my first tbh "DIY"

[trapperman]

I`ve had a few rainy days with not to much on so thought i would have a look through my wood pile (i dont throw anything away lol) and build a TBH for next year.

i didnt follow any plans just sort of made it up as i went along but i did make the top bars 17" as seemed to be the norm when searching on the net i am sure the bees wont mind if its not perfect.

Total cost about £20

I have two nationals but would like to try a couple of tbh next year just for fun.
what do you think it should be o.k i hope.

 

[victor meldrew]

That timber looks like decking ?
I should make sure it's very well aired before use

John Wilkinson

 

[madasafish]

Beautifully built. far better than my codged woodwork.

 

[MuswellMetro]

That timber looks like decking ?
I should make sure it's very well aired before use

John Wilkinson

EXTRACT

http://www.archtimber.co.uk/preston_qa.htm#Q6


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.

Prior to use, you should ensure that the timber is in a dry condition; two weeks post treatment is usually sufficient time to allow for drying although this is weather and storage condition dependent.

Please see our Code of Practice and Consumer Information Sheet for more information on the use of TANALISED E pressure treated timber.

 

[trapperman]

well spotted it is decking i did a job about 3 years ago taking up a big deck around a pool i had loads of the stuff if you came to my smallholding you would see it on barns, chicken houses, fences you name it good timber to its probs years old so well weathered but no rot at all and i`ve coated the whole thing in water based fence paint to.

 

[Queens59]

Wow - a hurricane won't upset that, my other half made a nuc box with so much ventilation I could use it as a sieve!!

 

[susbees]

Two things...how are you going to manipulate it with the bars bedded down that low? TBH generally have the bars resting on top of the sides. Well all ours have and you rarely need to use a hive tool (and never smoke).

Second, how are you going to roof it (the legs coming right up to the top)?

Well, three actually...there appears to be spacers between the bars leaving a bee gap. Or is that just the angle of the photo. The bars for tbh form a solid structure making inspections dead easy because the bees don't feel exposed as they do in conventional box hives.

 

[trapperman]

Two things...how are you going to manipulate it with the bars bedded down that low? TBH generally have the bars resting on top of the sides. Well all ours have and you rarely need to use a hive tool (and never smoke).

Second, how are you going to roof it (the legs coming right up to the top)?

Well, three actually...there appears to be spacers between the bars leaving a bee gap. Or is that just the angle of the photo. The bars for tbh form a solid structure making inspections dead easy because the bees don't feel exposed as they do in conventional box hives.

Hi, i thought the gaps might get mentioned my fault the first timber i brought for the brood bars was 32mm but on measuring it after cutting to lengh found out it was only 30mm, bloody wickes, so i got some 4mm pine shims to widen them a bit i didnt get enough so thought if i left a small gap 5"x4mm in the middle i could cover with a cloth on top under the roof or if it is really hot could remove the cloth for some ventilation, they will proberly just fill it i expect but i can just redo these bars if need be, the honey bars are 44mm.

The bars do rest on the sides of the main trough the two other outside struts are for the roof to sit tight with no gaps, the roof is not in the pics but has a ridge that slots inside these bars and the sides, leaving a 2" gap above the bars for feeding the bees.
The bars have half an inch gap either end before the outside struts which i hope will be enough to get them in and out easily, i have been playing with it and this seems fine.

anything that i find doesant work well enough i can change without to much problem.

 

[Onge]

Very nice.

 

[susbees]

We keep a top cloth on ours at all times. They do tend to glue them on though if there are gaps. We still have the odd chopped MD and Nat frames in ours.

 

[Dishmop]

One of my hives is a TBH and built on the Warre plans.
The plans say to pin the bars in position. Seemed silly to me, so I used small nails either side of each bar as a locator, but the problem with that is that you can's slide the frames apart to lift the next one out, and because of the thickness that the bees have built the comb its more or less impossible to lift them straight up.....so each time I look in, I pull out as many nails as I can and adjust the spacing by eye. Propolis holds them better than nails anyway.

Its a very impressive comb that they build.

I had a swam that made a lot of comb on all 8 frames in just 2 weeks.

 

[TBRNoTB]

TBH in winter

We keep a top cloth on ours at all times. They do tend to glue them on though if there are gaps. We still have the odd chopped MD and Nat frames in ours.

Hi susbees
I'm new to bee keeping and have a TBH. I was wondering, later in the year when the hive has reduced do you move unused, empty comb outward and put the follower in close to the remaining bees to preserve heat? How close? (mine are in an end entrance KTBH with comb at one end) What type of feeder would you use?
Regards
TBRNoTB

 

[Brosville]

I'm a great believer in keeping it simple - just remove any bars that remain unbuilt on, and put in the followers, apart from that "leave them to it" - don't faff, don't change the bars round - the bees know best!
That's precisely what I did last winter, did not feed at all (the bees had their own stores......) - they sailed through a very cold winter and presented me with a lovely new colony when they swarmed this year.........

 

[oliver90owner]

Warre? Doesn't sound like it. With a warre, you only open the hive with great difficulty for the honey harvest?

RAB

 

[Mike a]

Your TBH looks great and I hope you enjoy using it next season. I also thought the same as Susbees about the depth of the bars it will make it difficult to manage unless you add another vertical strip on top of the sloped walls to raise the bars up a little.

My TBH videos in the video section on this site.

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/video.php?do=viewdetails&videoid=86

One thing I didn't say in the video was will cover the mesh with ply like a false floor but leave gaps either side and put in a 50mm thick sheet of foil backed insulation at the back of the colony and a sheet of 25mm thick above the bars under the roof.

 

[Tom Bick]

Thanks for the video very interesting I will try a TBH one day

 

[molstar]

Thanks for posting that Mike, I really enjoyed it. I'm quite interested in trying a TBH so I'll have to do some reading up ready for next season.

 

[trapperman]

Great video, i may just put some batten along the edges as you said to raise the top bars up level with the sides.

 

[Dishmop]

Warre? Doesn't sound like it. With a warre, you only open the hive with great difficulty for the honey harvest?

RAB

Dont understand this statement.

or is it a question?

 

[oliver90owner]

No, an observation.