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Lifts and loading houses · Dover

Loading houses in Dover

Getting loading houses right at a working dock in Dover means thinking about the vehicles, the goods, the shift pattern and the people who use the bay.

Guide £14,500–£32,000 per house ex VATFree site surveyCT16
Book a free survey0800 088 6248
Location
Dover, Kent
Main postcode district
CT16
Nearby (straight line)
Folkestone (7 miles), Deal (8 miles) and Canterbury (15 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.

Is this right for your site in Dover?

Any loading house proposed in Dover needs its planning and building control position checked, which we look at during the site survey before quoting. For older buildings in Dover with a raised floor and little internal space by the wall, an external house can provide a modern hydraulic dock without major alterations.

Units in Dover with floors at dock height but no room for an internal leveller pit are typical candidates for an external loading house.

Here is what happens after you contact us about a site in Dover. We arrange a free survey, measure up and send a fixed written quote. If you go ahead, we manage the whole job, including ordering, delivery and coordination with your site team. Specialist installation engineers working under our management do the fitting, at times built around your loading schedule, with out-of-hours work by arrangement. Testing and handover documents close the job.

One feature of the freight network near Dover is worth a mention: the Port of Dover is the UK's busiest ferry port for continental Europe. Busy or quiet, a dock needs equipment sized for the vehicles it receives.

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.

Does a loading house need planning permission or building approval?

A loading house can need planning permission, because it is a new external structure, so we check this at survey rather than assuming it is not needed. The answer depends on the site, the size of the house and any planning conditions already on the building.

Forming a new opening in the building wall is a structural alteration that may need approval. In England and Wales that means Building Regulations approval, in Scotland a building warrant, and in Northern Ireland building control approval.

Energy rules can also apply to the door in the building wall. In England, Approved Document L (2021) Volume 2 sets a limiting U-value of 1.3 W/m²K for vehicle access and similar large doors in new and replacement work. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own energy rules, and we confirm the figure that applies to your nation and project.

The leveller inside the house is specified to BS EN 1398:2009, the dock leveller safety standard. Our guide to loading houses explained goes through the approvals in more detail.

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

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

What do we check at the survey?

  • Yard gradient and the slope of the approach to the dock
  • Lighting inside trailers and at the dock face
  • Dock height and the mix of trailers you load
  • Forklift and pallet truck loads crossing the leveller platform
  • Drainage on recessed or sloping dock approaches
  • Wall and steel structure for door, shelter and bumper fixings

Options to discuss

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.

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.

What do the rules in England mean for the work?

Workplace safety in England is regulated by HSE. For a loading bay in Dover, that means doors meeting regulation 18 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, equipment maintained under PUWER and suitable safeguards against vehicles driving away too early. We check what applies at survey and design the bay accordingly.

Questions about loading houses in Dover

Will you deal with building control and planning for a project in Dover?

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.

How long does installation take at a site in Dover?

It depends on the equipment, the number of bays, the condition of the dock and whether any building or electrical work is needed. We agree a programme with you after the survey, setting out which bays are out of use and when. Larger jobs are usually phased so that part of the dock stays open, and out-of-hours working can be arranged.

Can you work outside our normal operating hours in Dover?

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.

Can a loading house be used for a cold store?

Yes. Loading houses suit chilled and frozen operations because the building door closes at the wall line, keeping the cold space sealed when no trailer is docked. The panels, door and shelter or seal are specified to suit the temperatures involved, which we confirm at survey.

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.

Loading houses near Dover

Looking beyond Dover? Our pages for Folkestone (7 miles), Deal (8 miles) and Canterbury (15 miles) describe the same loading bay services and how to get in touch.

Other loading bay services in Dover

Full guide to loading houses · Everything we do in Dover

Tell us what is happening at your Dover dock, what equipment is there and when it is used, and we will suggest the right next step.

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