Defense housing, Erie, Pennsylvania. Pre-fabricated sheets of asbestos reinforced with gypsum serve as an economical base for plaster walls and ceilings. These sheets, nailed directly to studs, also afford protection against heat and cold. A crew of fourteen men (ten lathers and four laborers) can lathe a four-unit building in a few hours. A crew of plasters moves in as the crew of lathers moves out. Although defense homes are speedily built, they are soundly constructed. Government inspectors keep a rigid check to see that all construction materials live up to government standards