Gaye has discovered that there is no insulation in the walls of his century old home. Is this normal?
Actually it is rare to have no insulation at all even in these old houses, although what insulation they do have may appear a bit strange.
Often in central Canada you will find sawdust in the attic or walls. In the Maritimes you may find seaweed that had been used as insulation. Both of these do have an insulation value, very little, but better than nothing.
Generally we remove this type of insulation to replace it with something better, if it is not hidden in walls that you do not want to open up.
Old but good insulation includes cellulose (ground up newspaper with Borax added for fire and bug proofing) as well as blown in rock wool and fibreglass. If you have any of this you can add modern insulation right over the top, which includes these same products and more modern batts of various insulation materials.
Batt or Blown In?
Use whichever is the easiest to install, they both work well as long as you cover everything with the loose fill and don't leave cracks between batts.