National hive roof

[its.only.money]

This might be a bit of a daft question but… just looking at hive construction today, specifically Nationals. Notice there is option of gable roof as well as flat. Is this purely for aesthetics? Are their pros/cons or simply just preference?

 

[Anduril]

This might be a bit of a daft question but… just looking at hive construction today, specifically Nationals. Notice there is option of gable roof as well as flat. Is this purely for aesthetics? Are their pros/cons or simply just preference?

Flat rooves are stable for resting supers on. A gable roof tilts from one side or the other, however you could build a v shaped contraption to rest the gable roof on or bricks either side.

 

[REDWOOD]

You can have a slopping roof and still lay it flat up turned without bricks


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[Hivemaker.]

Is this purely for aesthetics?

Yes.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Perhaps you can get more insulation in a pointy roof

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Perhaps you can get more insulation in a pointy roof

You could in the middle
Seriously though I have room for a rapid feeder on top of the crownboard.

 

[mbc]

Yes.

Not really, sloping roofs shed water and are less likely to develop leaks.

 

[Hivemaker.]

sloping roofs shed water and are less likely to develop leaks.

Depends how they are constructed, some/many are much more likely to develop leaks.

 

[B+.]

Is this purely for aesthetics? Are their pros/cons or simply just preference?

One con that I can see is that you can't put it top-down on the ground and use it as a platform for stacking the supers on while you work

 

[charlievictorbravo]

The only benefit of the sloping roof, apart from aesthetics, as far as I can see, is that it sheds water quickly and if well designed, that water will not run down the hive's side.
With a flat roof, there are always small pools of water after rainfall and this eventually disappears by evaporation. The small amount of latent heat of vapourisation cools the roof and thus the hive but it is VERY marginal - theoretical but probably not measurable.
During rainfall, the flat roof is more likely to produce rain droplets running down the hives side, due to a smaller overhang than a sloping roof, again with a marginal loss of heat needed to evaporate it.

CVB

 

[Davelin]

Would recommend a deeper 6" or 8" roof in preference to 4" that comes with most hive packs.

Room for feeder and insulation without an eke.

 

[its.only.money]

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Would recommend a deeper 6" or 8" roof in preference to 4" that comes with most hive packs.

Room for feeder and insulation without an eke.

An even deeper roof made of PIR is really useful in winter

 

[BeeJuice]

Gabled roofs work better - how many houses do you see with flat roofs? There's a reason why you don't. Gabled roofs get the water off quick and away from the hive wall. The copper ones are the best looking of them all.

As others have said, the advantage of a flat roof is that you can stack stuff on it. There are better ways of stacking stuff - I use a hive stand which has two rails - the stand is more than twice the length of the width of the hive so I can stack supers etc next to the hive on the stand. Works well for me.

When it comes to insulation, I use an eke with polystyrene insulation slabs from Wikes. It is about 8 inches thick when I put the roof on.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Gabled roofs work better - how many houses do you see with flat roofs? There's a reason why you don't. Gabled roofs get the water off quick and away from the hive wall. The copper ones are the best looking of them all.

As others have said, the advantage of a flat roof is that you can stack stuff on it. There are better ways of stacking stuff - I use a hive stand which has two rails - the stand is more than twice the length of the width of the hive so I can stack supers etc next to the hive on the stand. Works well for me.

When it comes to insulation, I use an eke with polystyrene insulation slabs from Wikes. It is about 8 inches thick when I put the roof on.

For my inspections I have a portable stand which moves next to the hives which sit on concrete blocks. Saves a lot of bending. However two hives share a wooden stand with rails that are 3 and a bit hive widths so I can sit supers and stuff between the hives during operations.

 

[Webby]

Sloping roofs

You can buy pitched roofs for langstroths.

 

[REDWOOD]

Gabled roofs work better - how many houses do you see with flat roofs? There's a reason why you don't. Gabled roofs get the water off quick and away from the hive wall. The copper ones are the best looking of them all.

As others have said, the advantage of a flat roof is that you can stack stuff on it. There are better ways of stacking stuff - I use a hive stand which has two rails - the stand is more than twice the length of the width of the hive so I can stack supers etc next to the hive on the stand. Works well for me.

When it comes to insulation, I use an eke with polystyrene insulation slabs from Wikes. It is about 8 inches thick when I put the roof on.

Rubber roofs are better

 

[BeeJuice]

Rubber roofs are better

Why?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

They bounce when you drop them

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[MartinL]

I always score (press) a cross in the underside of the tin on my roofs, even nucs. It stops puddles forming.

Pitched roofs look good and shed the water away from the sides. the vent is also higher up and therefore more efficient.
However, their relative shallow fit makes them vulnerable to being blown off in high winds.