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["Don Bowen" <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>]

> I am pondering homemade insulation. Sawdust is abundant and cheap. It
> would seem good if it were very dry and if it were contained within a
> fire-resistant wall structure. Would also need tight vapor barrier to
> keep it dry and perfect caulking to keep bugs out.

In Spokane I saw several houses insulated with sawdust.  It an area of
sawmills it was cheap.  Sawdust settles and when I was there 20+ years ago
there were companies just starting to use the then increasingly inexpensive
IR imaging techniques.  They delighted in showing images of the heat
escaping the tips of walls.  There were programs at the time to drill holes
in your siding and blow in new insulation..

Modern sawdust insulation uses a borax treatment to reduce insect
infestation.  

Don Bowen  KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html