Plywood hive

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THE DOG

New Bee
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Location
BLACK COUNTRY
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
5
Hello all, well winter is here and i have just readied 5 hives on my apiery, this has been my first season and i started very late so its safe to say im still very green

Obviously im now looking towards next season as my first real test and want to be hitting the ground running in the spring, im looking into buying another 5-10 hives for next year and was wondering if anyone has any experience with plywood hives??

Thanks all
 
They are ok if you build them yourself.
I am not so sure I would buy them ready made though.

I have a mixture of ply and cedar hives.

The real difference is the weight.
 
Ah so your not completely against them then, i was only thinking of building some for a short term cost saving, do you use marine ply?
 
They are ok if you build them yourself.
I am not so sure I would buy them ready made though.

I have a mixture of ply and cedar hives.

The real difference is the weight.


Hi,

I'd second that -with the added point that on the plus side I've found that they seem to withstand rat and woodpecker attacks much better (in the past I've had BIG problems with both) and if they do succomb then so what, it's 'better' to have a ply box butchered than it is to see £50 worth of cedar turned into matchsticks.

On the weight side it depends on you yourself, personally I have no difficulty lifting a full MD brood chamber whether it's ply or pine -when you get to that sort of weight, so long as you're within your own physical limits a few pounds don't seem to make much difference. That's the key -your own limits. I'm not sure what the actual weight difference between cedar and ply is, perhaps one of this forums hive makers will be able to answer that one -might be interesting to know.

Good Luck,
Roland
 
do you use marine ply?

No,I use the same stuff b&q do for around £35 a sheet.
I think it's called "WBP" water boil proof ?

I get it cut for me by the supplier,I think b&q will do x amount of cuts for free then 50p a cut.

We have some cutting plans for 8x4 sheets on the forum.
 
.

ply boxes

easy to cut

minus
* heavy material and take moisture in 30%
* don't stand storching
* short living compared to usual pine
* poor heat insulation value
 
Oh wow, im getting excited now, off to find plans.

Thankyou
 
No,I use the same stuff b&q do for around £35 a sheet.
I think it's called "WBP" water boil proof ?

Weather & boil proof its called

Regards:patriot:
 
Would pine be simulary priced to ceader? thanks for the pointers all the kind of stuff i need to take on board.
 
These might help http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h187/adamsm/Plans/?action=view&current=DeepNationalv10.jpg

I believe that marine ply, as well as being OMG expensive, contains some fairly extreme preservatives, so not ideal. WBP is the chap. If you buy it at Buggeroff and Quickly, you get first 14 cuts done for free. I bought the better stuff as it had less voids. Work out the cutting plan first- cuts 3mm wide approx.

Pine is fine- I would prefer it to ply, but it costs a bit more and still needs treating.

Have fun, and I hope your shed's warmer than mine! :nature-smiley-12:
 
I have a couple of brood boxes made out of cheap shuttering ply. I picked out the best sheets from the pallet so it wasn't too knotty or loose, gave them a good few coats of preservative and they are no worse for wear after two years outside.

I don't think wbp ply would last for that much longer than shuttering ply to be honest but my nuc boxes are wbp so time will tell.

It does pay to be fussy and pick good sheets whichever type you go for because quality does vary alot.

Si.
 
i use cedar broods [they live there 24/7] but make ply supers for the summer flow,

To stop the ply de laminating i paint the edges with waterproof PVA glue or gloss paint

also i use 12mm ply for supers , i adjust the plans and use 6mm wider top and bottom rails, they are cheaper and lighter
 
all my hives are ply wood.

the reason i use ply is because i cant do justice to proper wood and ceder is way past my budget so i cant use it nor would i buy it premade as i dont want /afford to buy the sensible and better quality , that hivemaker and others make.

the life span of my hives are roughly 3 to 5 years with paint outside or longer if in the bee shed.

ply is free or very cheap to me as i get hold of it from the building sites i work on.

but because it is cheap and free is it is also sort lived, better quality ply would last a lot longer.

would i suggest anyone to use it, the answer is no , not realy, most beginers would be better served with poly or a properly made hive either of ceder, that would be made with the correct sizes.

if you look at my video's as i build a nuc, the same ideas work with a larger brood chamber
 
Well thankyou all very much for your input, you have been a great help.

Still not sure how im gonna play it yet but im not as worried about the decision.
 
Thankyou, sorry i should have introduced myself i will go and do that now.

Doug
 

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