- Location
- Craigavon, County Armagh
- Main postcode districts
- BT64, BT65 and BT66
- Nearby (straight line)
- Portadown (3 miles), Banbridge (8 miles) and Armagh (13 miles)
- Survey and quote
- Free, with a fixed written quote
A loading house is an insulated steel structure built against the outside wall of a building, containing a dock leveller and usually a shelter or seal at its front. The building door closes at the wall line, while trailers dock against the house. Loading houses suit buildings whose floor is at dock height but which have no room inside for a leveller pit.
Is this right for your site in Craigavon?
Units in Craigavon with floors at dock height but no room for an internal leveller pit are typical candidates for an external loading house. Any loading house proposed in Craigavon needs its planning and building control position checked, which we look at during the site survey before quoting.
For older buildings in Craigavon with a raised floor and little internal space by the wall, an external house can provide a modern hydraulic dock without major alterations.
Before anything is ordered, we visit your site in Craigavon for a free survey and then send a written quote with a fixed price. From that point we manage the installation, coordinating delivery, access and any other trades. Fitting is done by specialist installation engineers engaged and managed by us, at times that suit your operation, including out of hours where agreed. You get a tested installation, a demonstration for your team and the manufacturer documentation.
What is a loading house made of?
A loading house is a steel frame clad in insulated composite panels, with a dock leveller built into its floor and a shelter or seal across its front. It is made to suit your building, trailers and yard rather than bought off the shelf.
- Frame: galvanised or painted steel, supported on legs or a sub-frame that sits on concrete foundations.
- Walls and roof: insulated composite panels, usually colour-matched to the building cladding, with guttering to carry rainwater away.
- Floor and leveller: a steel deck with a hydraulic swing-lip or telescopic-lip leveller set into it.
- Front: a retractable or inflatable shelter or a foam seal, with bumpers below to take trailer impact.
- Building door: an insulated sectional door in the original wall opening, closing the building when no trailer is docked.
- Extras: internal lighting, dock lights and traffic lights as required.
The insulated envelope reduces the heat or chill lost around the trailer compared with an open dock.
Can a loading house be added to an existing building?
Yes, loading houses are often added to existing buildings, provided the floor is at or near dock height and the wall can take a suitable opening. Adding docks without breaking out the floor is one of the main reasons operators choose them.
At survey we check:
- the floor height inside against the yard level outside;
- whether an existing door opening can be used, or a new one formed in the cladding or masonry;
- drains, ducts and other buried services where foundations will go;
- the space trailers need to manoeuvre, and whether an angled house would work better;
- any planning or building control approval the project may need.
Where the existing door is in good condition and suits the new layout, it can sometimes be kept. If your building has floors at yard level, a wider loading bay conversion may be the better route.
The same published guide range applies across Northern Ireland; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.
What we look at on site
- Dock height and the mix of trailers you load
- Age and condition of the equipment already in place
- Gaps around trailers where heated or chilled air escapes
- Escape routes and pedestrian doors close to the bay
- Wall and steel structure for door, shelter and bumper fixings
- Forklift and pallet truck loads crossing the leveller platform
Options to discuss
Angled loading house
Set at an angle to the wall so trailers approach on a diagonal, useful on narrow yards and sometimes allowing more bays to fit along a single elevation.
Leveller choice
A hydraulic swing-lip leveller for general trailer loading, or a telescopic-lip leveller for precise placement, end-loading and trailers that cannot be reversed tight to the dock.
What do the rules in Northern Ireland mean for the work?
Workplace safety in Northern Ireland is regulated by HSENI rather than HSE. Loading bay doors in Craigavon need to meet the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993, and we check what applies at survey, including the measures that stop vehicles leaving the dock too early.
Questions about loading houses in Craigavon
Is VAT included in your guide prices for loading houses?
No. Our customers are businesses, so guide prices exclude VAT, which is added at the standard rate. The same guide range applies in County Armagh as everywhere else: for loading houses, it is £14,500 to £32,000 per house, excluding VAT. It covers supply and fit for a typical installation. Your fixed written quote after the free survey shows the net price, the VAT and exactly what is included.
Can you work outside our normal operating hours in Craigavon?
Yes, by arrangement. Evening, night and weekend working can be planned so the installation causes as little disruption as possible to your loading schedule. Out-of-hours work can affect the price, so mention it at the survey and we will include it in the written quote. The agreed times are confirmed in the programme before the job starts.
Is the site survey in Craigavon free?
Yes. For new installations, replacements, upgrades, conversions and complete bays, the site survey and written quote are free and come with no obligation. The survey lets us measure the openings, check the dock and structure, and understand how the bay is used, so the quote reflects your site. Repair and servicing visits are different: they are chargeable, with the price agreed before anyone attends.
What door is used with a loading house?
The building wall behind a loading house usually has an insulated sectional door, which closes the building at the wall line when no trailer is docked. An existing door can sometimes be kept if it is in good condition. In England, replacement doors need to meet the Approved Document L limiting U-value for large doors.
How long does a loading house take to install?
The programme depends mainly on foundation works and manufacturing lead times, and we set it out in writing with the quote. On site, foundations must cure before the frame goes up, and the rest of the work follows in sequence. We agree dates with you so other bays can keep working.
Loading houses near Craigavon
If your site is not in Craigavon itself, it may be near one of these: Portadown (3 miles), Banbridge (8 miles) and Armagh (13 miles). Pick the closest.
Other loading bay services in Craigavon
Full guide to loading houses · Everything we do in Craigavon
Tell us what is happening at your Craigavon dock, what equipment is there and when it is used, and we will suggest the right next step.