Oakum
Oakum is a preparation of tarred fibre used to seal gaps. Its main traditional applications were in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships; in plumbing, for sealing joints in cast iron pipe; and in log cabins for chinking. In ship caulking, it was forced between the seams using a hammer and a caulking iron, then sealed into place with hot pitch.
Tack strip
Tack strip (US) (also known as gripper rod (UK), carpet gripper, Smoothedge (Can), tackless strip, and gripper edge) is a thin piece of wood, between long and about wide, studded with hundreds of sharp nails or tacks used in the installation of carpet. They are nailed, tack side up, to the perimeter of the area being carpeted. After the underlay is installed, the carpet is cut to fit, stretched over the area and firmly anchored to the edges of floor via the tack strips. The strip has two functions: first, the tacks grip the carpet and permanently hold it in place and second, the carpet edge is jammed into the gap between the tack strip and the wall which gives it a finished look with little effort. This method allows a high quality, long lasting installation to be completed quickly and easily.