What loading dock aprons means in Augusta
Turning under load is what makes it different from a driveway. A trailer's wheels scrub sideways across the surface rather than rolling along it, which is an abrasive and torsional load a normal slab is not designed for.
Add trailer landing gear, which puts the weight of a loaded trailer nose through two small steel pads, and dock levellers cycling at the wall, and the apron gets loads no parking slab sees.
Augusta's industrial sites off Mike Padgett Highway and around the port put trailers turning under load on clay, which is the hardest combination for a slab edge to survive.
- Thickness
- 8–10 inches
- Mix
- 4,500 psi, reinforced, dowelled to the dock
- Ready to use
- 14–28 days
- Typical cost
- quoted per project
- Service life
- 20–25 years
How loading dock aprons runs on site
Thickness and reinforcement are designed for the specific vehicles and the turning geometry, with bar reinforcement and often a thickened edge at the dock face.
Fall runs away from the building at a specified minimum so water does not sit at the dock seal or run into the pit, and the transition into the pit or the dock face is detailed rather than left to meet however it meets.
Joints are laid out to avoid landing under a trailer's wheel path where possible, and joints in a truck apron get load-transfer devices or dowels so panels share load instead of one edge taking it alone.
Surface finish balances traction for tyres with something that will not be destroyed by scrubbing. A hard-trowelled surface polishes and gets slippery, a heavy texture wears away.
What loading dock aprons costs in Augusta, GA
Designed and priced as a structure rather than as a slab, with the vehicle loads, joint detailing and edge treatment itemised. It is the concrete on a site where under-specifying is most expensive.
Designed and priced as a structure, with vehicle loads, joint detailing and edge treatment itemised.
Where loading dock aprons goes wrong in GA
Joints without load transfer are the usual failure. One panel edge takes the wheel load alone, breaks down, and the failure spreads along the joint until the whole line has to be cut out.
Joints without load transfer fail first here, because the clay under one panel edge gives slightly and then that edge carries the wheel alone.
Where we do loading dock aprons
We cover Augusta, Columbia County and the South Carolina side of the CSRA, including and 34 more areas.
Questions we get asked about loading dock aprons
Why do dock aprons fail faster than driveways?
Trailers turn and scrub under load in the same spot, and landing gear puts a loaded trailer's nose weight through two small steel pads.
Do the joints need dowels?
In a truck apron, yes. Without load transfer, one panel edge carries the wheel load alone and breaks down.
What fall should it have?
Away from the building, enough that water never sits at the dock seal or runs into the pit.
Get a free quote
Tell us what you need. We answer the same day, and the on-site visit is free.
Get a price for your loading dock aprons
Call (762) 320-6343 and we will come out, measure, and leave you a written quote. There is no charge for the visit and no obligation afterwards.