I don't think they are even permitted in new builds so to have one now is a bonus. one feature that was add was those non functional shutters. I think it was a 70's trend. If they are functional Id keep them for their intended use but unless im overlooking something it seems obvious from the street that the shutters in the dormer wouldn't work because they are narrower than the windows. I hope I'm being helpful and not insulting. Its obviously a nice house. If it were mine I'd just try to reclaim some of the features to reclaim the craftsman style but I wouldn't go so far as to loose the siding , or if I did It would have to be for personal satisfaction and not profit because really. only old house lovers notice a lot of this. A lot of us go to great strides to preserve originality but I dare say it isn't always a profitable undertaking, more a labor of love thing.

[1918ColonialRevival]

If you can see unfinished boards in the basement, look for numbers stamped on them. That will give you an indication if it is a kit.

1933 was the tail end of the era when bungalows like this were commonly built. A lot of home builders viewed this style as well on its way out by then. Since there is some slight variation in yours and your neighbors', I suspect that a local builder took a design from a plan book printed about 10 years earlier, modified it to suit the customer's tastes, and built it. Books full of various house designs and plans were very popular in the first quarter of the 20th Century.

[phil]

I guess it does appear older. by 36 or so they were into more curves, curved doorways, curved top sashes, cove ceilings, and away from the straight and "almost square but tapered and overbuilt" sort of look of the craftsman homes. so maybe things like the corner braces I mention never existed? It seemed craftsman style to me, the shape of it reflects many others near me but each is a bit different. I have also noticed other homes that used a similar floor plan to mine. Back then the builder stayed with the project more. less contractors, so it would make sense they would continue building similar homes and not every one built reflects the latest trend of the day. Likely just an older builder that wasn't quick to change the style he was used to? a lot of the houses around me in that era seem to be stucco but I don't know if that was a later "upgrade"