Do I Have a Haver Home?

Since Haver Homes often are difficult to differentiate from other similar designs, and since blueprints confirming the architect are rare to come by and often not found on file with the city, this taxonomy may help you identify your potential Haver Home.

Disclaimer: This document is provided as a tool, not a professional appriaisal. ModernPhoenix is held harmless for any claim you may make that your home is a Haver, particularly in real estate listings. If you are unsure, you may still say that your home has "Haver Flavor".

 

Is the home located in one of the known Haverhoods?

• If yes, chances are your home is a Haver, too.
• If no, you might have a custom Haver home or a stock design that happens to not be in a tract. Custom homes are rare, tract homes are ubiquitous. Or, you might live in a neighborhood we don't already know about, so send us plenty of photos and some cross-streets.

 

Does it have a low pitched roofline?

• If yes, is it low-slung enough? A typical slope is a 1" rise to every 12" with a maximum roof height of 11 or 12 feet.
• If no, you probably don't have a Haver on your hands. Nearly all residences have a low pitched roof with rare exceptions noted at the end of this list, especially Campus Homes.

 

Is the home constructed primarily of red brick or cement block supported by wooden beams?

• If yes, your home may also feature wainscoting on the front elevation, or board-and-batten panels above the wainscoting.
• If no, you probably do not have a Haver. All known residences are red brick or cement block.

 

Does it have clinker-brick wainscoting?

• If yes, Haver is the only known builder who used this technique in the Valley. Compare to Town and Country and Rancho Vista.
• If no, does the wainscoting have some kind of character such as a patterned texture, relief blocks or other integral design? Most Haver designs did not feature wainscoting, but if yours does that's special.

 

Does it have a massive rectangular chimney volume that is a prominent feature of the home's elevation?

• If yes, your Haver Hearth most likely has no mantle and is naked, as shown above.
• If no, you might just have a chimney-less home.

 

Does it have floor to ceiling windows?

• If yes, the panes should be primarily undivided and large scaled plate glass, with the exception noted of the 9-pane configuration below.
• If no, there are known Haver homes without floor to ceiling windows.

 

Does it have a large wall of floor-to-ceiling windows in a nine-pane configuration?

• If yes, compare your home to those in Camelback Park Estates and Campus Homes . These homes have long been rumored to be of Haver origin, but hard evidence has yet to surface.
• If no, there are plenty of known Haver homes without this configuration.

 

Does it have clerestory windows immediately beneath the roofline?

• If yes, compare to Marlen Grove style.
• If no, you could just have a Haver without clerestories.

Does it have large-paned windows beneath the roofline that mirror the roof's angle?

• If yes, compare to Town and Country and Rancho Vista.
• If no, you could just have a plain old Haver, or a remodel that eliminates the feature.

 

Does it have a patio shade structure that is a natural extension of the roofline creating an outdoor room?

• If yes, compare to Marlen Grove, Town and Country and Rancho Vista.
• If no, is the porch an important feature of the home's plan? Outdoor living was an important feature of Haver-style living.

Does it have plate glass casement (crank) windows?

• If yes, your home is probably an earlier model.
• If no, your home might be a later model when this feature fell out of fashion.

 

Does it have block construction room dividers that reach only 3/4 of the way to the ceiling? Or an open wooden bookshelf room divider built into the entryway?

• If yes, compare to Tonka Vista and Marlen Grove models. (example shown here many not be original, source pictures sought of room dividers)
• If no, your home just might not have this rare interior feature.

Does it have large or divided-pane windows that wrap around the corner of the home?

• If yes, your home is probably an earlier model.
• If no, your home might be a later model when this feature fell out of fashion.

 

Does it have wooden tapered carport columns, or slightly tapered/angled columns supporting other roofline elements?

• If yes, compare to Marlen Grove and Canal North styles.
• If no, there should be an integrated carport of some sort. Enclosed garages were rare.

Do the roof beams penetrate the wall and sometimes extend past the roofline?

• If yes, compare to Windemere and Marlen Grove styles. Their beams often penetrate out past the roofline.
• If no, you could just have a normal roof.

 

Does it feature plain and economical block fenestration using patterns of stacked blocks and voids?

• If yes, compare to Starlite Vista. This neighborhood has excellent examples of blocks being used decoratively in simple ways.
• If no, you could just have a plain Haver. If the block itself is fenestrated (like the ModernPhoenix logo) chances are it is not a Haver or it is a later-era additon.

Does it have pigment-impregnated concrete floors?

• If yes, are they burgundy or yellow ochre? These are the most popular known colors used. It is not uncommon for Haver Home owners to restore these concrete finishes to beautifully weathered, polished surfaces.
• If no, are there any exposed unpigmented concrete pads in interior spaces?

 

Is there a patio of red brick laid in herringbone or basketweave pattern?

• If yes, this is a tradition for Haver family residences, and you could have a custom home.
• If no, it is unknown whether this craft carried over into tract homes.

Was the home built after 1946 and before 1973?

• If yes, it could be a Haver. His most prolific years for residential building were the mid 1950s.
• If no, its not a Haver. He was not working in the valley before '46 or after '73.

Is the home rather normal looking compared to other Havers?

• If yes, don't get so discouraged. Haver designed several red brick tract homes near 7th Avenue and Butler that have few if any distinguishing Haver characteristics. Who knows what other kinds of homes he designed on the down-low!
• If no, you might want to trust your gut and ask one of our Preferred Realtors. Chances are if it looks like a Haver using the criteria above, it probably is.

 

How you'll know its NOT a Haver Home

• Very rare decorative or structural use of flagstone or desert masonry ala Frank Lloyd Wright
• Very little use of rounded or curved elements ala Beadle
• No known use of yard sculptures ala Beadle
• Very few known uses of two stories or split levels in tract residences, unless it is a poor remodel. Split-level designs were a favorite form he used for custom homes only.