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.
Tar paper
Tar paper has been in use for centuries. Originally felt was made from recycled rags but today felts are made of recycled paper products (typically cardboard) and sawdust. The most common product is #15 felt. Before the oil crisis, felt weighed about 15 pounds per square (one square = 100 square feet) and hence the asphalt-impregnated felt was called "15#" and "15-pound felt". Modern, inorganic mats no longer weigh 0.73 kg/m2, and to reflect this fact the new felts are called "#15". In fact, #15 mats can weigh from 7.5 to 12.5 pounds/sq depending on the manufacturer and the standard to which felt is made (i.e., CGSB, ASTM D227 Standard Specification for Coal-tar saturated Organic Felt Used in Roofing and Waterproofing, ASTM D4990, Standard Specification for Coal Tar Glass Felt Used in Roofing and Waterproofing, or none). Thirty-pound (30#) felt is now #30 felt, and usually weighs 16 to 27 pounds per square.