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.
What matters for loading houses in Fife?
Racked warehouses around Fife that cannot spare internal floor space for a dock can move the leveller outside the wall into a loading house instead. For older buildings in Fife with a raised floor and little internal space by the wall, an external house can provide a modern hydraulic dock without major alterations.
Developers bringing forward industrial units in Fife can specify loading houses at design stage, keeping the internal slab clear for whichever tenant takes the unit.
We never ask you to commit before you have a fixed price. A free survey at your Fife 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.
When is a loading house better than an internal dock?
A loading house is usually the better option when the building floor is already at dock height but there is no practical way to form a leveller pit inside. It moves the whole dock outside the wall, leaving the internal floor clear.
- No room inside: racking, production lines or mezzanines sit right up to the wall.
- Difficult slab: the floor slab carries services or is unsuited to breaking out for a pit.
- Thermal control: the building door closes at the wall line, so the leveller sits outside the heated or chilled space when no trailer is docked.
- Security: the building can be closed at the wall line while the house itself stays open to the yard.
- Narrow yards: an angled house lets trailers approach on a diagonal and can fit more bays along one wall.
Where the building floor is at yard level, a loading house alone will not solve the height difference, and a recessed approach or lift table is usually needed instead.
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.
Towns we cover in Fife
Each of the following towns in Fife has its own page on loading houses, covering how we work and what to send us.
Budget range for supply and fit. The written quote after a free survey is the fixed price. All guide prices.
Planning, building control and safety law 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 Fife. 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
Will you deal with building control and planning for a project in Fife?
We check at survey whether the work is likely to need approval. Forming a new opening or dock pit may need Building Regulations approval, a building warrant or building control approval, depending on the nation, and external structures such as loading houses can need planning permission. Where approval is needed, we explain what is involved, work with your designer or agent, and build it into the programme.
Do you cover Fife for loading houses?
Yes. We take on loading houses for businesses in Fife and across Fife. We survey the site, provide a fixed written quote and manage the installation, with specialist installation engineers working under our management. Visits are arranged in advance at a time that suits your operation, and the same single contact stays with the job through to handover.
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.
Is a loading house cheaper than forming an internal pit?
Not always. A loading house includes a whole steel structure, so the equipment cost is higher, but it avoids breaking out the slab and losing internal floor space. The best comparison is made at survey, taking account of racking, services under the floor and how the building will be used.
Other services in Fife
Full guide to loading houses · All loading bay services in Fife