Couple of newbie questions

[Rob55]

Couple of basic questions here for a newbie:

I want to paint my newly built hive white, can you recommend the best undercoat and paint to ensure a robust finish that won't flake for at least a few years?

Also, I had heard not to make up my frames with foundation until I am almost ready to get the bees, as the foundation can go brittle if left for a while. Any truth in this?

Thanks!

 

[The Cumbrian]

I can't comment on the paint job but I am fairly certain the advice will be to not fit foundation until you are ready to have the bees.

 

[oliver90owner]

You have bought a cedar hive and now want to paint it? What heresy!

If you intend getting a nuc, you would only need a couple frames, initially. You have time to fit the foundation after you have your bees (in most instances). Certainly better left in a sealed packet until needed.

 

[biglongdarren]

i think you said that you bought a redwood hive didnt you Rob?am a painter myself and for the long run and go for a wood preservative,do it now so that the smell and all is well out the wood come the time when you get the bees,just the outside though.
i myself have done a few redwood hives with Ronseal 5 Year Woodstain and there are grand at the minute,its water based very fast drying,i have seen me giving a new hive 3 coats of this in the morning and putting bees in it at lunch time,it also comes in a good few shades and is very easy put on,although you'll prob need to coat the hives every year or few years to keep them right,if they not in the full sun all day the stain will last longer.
a beekeepers son who lives beside me and is well in his forties now made his dad a beehive out of redwood when he was at school and it got coated with burnt oil and is still in use today so take from this what you will.
In all fairness though cedar takes alot of beating and very little aftercare.

oh i live at the foot of the mountains of mourne Rob
Darren

 

[BeeJayBee]

I want to paint my newly built hive white, can you recommend the best undercoat and paint to ensure a robust finish that won't flake for at least a few years?

The best results we've had for garden timber has been using Sadolin wood stain. It soaks in, is water washable, doesn't flake. I'm fairly sure there's a white one, and I'm fairly sure it isn't pushed off the surface by the oils in cedar. http://www.sadolin.co.uk/homeowner/advice/natureinspiredgardens.php

 

[oliver90owner]

i think you said that you bought a redwood hive didnt you Rob?

And I thought (all?) Th*rne hives were cedar. Silly of me. Is this a new line?

 

[luckydunny]

I use Sadolin as well. Both on house and hive timbers and latss for years.

 

[Rob55]

Yes it's a cedar hive, main reason for painting is aesthetics as it is going near the house, so would prefer it done white than done with a stain. Will get a look at the sadolin range.

The Mournes is a lovely spot Darren, plenty of heather for the bees I'm sure!

 

[Luminos]

T'ornes use Dulux, they told me that themselves

 

[biglongdarren]

i think you said that you bought a redwood hive didnt you Rob?

And I thought (all?) Th*rne hives were cedar. Silly of me. Is this a new line?

i remember reading a while back he was buying a hive off some lad in Donegal,i didnt know he got one from th#rnes.
my bad
Darren.

 

[Rob55]

i remember reading a while back he was buying a hive off some lad in Donegal,i didnt know he got one from th#rnes.
my bad
Darren.

I was going to Darren, and then decided to spend the extra on cedar as I was told it stood up to our damp weather better. A lady in our club lost a colony there to the damp, so didn't want to take any chances!

 

[biglongdarren]

your not away to the Ulster beekeepers annual conference in greenmount today Rob? i was gonna go but then something popped up.
hows the course coming along?
Darren

 

[oliver90owner]

i remember reading a while back he was buying a hive off some lad in Donegal,i didnt know he got one from th#rnes.
I remember very recently - this: http://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=211997#post211997 Post #47

Cedar is certainly red and I have no idea where it may have been sourced from, but originally it quacks like a Th*rne product.