Hard to believe but they did, cable/pyro runs were dead straight with clips precisely spaced apart, tray and trunking work was meticulously shaped without gaps showing just to give some examples(the attention to little details) and the work didn't take much longer to do as the tradesmen were skilled in working that way, nowadays it seems to be just "chucked in" and a lot of horrors are hidden under the floorboards, it seems todays "tradesmen" only seem to take care about what they do in their own homes and can't wait to get out of the buildings they are doing work for someone else in, there just doesn't seem to be that sense of pride anymore because of time constraints, money or whatever. A sad reflection of the times we live in today.