Sawdust as insulation???

[Oakville Shooter]

I have access to all the sawdust I could possibly ever use and them some. If I insulate the walls, I will have to cover the inside with OSB or something anyway, so I am thinking about covering with OSB and filling the cavities between the studs with sawdust. What do you think? Good idea or bad idea?

 

[patandchickens]

The drawbacks are that sawdust is poor insulation (low R value) compared to fiberglass batts or rigid foamboard, and it will settle (i.e. become worse and worse insulation value as time goes on), and when it gets damp it will be even *worse* insulation and encourage rot.

If it is sawdust or nothing, I'd go with sawdust, but if you are in a climate where insulation really matters I'd pick something with a better R value.

At the very least, if you use sawdust do your UTMOST to prevent moisture from being able to get in there, and maybe make the top of the inside wall panels a separate piece so you can top up the sawdust next year after it's started to settle.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[CityChook]

Seems like it could become mousie heaven. Of course, maybe fiberglass insulation is too -- I just know how our hamster likes to root around in wood shavings.... I guess it would be better than nothing.

 

[team_realtree]

I would suggest using roxul or fiberglass batts. Depending on your coop size I would bet you can do it for under 100 bucks...