Sears Homes?????

Song Dog

How many of you had the opportunity to work on one?
I just love the solid concrete bathroom floors, which are on the 2nd floor

In Christ,

Song Dog

Grumpyplumber

I did one modular prefab...never again.
Pipes already laid inside the walls and ceilings that had horrendous pitch...vents and drains that I have no clue what code these guys go by.
I don't wanna think if there were a hidden leak somewhere.
I almost wanted to just rip it all out and start from scratch.

mdshunk

There's a whole neighborhood in the town I work in with Sears kit homes. They're definately nothing to take lightly. Box beam joists on 4 foot centers that you can't drill through. Heck, the top and bottom chors of the box beam are 2x4's, and the sides of the box are 1/4" plywood. Trusses on 4' centers made out of 2x2's that are carriage bolted together. 2x2 walls. Drywall is more like Homosote and drywall mixed together into one weird board. Windows are more like trailer home windows or storm windows. They present some special challenges when you're called in for service or remodeling.

Song Dog

We also have a neighborhood not too far from me that are all sears homes. They are in Carlinville IL. It had to do with a coal mine and the workers.
A guy owns alot of them for rental homes and I do all the work on them.
Why, do I do it? They pay good and I pretty much now have a handle on themI think.

Modular prefabs? I don't know what they are thinking when they plumb them up or double wides for that matter. I think as long as they (double wides)are HUD approved they can pass into any state. If we plumbed a house like a double wide, we would get hammered hard. I don't get it.

In Christ,

Song Dog

Grumpyplumber

Right...and many local inspectors put contractors through the wringer here...red tape and time.
I don't blame 'em.

K2

I have a couple of sears books for plans and kits from around 1910. I guess they decided that they should get back into it since most of those homes have survived... Home estimates start at $900.inc/labor. Some plans have no bathroom and some have a little room for a future bathroom... Speedy and the other sparkies would probably have been unemployed for another couple of years.

BigMikeB

It has nothing to do with the inspector, they have an engineers stamp on the blue prints, he is taking the responcibility. I have seen some with plumbing I wouldn't have for a dog house, I think more of my pet.