JOURNAL

JOURNAL

Welcome to our blog page – Here you’ll find some personal insights & opinions, alongside our views on projects within the Prime Residential Construction sector.

(100% AI free – We promise)

 

It’s a more relaxed approach to the website and may provide you with some ideas or points to think about for your own project. We hope you find some of the content useful, and if you would like to speak further with either Jeremy or Joseph about a potential project, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Keeping It Simple

17 December 2025

At university, I had a very intelligent and highly experienced Physics lecturer who taught Statics and Dynamics. Ray’s CV boasted senior positions at Airbus, designing the A380, and later at McLaren F1 where he headed up a team of aerodynamicists.

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An example of fitted furniture in a walk in wardrobe within a master bedroom

Cost Vs Value

22 October 2025

Just because a product or service is at the higher end of the cost spectrum, doesn’t automatically mean it offers value for money – And it should

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Timber framing on a barn conversion in the Kent countryside

Marketing 101 – Cliché or Necessity?

17 October 2025

We’ve always posted Taylor Kings’ content on our Instagram page – not with a view to market ourselves, but rather because we’ve always enjoyed what we do and been proud of the projects we’re fortunate enough to work on.

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Taylor Kings blog post image 1 – residential builders in Kent, Sussex & Surrey

How Big Things Get Done

30 September 2025

I was chatting with an architect recently and I recalled a book which I read in early 2024, by Bent Flyvbjerg & Dan Gardner called ‘How Big Things Get Done’. The conversation made me pick it up again last night to peruse.

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Incredible bathroom fitted inside a prime residential new build in Sevenoaks by Taylor Kings Construction

Quality Over Quantity

24 September 2025

It’s Sunday afternoon, I’m sitting drinking a coffee and pondering over Taylor Kings’ marketing strategy, which leads me to think about the correlation between social media, quality brands and quality products in today’s world.

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Our post-construction phase framework.

  • Deep Cleaning – We employ professional cleaners who understand the importance of the products they are using and the methods they adopt.
  • Completion inspections – We go over every inch of the project to ensure that the work meets our incredibly high expectations.
  • Submission of Certification – We submit all certification to the building inspector/s to achieve project completion.
  • Handover – We carry out a full walk-through with our clients so that they can be shown the operations of all new equipment.
  • Operations & Maintenance Manual – We assemble and present a full O&M folder with guides for any new systems and care instructions.
  • Documentation Pack – Alongside the O&M manual, we assemble a documentation pack for any work completed which includes as-built drawings, service mark-ups, specification packs and relevant certifications.
  • Contacts Directory – Beyond being the main point of contact, we also form a comprehensive list of contacts which have worked on the project.
  • 12 Month Rectification Visit – As standard on any project, we always return after 12 months to carry out any snagging.
  • Ongoing support – We are there for our existing clients, long after completion. From handyman tasks to full maintenance plans, we offer a level of service which is not offered to the wider public.

Our construction phase framework.

  • Internal Inspections – There are a host of inspections to be completed and recorded on a daily and weekly basis. From welfare facilities, tidiness and security to major safety considerations such as scaffolding – our site agents use a centralised mobile application, where we have created bespoke templates to follow and track all of the inspections.
  • External Inspection – We organise and fulfil compliance inspections from building and warranty inspectors and our third-party health and safety inspector.
  • Meetings – We hold official weekly site meetings for the project team and all parties which are affected the current or imminent programme. We also hold official progress meetings, normally on a monthly frequency, with the clients and wider project team.
  • Reviews – We constantly review and tweak all of the various pre-construction project plans and main programme, issuing any changes to the project team and client.
  • Quality Control – Anyone working on our sites knows the exceptional standards we expect, but we still remain vigilant and ensure that the standards are met in every detail.
  • Information Collation – we collate and present all building control inspections, product warranties, operating and maintenance records and start to form the post-completion documentation.

Our pre-construction framework.

  • Define the Project Scope – We sit down and evaluate the drawings, technical specifications and information schedules before setting out clear project objectives, deliverables, a breakdown of key components and a list of possible conflicts.
  • Set a Project Programme – using the agreed scope, we layout a project programme. We do this using GANTT chart software which is a tool to visualise and rationalize time scales.
  • Form a Cost Management plan – we use the costing documents and project programme to estimate financial forecasts.
  • Form a Risk Management plan – we seek to find, highlight and plan for any items which may create risk to the programme or budget.
  • Form a Health and Safety plan – this is an extension of our Construction Phase Plans and highlights our use of developed Risk and Method Statements.
  • Create a communication plan – how we inform any external parties like neighbours of work that may affect them, we look at setting on/off site meeting frequencies, expectations for the transfer of information in RFI’s (requests for information), completion of various Registers and form a centralised shared information hub.
  • Form a Procurement Plan – We assess the lead times of all proposed materials and trades and map these against the project programme to highlight any risks to the programme. 
  • Highlight Quality Concerns – we review the selected materials and specifications to assess any areas which will need careful quality control to meet our high expectations.

Our compliance commitments:

  • Qualified and competent personnel for every role, including Site Manager.
  • Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) qualified site agents.
  • Dedicated Construction Phase Plans.
  • Fully developed Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS).
  • Thorough Fire Control and Emergency Plans.
  • Detailed site inductions for all personnel and visitors.
  • Correct and clear site signage and first aid stations.
  • Regular inspections and maintenance of all plant and equipment by qualified third party inspectors (LOLER).
  • Daily inspections of plant and equipment.
  • Regular site inspection audits by a third party health & safety consultant.