Hi RodBromiley!
Well done for your considered order!
I too decided on craftsman-built cedar hives, for the same reasons as you.
I then took care to prepare them, with linseed oil and a little beeswax melted in it. They still look great - a delight to look at and work with.
I see no major problems with your order.
Great that you went for 14 x 12; though some sniff at them, I find them much more convenient and better for the bees - though heavier and needing care in making up and in examining frames.
Looking back, I think top bee-spaced gear is better for the bees - but it puts you on a different model from your neighbours - which might be a problem if you need to borrow - or loan - kit. But I think it a good choice. Wish I'd done it.
However, you'll soon find your order is not enough!
Have you thought of a feeder - which you'll need pretty soon?
I have both Ashforth and contact feeders for each hive.
You will soon find you crave a polycarbonate crown board.
They allow you to look in from the top and help fight that urge to open up and have a look every couple of days!
In fact, as my sig. line says, you can never have too many crown/feeder boards - but you can make them up yourself. Major DIY stores will cut a huge sheet of thick ply to the right size, then you tack a wooden rim round. Get the sizes from the one you bought.
I think - hope - that you need more than 2 supers per hive in your first season. Here I did compromise - getting seconds in the sales and collecting from the Convention. Properly prepared, you'll hardly notice the difference! I have 5 supers per hive now - and this year, that's not enough!
Thought about swarm prevention? Doing an artificial swarm means spare stand, floor, brood box, crown board, roof. (You can get away with less if you want to stick with only 2 hives, by trying a Demaree split. I was initially daunted by the Grand Title for what is essentially a simple swarm control manipulation.)
Again, I bought seconds - and, in addition, this year I added a dreaded poly 14 x 12 nuc box with feeder eke. It's been valuable as a spare emergency bb and swarm collector. You'll find there will be a sale when they can be bought pretty cheaply.
Lastly, I found it good to have one spare queen excluder. They get gunged up pretty quickly - so I put the spare on, then clean up the mucky one after I've finished that hive, before doing the second. And it can help manage swarms.
RodBromiley, you'll soon found you'll always need more! And one of the delights of this Forum is hearing how people manage to buy extra kit without their partner finding out! Jenkinsbrynmair, in particular, is expert at this - as in so many other things! [Actually, the big Jesse gets stuff delivered to his mother-in-law's house when Mrs Jenkinsbrynmair isn't looking!]
Well done for you order, though.
This is a tremendous craft to develop. But it takes over - time, money, the garage, every conversation..........
As I said earlier, after getting the basics as high quality, I feel I can compromise with seconds extras. And I still go back to my craftsman hive builder - Peak Hives - for further hives and complex stuff.
Take pride in the gear, for me, leads on to taking pride in careful husbandry of the colony.
Enjoy.
Dusty
P.s. The gabled roof looks great, but you may need a box (or small table) to move supers etc onto, when inspecting.
