Galvanised metal roof sheet

[beenovice]

Hi all, I am in the process of making a couple of national hives. I am looking around for some galvanised metal roof sheets. A few people have them for about £8 each, which I could live with. Trouble is the postage is another £10 which kind of kills it.
I was just wondering if you could use roofing felt? Or any other material for that matter. Any ideas?

 

[Macstu]

Try Fragile planet he sells reclaimed aluminium sheet at about £2.50 +p&p They are printers sheet so may have some images on them but usually only on one side

 

[yeogi75]

I use roofing felt and make my roofs from six inch ply sides and plank the top with pallet wood, this gives me plenty of room for insulation and allows room for feeder as well .

 

[madasafish]

Roofing felt from Wickes has lasted 4 years so far on hive roofs- another reclaimed pallet user.

I use insulation board (reclaimed) on newer roofs..Just painted with Hammerite.

 

[drex]

You can clad in anything that is durable and waterproof. I use reclaimed aluminium from old fridges or printers sheets ( usually free from a printer who is glad to get rid)Roofing felt can make it heavy

 

[theeggman]

In our exposed location roofing felt doesn't stay on for long.
We use butyl pond liner offcuts for chicken house roofs etc.

 

[HM Honey]

Hi all, I am in the process of making a couple of national hives. I am looking around for some galvanised metal roof sheets. A few people have them for about £8 each, which I could live with. Trouble is the postage is another £10 which kind of kills it.
I was just wondering if you could use roofing felt? Or any other material for that matter. Any ideas?

Use anything you like as long as it waterproofs the hive and doesn't harm the bees...

When I made my first plywood hive (which I needed in an emergency and couldn't afford a proper one), I used thick black bin liners duck taped round the top of the roof.....

Lasted a season and then I replaced it with a proper roof....

Beekeeping doesn't have to cost a fortune. If you are even remotely capable with DIY you can make 2 full national hives with a super each for £30 (I Know, I've done it and am still using both hives now, three years in).

 

[VEG]

My nuc roofs have a heavy weight tarp on them 8 years and going strong.

 

[bontbee]

has anyone tried the ally sheets from FPlantet? They look a bit small leaving very little to overlap the sides and, at 0.5mm, very thin. Would this be easily pierced?

ta

 

[HM Honey]

has anyone tried the ally sheets from FPlantet? They look a bit small leaving very little to overlap the sides and, at 0.5mm, very thin. Would this be easily pierced?

ta

By What? How big are your bees ????

 

[isc26]

Heard of one chap who cut & used the metal skin of an old caravan

 

[hiveabee]

I have used the galvanised sheet from the back of a old cooker, and good quality Felt, the later has been on a 5 frame nuc roof for 4 years and its still in good order

 

[protheroe]

i use ally sheet from fp.had no trouble with it so far.as long as you dont drop a sharp stone on it its fine.a bit thin but as long as you keep that in mind you will have no problems.

 

[dpearce4]

this is member poggles roof on his hive:- http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/album.php?albumid=333&pictureid=1760

Made from a litho print ali sheet. all my new hives are now made with these local printer gave me 40 and said if I wanted more just to let him know.

 

[REDWOOD]

i use ally sheet from fp.had no trouble with it so far.as long as you dont drop a sharp stone on it its fine.a bit thin but as long as you keep that in mind you will have no problems.

Who is fp

 

[pargyle]

Who is fp

Fragile Planet ...

 

[blackcavebees]

Heard of one chap who cut & used the metal skin of an old caravan

I am that chap (or at least one of them)

Soft but thick ally from caravan roof is best. Easy to bend and inside is usually like new. My roofs are made from this, and pallet boards and ply off packing crates, couple coats of woodstain, a piece of kingspan and great job, all for thebprice of a few screws

 

[alanf]

has anyone tried the ally sheets from FPlantet? They look a bit small leaving very little to overlap the sides and, at 0.5mm, very thin. Would this be easily pierced?

I picked up a couple from there to use for nuc boxes over a year ago. They were 1.50 at the time and I was passing. They cover a National roof, that's a 460mm box plus the 12mm (?) roof "skirt" each side plus a few mm gap and about 15mm each side to fold over. Somewhere around 520mm in the shortest dimension. As previous discussion pointed out, they are around 0.15mm thick. That's fine as long as you're careful bending it and don't treat it too roughly in use. Waterproof and reflects some heat if it's in hot sun. If you can get some direct from a printer that's great. But you need a printer who is running jobs of thousands on A2 or something close that needs the larger ali plates. A lot of smaller print shops don't go to that size and many of the smaller plates are polymer of some variety.

 

[Tomo]

If you know any printers who use offset litho machines, then the plates they use are perfect for a roof.
Thin Aluminium sheet, just the right size with a bit of trimming.
I was working in a printers the other day and asked if he had any for sale.
He said I could have as many as I liked!
I have two sitting in my garage 'just in case'.
If you lived closer you could have them......
Unless you know the printer you approach they may say that they use the paper or plastic type.
Due to the scrap value on ally sheet, they won't want any Tom, Dick or Harry knowing they have ally sheets on their premises.
Good luck.
And 'no' to anyone who asks where I got them. Sorry, it's a trade secret!

 

[bontbee]

By What? How big are your bees ????

It's not their size that matters, it's the red hot spears my bees come equipped with - at least, that's what the other half says....