Crownboards and roofs

[wood86]

Hi being new to this game currently with only 1 hive but self building away. Can any one explain why we use a crownboard then sometimes a top board without porter holes possibly with a sheet of foil insulation and then a roof, I assume the vent space is to try and stop condensation. David Cushmans site has a roof he designed for his rational setup which is the crown board 50 mm insulation then the top with the outer cover. This negates the use of the crown board so all there is to remove is the roof. As a lot of people seem to use a seperate clearing board this would seem logical to me doing away with unneccersary hive parts. Has any one tried this? any feed back would be welcome.

 

[drstitson]

its nice to have something to shut hive up quickly with when inspecting but roof +/- boxes is on the floor. by all means fit insulation within roof itself but i'd still go with a solid crownboard (wood or perspex) as well.

 

[Polyanwood]

Welcome wood.

Most people use crownboards and then a roof. Most people leave the holes in the crownboard open for ventilation, at least in the Summer. Most people don't insulate their roofs in the Summer, but they do in the Winter.

Not sure what this top board is. I have never seen/heard of it.

I have some crownboards that get stuck in some roofs and it winds up the bees. I would not want to get rid of crownboards. The other thing i like about them is when you lift the roof off and there are a lot of bees or even a bit of brace comb above the crownboard it is a easy sign to tell you the bees are crowded and you had better give them more room.

Personally, I leave a sheet of polystyrene on top of all my rooves, Winter and Summer.

 

[huntsman666]

After the long and extremely low day/night temperatures last winter (-15C), I'm convinced top insulation is not necessary. My National hives have no top ventilation and the open mesh floor is open even during the winter and they still came through in great condition.

Wooden crown boards were left in place and porter holes covered with pieces of slate.

Perhaps we're thinking like humans with our own homes to keep warm, and not like bees.

 

[barratt_sab]

its nice to have something to shut hive up quickly with when inspecting

So much so that we've got a couple of spare ones that loaf around by the hives in case we need them sharpish.


Also, I would much rather have to lever a popolised crown board off a hive than a propolised roof - at least you can get a hive tool in to lever the crown board off.

Dave Cushman's Rational roof hasn't got a lip (so far as I can tell) so you could get a hive tool in between the roof and the brood box; this is obviously different than most "standard" national and wbc roofs.

 

[For want of a better word]

Crown board . cover for feedhole, mesh or tile... carpet tile in winter, roof. ... simples

 

[Polyanwood]

I'm convinced top insulation is not necessary. My National hives have no top ventilation and the open mesh floor is open .

Have you tried poly hives? I have used both wooden and poly and although My wooden hives, made it, the poly hives did so much better.....I don't dismiss the benefits of insulation.

 

[huntsman666]

No but I might try overwintering a nuc of bees in a poly nuc.

Should be much warmer for a small cluster.

I accept modern materials but something in me still loves wood.

Regards.

 

[bignikki]

Hi being new to this game currently with only 1 hive but self building away. Can any one explain why we use a crownboard then sometimes a top board without porter holes possibly with a sheet of foil insulation and then a roof, I assume the vent space is to try and stop condensation. David Cushmans site has a roof he designed for his rational setup which is the crown board 50 mm insulation then the top with the outer cover. This negates the use of the crown board so all there is to remove is the roof. As a lot of people seem to use a seperate clearing board this would seem logical to me doing away with unneccersary hive parts. Has any one tried this? any feed back would be welcome.

When you want to inspect your brood box you put the supers on the upturned roof with the crownboard on,it keeps the bees in the super calmer than if the supers were open to the sky.