hive materials

[Chaos72]

Hi,

looking for some advice.

I am lucky enough to have a father in law who was a professional cabinet maker prior to retirement. he has kindly offered to construct some hive parts for me and i was wondering about type of materials.

soft wood, ply-board, or cedar, are they all ok to use or should i be using something specific?

all my present hive parts are painted anyway so was temped on cost with ply but was unsure if this was ok for the bees?

Many thanks in advance

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Hi,

looking for some advice.

I am lucky enough to have a father in law who was a professional cabinet maker prior to retirement. he has kindly offered to construct some hive parts for me and i was wondering about type of materials.

soft wood, ply-board, or cedar, are they all ok to use or should i be using something specific?

all my present hive parts are painted anyway so was temped on cost with ply but was unsure if this was ok for the bees?

Many thanks in advance

Ply is perfectly ok as long as you use wbp or marine grade and seal the cut edges prior to painting. All my hives are built in this way and there are no complaints from the tenants

 

[REDWOOD]

Hi,

looking for some advice.

I am lucky enough to have a father in law who was a professional cabinet maker prior to retirement. he has kindly offered to construct some hive parts for me and i was wondering about type of materials.

soft wood, ply-board, or cedar, are they all ok to use or should i be using something specific?

all my present hive parts are painted anyway so was temped on cost with ply but was unsure if this was ok for the bees?

Many thanks in advance

Some retirement for your father-in-law, ply is fine if treated properly but won't last as long as pine and cedar is the best but expensive.
stands I make from soft wood or pallet wood
floors and brood boxes from redwood (pine)
crown, feeder, clearing boards from ply
roof top from ply and the sides from redwood
All coated with cuprinol garden shades that wasteful people throw out
Although this year I have made supers from plywood due to popular demand

 

[dn170221]

As above ply is OK but you have to seal the ends or it will delaminate.
The best thing about ply is you can get a good supply for free if you keep your eyes open. Always ask permission if recycling, I have found people love the idea of wood they were dumping being used to make beehives!

 

[Chaos72]

thanks for the info,

I will be off to the builders mearchant

 

[itma]

Note that ply is rather heavier than (particularly) cedar.

Western Red Cedar is prime choice for a wooden hive. Light, stiff, strong, pretty dimensionally stable and needs no preservative treatment.
It ain't cheap though …


Important to note that millimetre (or maybe two) precision is required for beehives. It does matter.

 

[Dishmop]

Sealing the ends

I have always done this with wood glue as suggested by someone on the forum, and assume its how other people do it.

18mm ply is easy and cheap because B&Q will cut it to size for you... Very annoying for the people waiting behind you though.
Also all the bits will sit on the back seat of the car.

 

[Chaos72]

I have a WBC as well as a National 18mm for both?

 

[REDWOOD]

I have used 18mm wood for brood boxes but I find 20.5mm wood better and their occupants bees don't seem to mind

 

[Mellifera397]

I have recently taken over management of three colonies in plywood hives. The hives weren't of the best quality when constructed and thus have degrade rather rapidly the walls expand and contract whenever one moves a frame.

I'm sure plywood can work but I have found cedar to be less hassle.

M

 

[oliver90owner]

I made two ply hives. Both Dartingtons. I would not make Nationals in ply.

 

[dn170221]

Best use of ply I would say is Nucs!!
With the floor attached it is easier to seal the ends, a bit of filler and well painted and you have a box that will do a good job!

 

[Little John]

Ply, imo, is the best material for crown boards, roofs, various manipulating boards such as Snelgrove and Morris, and that's about it.

In my view it's too dense, and thus has too poor an insulation value for the walls of either nucs or hives. Pine, being a light(ish) softwood is pretty good, and of course cedar is the wood of choice.

The one timber which it seems that most countries in the world are growing (but not Britain) is Black Locust: a fast growing tree which produces a hard rot-proof timber.
A thin veneer of that over a pine hive would render it weatherproof without any need for regular painting.

LJ