Interesting post.
My grandparents used to live in a terraced house; which had been built by the lead builder, for himself to live in after construction.

It was built to a higher standard than the rest of the street: It had an alleyway to itself, whereas the others shared one between two properties; the masonry was higher-grade bricks with superior mortar; two doors at the front and back of the house (so entering or leaving was, to my childs eyes, like using an airlock); and so on.

In pretty much every respect, it was over-specced; built like a brick shitehouse. The actual brick shitehouse in the back yard (used mainly as Grandad's private sanctuary and backup to the indoor bathroom) was built like a bunker; and alongside the shed of bricks & concrete, was used as such during WW2.
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Sat 3 Oct 2009, 2:46, Reply)