HOUSING WITH REFERENCE TO MALARIA CONTROL 
313 
mosquito-proofed several years previously 
on other projects were inspected very thor¬ 
oughly to determine where improvement 
might be made to make the work more ser¬ 
viceable and durable. Some of the experi¬ 
ences with respect to construction are as 
follows: 
(1) It is not advisable to use woods other than 
cypress in the construction of door frames. 
(2) It is not advisable, generally, to attempt to 
utilize old existing screen door frames. 
(3) It is very important to protect the screen 
wire of the bottom panel of the door with the heavy 
i inch mesh hardware cloth and to place a diagonal 
brace in the lower corner of the upper panel where 
a person might otherwise push against the screen 
wire in opening the door. 
(4) It is advisable to close fireplace openings 
with a removable fireplace screen of plyboard con¬ 
struction. Hanging a basket of moth balls in the 
chimney, sealing the top of the chimney with screen 
wire or covering with canvas, closing the opening 
with sacks stuffed with hay, paper, or other mate¬ 
rial have all been tried with indifferent success. 
(5) The large-headed No. 6 bill poster tacks have 
proved satisfactory for fixing screen wire and paper. 
(6) The 16-mesh galvanized screen woven of not 
less than .01 inch diameter wire has proved satis¬ 
factory. However, near the seacoast or about in¬ 
dustrial plants where a corrosive atmosphere may 
exist, using a wire of larger diameter and more 
resistant composition, as bronze, should be con¬ 
sidered. 
(7) The 90 pound basic kraft paper is reason¬ 
ably tough and to date has proved a very satisfac¬ 
tory material for covering walls and eelings. There 
are other heavier and tougher papers, some even 
water-resistant, which are available at reasonable 
cost. The principal cost of papering walls and 
ceilings is the labor of application. 
(8) It is advisable to replace deteriorated door 
and window frames. 
(9) It is very important when applying roofing 
paper for closing cracks in floors to repair the 
planking by necessary nailing or bracing. 
An analysis of the last contract com¬ 
pleted shows that there was an average of 
3 doors and 1 fireplace for closure per 
house. There was further, 112 square feet 
of screen wire, 1000 square feet of wall 
paper, 180 square feet of roofing paper for 
floors, and 180 board feet of lumber re¬ 
quired in mosquito-proofing the average 
house, in addition to some miscellaneous 
items, as tacks, nails, springs and hooks for 
doors. The above materials cost $16 for 
the average house. The contractor on the 
work indicated that an average of 37 man¬ 
hours of labor per house were required to 
apply the materials. Assuming that 40c 
per hour was the average labor cost, then 
this item would amount to $15, making the 
average total cost per house approximately 
$31. In applying these data elsewhere it 
would be advisable to make adjustments 
for local costs of material and labor, includ¬ 
ing any necessary items for transportation, 
supervision and overhead. 
The annual maintenance of the mosquito-' 
proofing was also handled by contract in a 
similar manner. Items were added for re¬ 
fitting and repairing screen doors and re¬ 
tacking paper and screen wires. In order 
to interest bidders in this type of work it 
was necessary to include an item for truck 
mileage since there was considerable travel 
in proportion to the volume of work speci¬ 
fied. 
During the spring of 1940 the 344 houses 
mosquito-proofed during 1938 and 1939 
were gone over with a maintenance opera¬ 
tion. Some new mosquito-proofing was re¬ 
quired on houses built recently, rebuilt or 
occupied since the original mosquito-proof¬ 
ing was done. All such work was lumped 
together with the regular rehabilitation 
and classified as an item of the maintenance 
of mosquito-proofing in the whole area. 
The regular rehabilitation consisted of 
refitting and repairing screen doors and 
fireplace screens, patching screen wire, re¬ 
tacking screens, paper and strips of tin and 
replacing door and window facings as re¬ 
quired. At current wholesale prices the 
materials used have been estimated to aver¬ 
age 80c per house. The contractor esti¬ 
mates that 4.4 man hours of labor were re¬ 
quired which, if an average of 40c per hour 
is applied, would result in a total labor cost 
of $1.75. The total cost for labor and ma¬ 
terials would, therefore, average $2.56 per 
house exclusive of transportation, super¬ 
vision, overhead and profit charges. 
The first year’s maintenance operations 
indicate that the people really appreciate 
the work and are taking reasonable care of 
the mosquito-proofing. In no case has 
wanton or careless abuse been observed. 
