- Location
- Lancaster, Lancashire
- Main postcode district
- LA1
- Nearby (straight line)
- Morecambe (3 miles), Heysham (4 miles) and Fleetwood (12 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.
Where does this fit at a dock in Lancaster?
Developers bringing forward industrial units in Lancaster can specify loading houses at design stage, keeping the internal slab clear for whichever tenant takes the unit. Chilled stores near Lancaster sometimes favour loading houses because the building door closes at the wall line, keeping the cold envelope sealed when no trailer is docked.
Racked warehouses around Lancaster that cannot spare internal floor space for a dock can move the leveller outside the wall into a loading house instead.
Keeping the dock running is usually the first concern, so we plan around it. After a free survey of your Lancaster 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.
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 England; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.
What do we check at the survey?
- Lighting inside trailers and at the dock face
- Control positions, isolators and any existing interlocks
- Yard gradient and the slope of the approach to the dock
- Escape routes and pedestrian doors close to the bay
- Access for deliveries, cranes or lifting equipment during installation
- Condition of any existing leveller pit, kerb angles and pit drainage
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.
Regulations and approvals in England
Powered doors and dock equipment installed in England may carry the UKCA or the CE mark, and doors are covered by the product standard BS EN 13241. We hand over the relevant documentation for each item fitted in Lancaster. Planning and Building Regulations questions are never assumed either way: we check what applies at survey, so you know before work is booked.
Questions about loading houses in Lancaster
Do you cover Lancaster for loading houses?
Yes. We take on loading houses for businesses in Lancaster and across Lancashire. 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.
What details do you need from us to quote for loading houses?
To get started, send the site address in Lancaster, 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.
How long does installation take at a site in Lancaster?
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 a loading house be moved later?
Loading houses are bolted steel structures rather than masonry, so in principle they can be dismantled and moved if your needs change. In practice, relocation needs new foundations and an opening at the new position, so it is usually considered only where a house is fairly new and the new position suits it.
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.
Loading houses near Lancaster
Close neighbours of Lancaster with their own pages here: Morecambe (3 miles), Heysham (4 miles) and Fleetwood (12 miles). Choose one to see coverage details for that town.
Other loading bay services in Lancaster
Full guide to loading houses · Everything we do in Lancaster
Have photos of the door, leveller or shelter? Send them with your enquiry and we can give a clearer answer for your Lancaster site.