We have found 200 year old houses here on the coast and islands of Maine 
that had seaweed stuffed into the wall for insulation. It's thought the 
salt in seaweed tends to act as a preservative against deterioration and 
some bugs. (but not sea bugs, we boil THEM until they're red and eat them)

You want to be sure any natural materials you use are thoroughly dry, so 
you don't get spontaneous combustion, as with hay or straw put up in the 
barn too damp. In the past, there were detailed craft and trade 
practices on how to process these natural materials into building 
materials, reeds for thatch, etc. The conversion was not insignificant 
in labor and cost.

Also, we find birch bark for flashing and clapboard underlayment (1780s 
-1830s) to keep out the wind and water. We also find a layer of lime 
plaster between the rough floor boards and the finish floor boards at 
the first story level. (1840-1860s)--keeps the cold air and damp from 
rising.

around the 1890-1920 era there was a company here in Maine making batt 
insulation products with seaweed (ellgrass?) and sweet salt-marsh grass 
stitched between two layers of brown craft paper, batts about about 1-2" 
thick.

Where I grew up on the Great Plains of Nebraska it was common to stuff 
straw into the walls of wood-framed houses until WWII. It was packed in 
tight by ramming with a 2x4 as the sheathing and lath was run up the 
studs--not so warm as sodie walls but we turned under all that blue stem 
sod decades ago.

For 22 years we heated our 23'x42' house here in Maine with 3-5 cords of 
hardwood in a modern Yodel cast iron stove (back draft type) that took 
28" wood. Wood split to smaller diameter dries better and burns more 
efficiently.

John H. (hayseed) Leeke
long lost son of the prairie grasslands

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