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Workshop space with dock level access only?

aarongough

Stainless
Joined
Oct 27, 2014
Location
Toronto, Canada
Hey guys!
The time has come and I'm starting to look for a new workshop space. I need more room, and I'm currently in a building that is slowly turning into office space so I'm getting more and more noise complaints, total pain in the @ss.

I have found one unit that I really like, it's in an area that's an easy commute from home, and has lots of useful vendors right around it, but the only large door in the unit is a dock level door rather than a ground level door...

Is this a huge issue? What's it like loading machinery through a dock level access? I imagine you could unload them from the truck in the parking lot, put them up on the edge of the dock with a forklift and then skate them into place, but I have never done this and I don't want to put myself through more pain than I need to.

I might be able to convince the landlord to put a ground level access in next to the office entrance on the other side of the building, but that might also be more trouble than he wants to go to...

Thanks in advance!
-Aaron
 
Material is going to be a problem. Most metal vendors deliver on flat beds that need to be side unloaded, so you'll need to get your forklift outside.
 
All my material is small stuff, most of it comes in through couriers like UPS in small packages (under 30lbs), shouldn't be an issue with materials.
 
Last mill I brought in, they put it in the door and skated it in place. Pretty much SOP for machinery, I don't see the dock height being a big deal if you don't routinely use the forklift outside.

You will probably have a neighbor that could help you out on occasion when you get something that needs unloaded, and often there is a dock-height option on deliveries of large items (other than material). At least in the States it's that way.

It wouldn't work for what I do, but if the space fits your needs I'd say go for it.
 
Last mill I brought in, they put it in the door and skated it in place. Pretty much SOP for machinery, I don't see the dock height being a big deal if you don't routinely use the forklift outside.

You will probably have a neighbor that could help you out on occasion when you get something that needs unloaded, and often there is a dock-height option on deliveries of large items (other than material). At least in the States it's that way.

It wouldn't work for what I do, but if the space fits your needs I'd say go for it.

Yeah whenever I get deliveries of larger stuff I currently always have to pay extra for lift-gate service as they expect me to have a loading dock, but that very rarely happens. Apart from machinery literally everything else I buy in the course of the year goes through a single door easily enough. No need for a forklift as of yet, and don't anticipate one in the future...
 
Usually they are used on flat ground to get to dock height. Also cheap or free if someone has left one behind when moving out of a yard. I see them on CL down here one a year or so.
 
A local machine/fab shop with dock doors only was rented to be a body shop. The landlord made it work by creating an asphalt ramp to one door.
 
My advice would be to not go with a dock door only, based only on personal experience. I had a dock only for a year, and it was frustrating. When that lease was up I said never again to a dock only.

Something on my truck needs fixing, I’ll drive it in on a Sunday to do some work. Old family canoe needed some patching and sanding, same thing. Found a great kitchen table for the house, needed to clear out space first, drove it in and set it down for an afternoon. Bought a new grinder, rented a drop deck trailer and drove in and set it down no lift truck or riggers required, etc.

You might not use your shop for “Sunday projects,” but I do it. I’m very lucky now to have a dock and a bay door.

If you can figure out a way to make it drive up, then sure go for it. But make aure a) the landlord ia cool with it and b) that you have the purchase/solid plan in place.
 
Hi Aaron:
I moved recently to a new space that has dock level access too, and mine has a steep ramp as well.
I ended up building a temporary porch to fork lift the machines onto and then pulled them in with a pallet truck.
It was a royal pain, but the new space is so damned nice I did it anyway!
Bringing heavy stuff up and down the ramp is interesting when it's snowy...I just brought in 550 lb of steel for a mold build, and I had to break down the pallet and hump the individual blocks in with a handcar.
Attached are some pictures.

So the short version, if it's a nice enough space you can make it work: I am the living proof!
Mine is sooo sweeeet now, I have no regrets, especially since my commute is less than half of what it was.
I say go for it!!

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining
 

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A loading dock is a problem?


I say no

I rented my current space which had only a dock, on purpose. I have since expanded and have a drive in bay

So, it is a problem for things are not work related, get a garage

You are on the phone, a truck appears, the material gets unloaded, you scribble on the pad, never stop talking.

Perfect

Machines come on a truck

what height is the truck?


Dock height
 
I agree that the dock-only situation can be completely fine. Having a shop in the city means a lot of buildings are dock height only. I've had my shop in 3 of them so far! My last space was ground level which meant I had to own and maintain a forklift to unload a truck once a month. Not the worst problem to have but now that I'm back in a dock height building (on the 7th floor in fact) I can just roll everything out of a truck and into the elevator. I sold the forklift after I got everything moved in.

If you are ordering 1000lbs of sawn blanks tell your supplier to put the skid at the back of the truck and roll it off. If you are buying 1000lb bundles of 12' bars every week then you might not be so happy with a dock height space.

Moving machines in was a piece of cake. Riggers backed up their tilt bed, adjusted it to dock height and drove the 9000lb VMC right off the truck and onto the dock with a forklift. Took 5 minutes. Everything else was on a 53' semi, only needed a pallet jack and dock plate to roll it all off the truck. I will say that this only works when your dock is "dock height" i.e. ~48". One of my buildings had a nonstandard dock about 38" highwhich sucked. If it's 4" lower than your truck you are going to need a huge dock plate. If it's 8" lower your pallet jack will be useless. For smaller trucks, I've backed up rentals onto piles of cribbing to get them 12" higher to match up with the dock.

I recommend measuring the dock to know what you're getting into.

It does suck that I can't easily get my motorcycle inside but you can't have everything. The sunlight up on the 7th floor can't be beat though!
 
Thanks for the input guys! Sounds like having dock-only access won't be an issue which is great! The unit looks very promising otherwise, so I'm excited to do a detailed inspection of it on Friday! Fingers crossed!
 
Hi Aaron:
I moved recently to a new space that has dock level access too, and mine has a steep ramp as well.
I ended up building a temporary porch to fork lift the machines onto and then pulled them in with a pallet truck.
It was a royal pain, but the new space is so damned nice I did it anyway!
Bringing heavy stuff up and down the ramp is interesting when it's snowy...I just brought in 550 lb of steel for a mold build, and I had to break down the pallet and hump the individual blocks in with a handcar.
Attached are some pictures.

So the short version, if it's a nice enough space you can make it work: I am the living proof!
Mine is sooo sweeeet now, I have no regrets, especially since my commute is less than half of what it was.
I say go for it!!

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining

New shop is looking awesome Marcus! Looking forward to seeing it finished!
 








 
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