Kit Houses

Roofs Block 3

The Sears “Winona” has five-piece brackets—a horizontal member, a vertical member, two diagonal members, and one shorter diagonal member.

 

Roof Brackets serve both a structural and decorative function. Five-piece, three-piece, and horizontal eave brackets are present on houses of the early twentieth century.

 

The Aladdin “Pomona” has horizontal brackets with four pieces–two horizontal and two vertical.

 

 

The Wardway “Danbury” has the most common three-piece bracket–a horizontal, vertical, and diagonal piece forming a simple triangle.

 

Rafter tails are the exposed portions of the roof rafters that extend past the exterior walls of a house. While they had the important function of directing water away from the house, they are also important to the character of the house. Some house designs used false rafter ends to achieve the same visual effect.

Gutters, like rafter tails, project from the exterior walls to carry water away from the house. While many gutter shapes and materials are available today, most gutters on kit houses were a metal, half-round style, or plastic once it became widely available.

 

Rafter tails on the otherwise simple Aladdin “Sunbeam” enliven the exterior. Aladdin Homes, 1929.

 

Stick work in the center gable adds visual interest to the simple bungalow features of the Sears “Somerset.” Sears Modern Homes, 1925.