- Location
- Viewpark, Lanarkshire
- Main postcode district
- G71
- Nearby (straight line)
- Bellshill (2 miles), Blantyre (3 miles) and Coatbridge (3 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.
How does this suit sites in Viewpark?
Chilled stores near Viewpark sometimes favour loading houses because the building door closes at the wall line, keeping the cold envelope sealed when no trailer is docked. Manufacturing businesses around Viewpark adding a dock to an existing building often find a loading house less disruptive than breaking out the slab inside.
Developers bringing forward industrial units in Viewpark can specify loading houses at design stage, keeping the internal slab clear for whichever tenant takes the unit.
Keeping the dock running is usually the first concern, so we plan around it. After a free survey of your Viewpark site and a written quote at a fixed price, we agree when each bay can be released and whether any work should happen out of hours. Specialist installation engineers working under our management then fit the equipment, and we test it and hand over the documentation before the bay goes back into use.
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.
- Foundations: concrete pads or footings are formed in the yard and left to cure.
- Erection: the steel frame is lifted into place, usually by crane, and fixed to the foundations and building.
- Cladding and equipment: panels, leveller, shelter or seal, bumpers and lights are fitted.
- Door and electrics: the building door is fitted or adapted and the leveller and lights connected.
- 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.
The same published guide range applies across Scotland; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.
Survey checklist for your dock
- Condition of any existing leveller pit, kerb angles and pit drainage
- Wall and steel structure for door, shelter and bumper fixings
- Gaps around trailers where heated or chilled air escapes
- Headroom above the opening and which track type will suit it
- Wheel guide positions and yard markings for reversing vehicles
- Asbestos register and any other site hazard information
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.
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.
What do the rules in Scotland mean for the work?
HSE is the workplace safety regulator in Scotland. At a loading bay in Viewpark, doors need to satisfy regulation 18 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, dock equipment must be kept safe under PUWER, and drivers must be prevented from pulling away too early. We check what applies at survey.
Questions about loading houses in Viewpark
How do you price loading houses for a site in Viewpark?
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.
Can you work alongside our main contractor on a new build in Viewpark?
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.
What details do you need from us to quote for loading houses?
To get started, send the site address in Viewpark, the number of bays or openings, approximate sizes, and photos of the dock from inside and outside. Tell us what vehicles you load, what goods you handle and any temperature requirements. Drawings help on new builds. We then arrange the free survey and confirm the details before the written quote is issued.
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 Viewpark
Looking beyond Viewpark? Our pages for Bellshill (2 miles), Blantyre (3 miles) and Coatbridge (3 miles) describe the same loading bay services and how to get in touch.
Other loading bay services in Viewpark
Full guide to loading houses · Everything we do in Viewpark
Have photos of the door, leveller or shelter? Send them with your enquiry and we can give a clearer answer for your Viewpark site.