Also lets not forget that there was plenty of shoddy construction throughout the ages - if you had the goods and the means, you did it well. If you didn't, you didn't. Hence why it's hard to tell what average people's lives were like so long ago. Not to mention that a particular style or material could have been used simply because it was fashionable at the time - not necessarily because it would last.
![[Image: Untitled2_zpswaosccbr.png]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i1140.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fn569%2Fthesummerqueen%2FUntitled2_zpswaosccbr.png)