- Location
- Rawtenstall, Lancashire
- Main postcode district
- BB4
- Nearby (straight line)
- Haslingden (2 miles), Accrington (5 miles) and Bury (7 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 Rawtenstall?
Racked warehouses around Rawtenstall 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 Rawtenstall 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 Rawtenstall can specify loading houses at design stage, keeping the internal slab clear for whichever tenant takes the unit.
We do not give a fixed price without seeing the site. A free survey in Rawtenstall 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 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.
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 does the free survey cover?
- Control positions, isolators and any existing interlocks
- Dock height and the mix of trailers you load
- Asbestos register and any other site hazard information
- Drainage on recessed or sloping dock approaches
- Power supply at each bay, including three-phase availability
- Wind exposure at the dock, which affects door and shelter choice
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.
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.
Planning, building control and safety law in England
In England, Approved Document L (2021) sets a limiting U-value of 1.3 W/m²K for vehicle access and similar large doors in new and replacement work. That shapes door specification for sites in Rawtenstall, so we confirm the requirement for your project and check what applies at survey before recommending a door.
Questions about loading houses in Rawtenstall
Is VAT included in your guide prices for loading houses?
No. Our customers are businesses, so guide prices exclude VAT, which is added at the standard rate. The same guide range applies in Lancashire as everywhere else: for loading houses, it is £14,500 to £32,000 per house, excluding VAT. It covers supply and fit for a typical installation. Your fixed written quote after the free survey shows the net price, the VAT and exactly what is included.
Can you work outside our normal operating hours in Rawtenstall?
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.
What warranty comes with new loading bay equipment?
New equipment comes with the manufacturer's warranty, which varies by product. Our workmanship terms are set out in writing in the quote for your Rawtenstall site, so you can see what is covered before you commit. Check the warranty terms for any servicing conditions, and we can quote for planned maintenance once the installation is complete.
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.
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 Rawtenstall
Businesses outside Rawtenstall may find their nearest town in this list: Haslingden (2 miles), Accrington (5 miles) and Bury (7 miles). Each page covers doors, docks, repairs and servicing.
Other loading bay services in Rawtenstall
Full guide to loading houses · Everything we do in Rawtenstall
Request a quote for your loading bay in Rawtenstall, attaching photos of the dock, the equipment and any damage.