Popomo
The Popomo is sleek, simple and our easiest house to build. The hot rolled corrosion resistant steel siding (available here) separates this house from anything else on the road. At 8 feet – 6 inches wide, the Popomo maximizes the road width without requiring any special permit to tow. Weighing approximately 7000 lbs, it can be towed easily by many full sized trucks. Including the hitch, the trailer is approximately 23′ long.
Step inside this single level house, 172 square foot house on wheels and you’ll find the basic necessities:
Living Room
Once inside the Popomo you are greeted by the 3 panel sliding back door. Designed to maximize both view and solar gain, the tiny house can be made to feel amazingly large. One side of the front door is flanked by a built in closet, and the other side showcases the stainless steel fireplace.
Kitchen
The kitchen is equipped with a small refrigerator, built in stove top, and a sink. White cabinets are offset by charcoal black counter tops. Hidden in the blind corner is a small propane water heater. The kitchen uses standard cabinet sizes that can be found at almost any hardware store (Home Depot or Lowe’s) or buy directly from our website.
Can I add a dishwasher or laundry to the kitchen?
In theory, you can change the layout of the kitchen to meet your needs. That said, don’t expect it to be easy. As you can see, there isn’t too much room to play with.
Bedroom
The bedroom is 4′8″ wide (a little smaller than a queen mattress) and can sleep 2 people. A large piece of foam is cut and rolled up to fit through the door before being put into place. Cabinets and shelves flank both the head and foot of the bed.
Can I add a loft?
While it is possible to add a loft, this house is not intended to have a loft. Maximum road height in many states is 13′6″, and the house stands at 12′3″ without the loft. Please check your states minimum road sizes before deciding to increase the height.
Bathroom
Like on many boats, the bathroom is the shower … and it is called a “wet bath”. Using water proof truck liner paint, the walls of the bathroom are sealed tight, allowing for a quick shower. The toilet is a low flush RV toilet designed to conserve water.
Efficient and Warm
In addition to being affordable to build, the Popomo uses a beautiful stainless steel propane fireplace to warm the house, which compliments the large windows intended to face South during the winter for excellent solar gain. We’ve worked with HVAC engineers to insulate the house properly so that it stays warm enough, or cool enough in any climate in the continental US, the Alaskan coastline and Hawaii. The Popomo can be heated to 68 degrees in climates as cold as 35 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit). For those living outside the continental US, we’ve added a table showing the additional heating requirements needed … for example in the interior of Canada and interior Alaska. Other utilities work much the same as an RV … Learn more
Building the Popomo
Building plans are FREE when you purchase The Small House Book. You’ll be able to download them instantly.
Estimated Material Costs: $20,000
Inside, you’ll find construction plans fit for a contractor, plus easier-to-read 3d illustrations for the novice builder.
Take away the guess work. The plans show you where each framing stud goes, including shear walls and roofing.
Most of the materials required to build this house are available at your local hardware store. Any harder to find materials are listed in our plans with stores that you can buy them at. For a list of resources, please click here.
How do I find a trailer?
The Popomo is built on an 20′ long flatbed trailer.
• You can download the spec sheet here.
• Click here to see a list of vendors around the US that sell the trailer. There are many other vendors too.
Do I have to build it on a trailer?
Because of its tiny size, it doesn’t meet the minimum size standards required for houses on a foundation.
Where do I find hot rolled corrosion resistant steel?
You can buy COR-TEN (Hot Rolled Corrosion Resistant Steel) pre-cut to the specific sizes required for the Popomo directly from our website.
Can I use a different exterior siding
Yes. For example, painted board and baton siding would work just as well.
Why does the Small House Book show an 18′ trailer?
We updated the Popomo plans to be slightly larger and put it on a larger trailer.
Roof
The roof appears to be flat, but is actually at a small slope. The rain water rolls off the back end of the house.
More information…
Can I see the Popomo?
Not yet. This house plan is brand new as of June 2010 and not built yet. You can be one of the first to build it.
Can you help me built it? We offer building workshops throughout the US and Canada. See our upcoming workshops.
Do you have more pictures?
Once this house is built, please send your pictures and we will gladly add them to our website. At this point in time, we don’t have more pictures.
Can you build it for me?
Yes, we can build the Popomo for $40,000. It takes 3 months from the time it is ordered until completion and may take up to 2 weeks to deliver in the continental US (We don’t deliver to other countries, Alaska or Hawaii). Delivery costs are listed here.
If you are interested in buying a ready made Popomo, please read this.
Resources
• Stainless Steel Fireplace Heater
• pre-cut COR-TEN steel
• Kitchen Cabinets
• Trailer specs
• Trailer suppliers
Already own the book?
Click here to find out if you can download plans.