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Lifts and loading houses · Bonnyrigg

Loading houses in Bonnyrigg

For operators in Bonnyrigg thinking about loading houses, the starting point is a conversation about the site, the vehicles you load and how the bay is used day to day.

Guide £14,500–£32,000 per house ex VATFree site surveyEH19
Book a free survey0800 088 6248
Location
Bonnyrigg, Edinburgh and the Lothians
Main postcode district
EH19
Nearby (straight line)
Musselburgh (5 miles), Penicuik (6 miles) and Edinburgh (6 miles)
Survey and quote
Free, with a fixed written quote
Loading houses, in short

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.

How does this suit sites in Bonnyrigg?

Racked warehouses around Bonnyrigg that cannot spare internal floor space for a dock can move the leveller outside the wall into a loading house instead. Any loading house proposed in Bonnyrigg needs its planning and building control position checked, which we look at during the site survey before quoting.

Manufacturing businesses around Bonnyrigg adding a dock to an existing building often find a loading house less disruptive than breaking out the slab inside.

We do not give a fixed price without seeing the site. A free survey in Bonnyrigg lets us check the details that affect the job, and the written quote that follows is a fixed price for the agreed scope. We plan the work around your operation, arrange out-of-hours access if you need it and manage specialist installation engineers throughout. Handover includes testing, a demonstration and the paperwork you need for your records.

What happens on site when a loading house is installed?

Installing a loading house takes the bay out of use from the foundation works to commissioning, but the building can stay secure because the existing wall and door remain until late in the job.

  1. Foundations: concrete pads or footings are formed in the yard and left to cure.
  2. Erection: the steel frame is lifted into place, usually by crane, and fixed to the foundations and building.
  3. Cladding and equipment: panels, leveller, shelter or seal, bumpers and lights are fitted.
  4. Door and electrics: the building door is fitted or adapted and the leveller and lights connected.
  5. Commissioning: everything is tested with a trailer before handover.

We ask you to provide yard space for the crane and deliveries, any drawings of drains or buried services, a power supply, and clear arrangements for keeping vehicles and people away from the lifting zone. Neighbouring bays may need to close briefly while the crane is working.

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.

Guide price, Bonnyrigg
£14,500–£32,000 per house, ex VAT

The same published guide range applies across Scotland; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.

What do we check at the survey?

  • Working hours, shift patterns and windows for out-of-hours work
  • Access for deliveries, cranes or lifting equipment during installation
  • Lighting inside trailers and at the dock face
  • Wind exposure at the dock, which affects door and shelter choice
  • Asbestos register and any other site hazard information
  • Bumper position and wear or damage on the dock face

Options to discuss

Straight loading house

Set square to the building wall, the simplest layout where the yard has room for trailers to reverse straight in. Usually the most economical arrangement for one or more bays.

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.

Which rules apply in Scotland?

Doors and dock equipment installed in Scotland may carry the UKCA or the CE mark, and we pass on the documentation for everything fitted in Bonnyrigg. Because building warrant and planning questions can affect the programme, we check what applies at survey and raise any approvals early rather than assuming none are needed.

Questions about loading houses in Bonnyrigg

Can you work alongside our main contractor on a new build in Bonnyrigg?

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.

How do you price loading houses for a site in Bonnyrigg?

Guide budgets for supply and fit are £14,500 to £32,000 per house, 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.

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 Bonnyrigg, 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 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.

Does a loading house need planning permission?

A loading house can need planning permission because it is a new external structure, and we check this at survey for every project. Forming a new opening in the wall may also need Building Regulations approval, a building warrant in Scotland or building control approval in Northern Ireland, depending on where the site is.

Loading houses near Bonnyrigg

Sites close to Bonnyrigg get the same service, including those in Musselburgh (5 miles), Penicuik (6 miles) and Edinburgh (6 miles), with every job run the same way.

Other loading bay services in Bonnyrigg

Full guide to loading houses · Everything we do in Bonnyrigg

Call us or request a quote online to talk through loading bay work at your site in Bonnyrigg.

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