- Location
- Pembroke Dock, Dyfed
- Main postcode district
- SA72
- Nearby (straight line)
- Milford Haven (4 miles), Haverfordwest (8 miles) and Carmarthen (30 miles)
- Survey and quote
- Free, with a fixed written quote
A cold store dock door is an insulated loading bay door built for chilled or frozen buildings, usually a sectional door with thick insulated panels or a high-speed door with an insulated curtain. It differs from a standard dock door in its thermal breaks, extra seals and, on freezer docks, heating in the frame or seals so that ice cannot lock the door shut or tear the seals.
What should sites in Pembroke Dock consider?
Any cold store dock survey in Pembroke Dock is carried out with the store running, so we can see ice, seals and traffic as they really are. For a packhouse in Pembroke Dock handling fresh produce, a well-sealed chilled dock door helps keep warm air out of the store once produce has been cooled.
Food manufacturers in Pembroke Dock moving finished product into frozen storage need doors that resist ice and close quickly behind each forklift or trailer movement.
We never ask you to commit before you have a fixed price. A free survey at your Pembroke Dock site comes first, followed by a written quote. When the order goes ahead, we plan the installation around your operation, book any out-of-hours working you need and manage the specialist installation engineers on site. The job ends with a full test, a run-through for the people who will use the equipment and a set of handover documents.
Why does ice form around a freezer dock door, and how is it stopped?
Ice forms when warm, moist outside air meets the cold surfaces of the door, frame and floor, and the moisture freezes. Over time it builds up in the seals and guides until the door jams or tears its seals.
Ice is controlled by tackling both the cold surfaces and the warm air:
- Heated frames and seals: low-power heating in the side frames and bottom seal keeps those surfaces above freezing.
- Threshold heating: stops the door freezing to the floor.
- A tight seal at the trailer: an inflatable dock shelter or a well-fitted seal keeps outside air away from the opening.
- Short open times: fast operators and interlocks mean the door is only open while a trailer is sealed to the dock.
Condensation dripping inside the store near the door is an early sign of the same problem and worth raising at survey.
Do cold store dock doors have to meet building regulations?
Yes, a new or replacement cold store dock door is still a vehicle access door, so building energy rules apply alongside workplace safety law and product standards.
- England: Approved Document L (2021) Volume 2 limits the U-value of vehicle access and similar large doors to 1.3 W/m²K in new and replacement work. Cold store doors are normally specified to perform better than that to protect the store.
- Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: Approved Document L for Wales, Section 6 of the Scottish Building Standards Technical Handbook and Technical Booklet F2 in Northern Ireland apply. We confirm the figure for your nation and project.
- Power failure: under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 in Great Britain, or the 1993 Northern Ireland regulations, a powered door must be operable by hand where needed for health or safety, unless it opens automatically when power fails.
- Standards: BS EN 13241 for the door and BS EN 12453 for powered operation.
The same published guide range applies across Wales; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.
What do we check at the survey?
- Headroom above the opening and which track type will suit it
- Access for deliveries, cranes or lifting equipment during installation
- Dock height and the mix of trailers you load
- Working hours, shift patterns and windows for out-of-hours work
- Wall and steel structure for door, shelter and bumper fixings
- Yard gradient and the slope of the approach to the dock
Options to discuss
Heated frames and seals
Low-power heating in the side frames, bottom seal or threshold that keeps contact surfaces above freezing so the door does not ice up or tear its seals.
Dock interlocks
Controls that link the door to the shelter, leveller and restraint so the door only opens when a trailer is docked and sealed against the building.
What do the rules in Wales mean for the work?
Wales has its own energy requirements for buildings, set out in Approved Document L for Wales. For new or replacement loading bay doors in Pembroke Dock, we confirm the figure that applies to your project rather than assuming the English one, and we check what applies at survey before a door is specified.
Questions about cold store dock doors in Pembroke Dock
Can you work alongside our main contractor on a new build in Pembroke Dock?
Yes. For new warehouses and fit-outs, we can supply and install the dock package as part of a wider project, working to the main contractor's programme, site rules and permits. We will need drawings, dock levels and the programme, and we coordinate pit details, power supplies and door openings with the relevant trades before installation begins.
Do you remove and dispose of the old equipment?
Yes, where it is part of the scope. When we replace doors, levellers, shelters or seals at a site in Pembroke Dock, removal and disposal of the old equipment can be included and is itemised in the quote, so it is clear what is covered. If anything should be kept, such as a frame or motor that is still serviceable, we agree that at survey.
How do you price cold store dock doors for a site in Pembroke Dock?
Guide budgets for supply and fit are £4,800 to £9,500 per door, excluding VAT. The figure moves with size, insulation, the operator, electrics, access, any pit or groundworks and out-of-hours working. Where levellers are involved, the guide assumes an existing, sound pit. After the free survey you receive a fixed written quote, and that is the price for the agreed scope.
Can a standard sectional door be used on a chilled dock?
A standard insulated sectional door can work on a chilled dock if its panels are thick enough and its seals are in good condition. For frozen docks it is not usually suitable, because it lacks the thermal breaks and frame heating needed to stop ice forming. We advise on the right specification after surveying the store.
Can a cold store door be paired with a high-speed door?
Yes, cold store docks often pair an insulated sectional door on the outside with a fast door just inside it, or use an insulated high-speed door as the only door between zones. The right arrangement depends on traffic, security and how much space there is around the opening.
Cold store dock doors near Pembroke Dock
Distances are measured from Pembroke Dock. Nearby towns we cover include Milford Haven (4 miles), Haverfordwest (8 miles) and Carmarthen (30 miles), and other towns in the area are covered too.
Other loading bay services in Pembroke Dock
Full guide to cold store dock doors · Everything we do in Pembroke Dock
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