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Lifts and loading houses · Redhill

Loading houses in Redhill

We offer help with loading houses to businesses in Redhill and across Surrey, whether the bay handles a few deliveries a week or trailers around the clock.

Guide £14,500–£32,000 per house ex VATFree site surveyRH1
Book a free survey0800 088 6248
Location
Redhill, Surrey
Main postcode district
RH1
Nearby (straight line)
Reigate (2 miles), Horley (5 miles) and Caterham (5 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.

How does this suit sites in Redhill?

Manufacturing businesses around Redhill adding a dock to an existing building often find a loading house less disruptive than breaking out the slab inside. Racked warehouses around Redhill 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 Redhill with a raised floor and little internal space by the wall, an external house can provide a modern hydraulic dock without major alterations.

We do not give a fixed price without seeing the site. A free survey in Redhill 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.

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.

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.

Guide price, Redhill
£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 does the free survey cover?

  • Headroom above the opening and which track type will suit it
  • Asbestos register and any other site hazard information
  • Lighting inside trailers and at the dock face
  • Access for deliveries, cranes or lifting equipment during installation
  • Gaps around trailers where heated or chilled air escapes
  • Bumper position and wear or damage on the dock face

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.

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?

Lift tables and dock lifts in Redhill 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 Redhill

Do you remove and dispose of the old equipment?

Yes, where it is part of the scope. When we replace doors, levellers, shelters or seals at a site in Redhill, removal and disposal of the old equipment can be included and is itemised in the quote, so it is clear what is covered. If anything should be kept, such as a frame or motor that is still serviceable, we agree that at survey.

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

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.

What details do you need from us to quote for loading houses?

To get started, send the site address in Redhill, 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.

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.

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 Redhill

We also cover towns near Redhill, including Reigate (2 miles), Horley (5 miles) and Caterham (5 miles). Each has its own page with the same services and process.

Other loading bay services in Redhill

Full guide to loading houses · Everything we do in Redhill

For a written price on loading bay work in Redhill, request a quote and include photos of the bay if you can.

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