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Lifts and loading houses · Yeovil

Loading houses in Yeovil

Talk to us about loading houses in Yeovil. We cover Somerset and can advise on the right approach for your doors, levellers, shelters and dock safety equipment.

Guide £14,500–£32,000 per house ex VATFree site surveyBA20
Book a free survey0800 088 6248
Location
Yeovil, Somerset
Main postcode district
BA20
Nearby (straight line)
Dorchester (18 miles), Bridgwater (21 miles) and Taunton (21 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.

Why do sites in Yeovil choose this?

Racked warehouses around Yeovil that cannot spare internal floor space for a dock can move the leveller outside the wall into a loading house instead. Units in Yeovil with floors at dock height but no room for an internal leveller pit are typical candidates for an external loading house.

For older buildings in Yeovil with a raised floor and little internal space by the wall, an external house can provide a modern hydraulic dock without major alterations.

Step one is a survey at your site in Yeovil, which costs nothing and carries no obligation. Step two is a written quote with a fixed price and a clear scope. Step three is installation, scheduled around your operation and carried out by specialist installation engineers working under our management, including evenings or weekends if agreed. Step four is handover, when the equipment is tested in front of you and the paperwork is passed over.

How much does a loading house cost?

A loading house typically costs £14,500 to £32,000 per house, supplied and installed, excluding VAT. That covers the insulated structure with its leveller and shelter or seal; the figure for your site depends on size, layout and what has to happen to the building and yard.

What moves the price:

  • Size and layout: straight houses are simpler than angled ones, and larger houses use more steel and panel.
  • Leveller type: telescopic-lip levellers cost more than swing-lip.
  • Front sealing: inflatable shelters cost more than retractable shelters or foam seals.
  • Foundations: ground conditions and buried services decide the size of pads or footings.
  • Building works: forming or enlarging the wall opening, and a new insulated door if needed.
  • Electrics and access: supply to the leveller and lights, crane access and any out-of-hours working.

These are guide budgets. After a free site survey we send a written quote that is the fixed price. VAT is added at the standard rate.

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.

Guide price, Yeovil
£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 we look at on site

  • Age and condition of the equipment already in place
  • Working hours, shift patterns and windows for out-of-hours work
  • Temperature requirements for chilled, frozen or ambient goods
  • Traffic routes for vehicles and separation of pedestrians
  • Dock height and the mix of trailers you load
  • Headroom above the opening and which track type will suit it

Options to discuss

Shelter or seal front

A retractable or inflatable shelter, or a foam dock seal, across the front of the house, chosen to suit your trailers and how tightly the bay needs to seal.

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 England mean for the work?

Lift tables and dock lifts in Yeovil may fall under LOLER, with thorough examination at least every 12 months, or every 6 months where people are lifted. It depends on the equipment and how it is used, and your insurer or competent person will confirm. Dock levellers are usually treated as work equipment under PUWER. We check what applies at survey.

Questions about loading houses in Yeovil

How do you price loading houses for a site in Yeovil?

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.

Is the site survey in Yeovil free?

Yes. For new installations, replacements, upgrades, conversions and complete bays, the site survey and written quote are free and come with no obligation. The survey lets us measure the openings, check the dock and structure, and understand how the bay is used, so the quote reflects your site. Repair and servicing visits are different: they are chargeable, with the price agreed before anyone attends.

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 Somerset 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.

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.

What door is used with a loading house?

The building wall behind a loading house usually has an insulated sectional door, which closes the building at the wall line when no trailer is docked. An existing door can sometimes be kept if it is in good condition. In England, replacement doors need to meet the Approved Document L limiting U-value for large doors.

Loading houses near Yeovil

Looking beyond Yeovil? Our pages for Dorchester (18 miles), Bridgwater (21 miles) and Taunton (21 miles) describe the same loading bay services and how to get in touch.

Other loading bay services in Yeovil

Full guide to loading houses · Everything we do in Yeovil

Send a few photos of the dock and a short description of the problem, and we will come back to you about your Yeovil site.

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