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sahtlinurk

House Bee
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
334
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0
Location
uk, Abingdon
Hive Type
14x12
Number of Hives
12
hi,

i managed to get some 22mm thick softwood gravel board. is it good enough to make a hive? The good thing is the width of the board gives nicely the hight of the brood box.

Cheers,
Lauri
 
I have some sheets of polystyrene 2cm thick that our wardrobe came wrapped in. Can I paint it with something and use that, or will the bees eat through it anyway?
 
I will stick with B.S standard but do te BB 14" 12". I did lots of reading here in the forum last night and it seems to go for these dimensions is a right decision. Originally on this Scottish bee web page they do the brood box and supers out of 3/4" thick wood. So my 22 mm is more than enough, all i need is to get the inside dimensions right.

As Finman suggested, it is not thick enough. true it is for Finland or Estonia. I believe for brood box it should be at least 25mm in those countries.

Thanks.
Lauri
 
in england weather 3/4 is perfect to use most of us have been using it for the hundred years and as for polystirene packing yes you can paint it but i would not bother the bees will streed it in hours, polhive sells the proper stuff which is injection moulded ploystirene at around 100gms your stuff is near 20 gms so a complete waste of time
 
I

As Finman suggested, it is not thick enough. true it is for Finland or Estonia. I believe for brood box it should be at least 25mm in those countries.

Thanks.
Lauri

No one used such brood boxes in Finland. I made 30 mm wood walls but they spend 50% more winterfood than polyboxes. It means too that spring build up is slow.

To keep bees alive and get a good yield are very different questions.

And you pay more for frames than for good boxes. Bye boxes and make frames. That is good business.
 
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had a closer look and this wood IS actually treated. Is it now no no for beehive building? hard to notice but it has a light green colour all over the place.. wish i had checked first before buying:svengo:
 
Sorry, but if you don't know what the treatment is...... and as gravel boards are meant to be on the ground (as they are easier to replace than the fence) it may be powerful stuff, or the cheapest which is still not good!!
 
It'll be todays version of tanalith. Theres no way I would use that for a beehive. If it was of the above ground treatments such as protim then I would possibly use that as those treatments are very specific against longhorn beetle.
 
The light green colour is whats left after pressure treating the timber.The chemical they use for presure treating timber is "Chromated Copper Arsenate" which are salts of both copper and arsenic, which I would have thought to be detrimental to anything living in close proximity to it.
 
CCA treatments are pretty much unavailable now. New formulations which do not include the arsenic are used in the EU. Unfortunatly, we do not seem to have given a monkeys about the heavy metals........
 
I think I was told by a professor of biology, who's name I can't recall at the moment, but he's been on telly, that copper salts don't harm bees.

After all isn't 'Cuprinol' such a substance ?
 
Taken from a timber suppliers site


"TANALISED®E pressure treated timber is protected with TANALITH®E, a unique, highly effective preservative protection system based on patented copper triazole technology. The copper is derived from recycled sources and is well known for its fungicidal and insecticidal properties. The triazoles used in TANALITH E are organic biodegradable biocides, commonly used to protect many of the food crops we eat. Combining copper with a dual triazole system broadens it’s spectrum of activity to give complete protection from wood decay organisms. Performance First launched in 1992, TANALISED®E pressure treated timber is today a truly global product that is approved and used in more than 30 countries worldwide. TANALISED®E pressure treated timber is protected against fugal and insect attack and is the perfect product for use in above ground, in ground and water contact situations.


This from another

"Can TANALISED or TANATONE pressure treated timber be use for the construction of bee hives?

TANALISED E or TANATONE pressure treated timber is suitable for use in a bee hive. However, you should not use it for internal elements of the hive that will come into direct contact with honey."

If you read the bold bits that suggests it kills insects so use at your bees peril!
 
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well, i will use the wood then in my shed building project:) more than good enough for that. Thanks everyone for answering!

Cheers,
Lauri
 
another idea which crossed my head.. if i do the BB out of this trated stuff but use plywood as isolation inside. should it do the job?

Lauri
 

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