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Lifts and loading houses · Bedworth

Loading houses in Bedworth

When you need loading houses in Bedworth or anywhere else in Warwickshire, we organise the job end to end and keep disruption to your loading operation as low as we can.

Guide £14,500–£32,000 per house ex VATFree site surveyCV12
Book a free survey0800 088 6248
Location
Bedworth, Warwickshire
Main postcode district
CV12
Nearby (straight line)
Nuneaton (3 miles), Coventry (5 miles) and Hinckley (6 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.

Where does this fit at a dock in Bedworth?

Racked warehouses around Bedworth 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 Bedworth with a raised floor and little internal space by the wall, an external house can provide a modern hydraulic dock without major alterations.

Units in Bedworth with floors at dock height but no room for an internal leveller pit are typical candidates for an external loading house.

We keep the process simple for sites in Bedworth. A free survey tells us what the dock needs; a fixed written quote tells you what it will cost and what is included. We then organise the installation, with specialist engineers under our management and a programme agreed around your shifts. Night and weekend work is available by arrangement. Before we leave, the new equipment is tested, demonstrated and handed over with its documentation.

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 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, Bedworth
£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 do we check at the survey?

  • Yard gradient and the slope of the approach to the dock
  • Asbestos register and any other site hazard information
  • Condition of any existing leveller pit, kerb angles and pit drainage
  • Lighting inside trailers and at the dock face
  • Forklift and pallet truck loads crossing the leveller platform
  • How often each door cycles during a typical shift

Options to discuss

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.

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.

Which rules apply in England?

Lift tables and dock lifts in Bedworth 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 Bedworth

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 Warwickshire 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.

Which building and safety rules apply to a site in Bedworth?

It depends on which UK nation the site is in. England and Wales use Building Regulations approval, Scotland uses building warrants and Northern Ireland uses building control approval from the council. Workplace safety is regulated by HSE in Great Britain and HSENI in Northern Ireland, and energy rules differ between nations. For your site in Bedworth, we check what applies at survey and design to it.

Can you work alongside our main contractor on a new build in Bedworth?

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.

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 Bedworth

Businesses outside Bedworth may find their nearest town in this list: Nuneaton (3 miles), Coventry (5 miles) and Hinckley (6 miles). Each page covers doors, docks, repairs and servicing.

Other loading bay services in Bedworth

Full guide to loading houses · Everything we do in Bedworth

Have photos of the door, leveller or shelter? Send them with your enquiry and we can give a clearer answer for your Bedworth site.

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