Insulating a Roof That Was Never Meant to Be Insulated
원문: 한옥 리모델링 기록 #7 (천장 단열, 마당 외벽 마감 계획, 서까래 도장 테스트, 우천 대비)
Day eight. The ceiling insulation push, a plan for the courtyard-facing walls, and a color decision we got wrong on the first try.
Foam board between the rafters. The method settled in earlier tests now became production work: measure each bay, cut the pink foam board slightly proud, offer it up, shave the tight spots with a box cutter, bond with urethane foam adhesive, then pin it mechanically with hinge-pins so it can’t work loose. Twenty-five bays installed today, eighteen more cut and ready.
What makes it slow isn’t the cutting — it’s the house. No two bays are the same width, and the rafters themselves curve, because they were trees more recently than they were lumber. Every piece is bespoke.
One material note: foam board is a joy (cuts like sugarcane), but the adhesive is a menace — cream-textured, and it ends up on everything. Spray-on cleaner for the foam gun wipes it off perfectly while fresh.
Planning the courtyard walls. We cleared out the dust, leaves, and stray branches packed between the eaves, then sketched the finish build-up: clean the eave cavities → fit foam board offcuts as backing fill → finish with X18 tile-adhesive cement. The foam here isn’t primarily for insulation — it’s filler that gives the plaster a clean, continuous base. We had a surplus of offcuts from the ceiling work; nothing wasted.
The stain test that failed. We tested oil stain for the exterior timber. The rose-red my brother brought back went on far too red against the original rafters. The goal is to match the existing aged-timber tone, not repaint history — walnut is reordered for the next test.
A designer’s outside eye. An interior design meeting covered bathroom and kitchen placement, which style of traditional doors to use, and furniture layout. It caught something we’d completely missed: we hadn’t reserved space for a sofa and side table — the things guests actually sit on.
Rain forecast for tomorrow, so we tarped the stripped roof sections and called it a day.
Originally logged in Korean on February 24, 2026 — read the original. Translated and edited by the brothers who did the work.