Plywood Hives

[CliveCollier]

Hi does anybody have experience with plywood hives any comments appreciated

 

[Sabrina]

No experience with plywood hives, but after seeing what the woodpeckers tried to do to my cedar hive, I'd be nervous! Now covered in chicken wire to keep 'em out, but a good few little dinks in the front of the hive.

 

[Hombre]

14x12 wbp exterior grade plywood, with pine top and bottom bars. No problems. Harder and a lot heavier than cedar.

Woody woodpecker would get a headache attacking them. Not expensive to make.

 

[steve1958]

Yes, Heavier.
Otherwise no problem

 

[Somerford]

ask Peteinwilts.....he makes them in his sleep !

 

[hedgerow pete]

almost all of mine are made with cheap shuttering ply.

they have a life of around ten yeras with decent paint on the outside are very very cheap to make and buy

 

[tberni]

Hello

I have different types of hives but I bought all my recent hives from a chap based in Cornwall. They are made of plywood and they are brilliant - much better than my pine and cedar hives. The woodpeckers also don't even bother pecking them and so I have saved £££s not buying expensive chicken wire.

 

[CliveCollier]

Thanks for your comment, much appreciated

 

[Hombre]

Just a thought. I noticed that sometimes the 9mm ply that I buy is pretty solid and other times the surfaces seem to have a very thin veneer (well not quite) surface. This is obviously less structurally sound than the more robust examples, as it is more adversely affected by moisture.

Sometimes though it's a case of take it or leave it and the need for new nucs is high.

 

[the naked beekeeper]

Hello

I have different types of hives but I bought all my recent hives from a chap based in Cornwall. They are made of plywood and they are brilliant - much better than my pine and cedar hives. The woodpeckers also don't even bother pecking them and so I have saved £££s not buying expensive chicken wire.

Was it Duncan per chance??

 

[tberni]

It is Duncan yes, they are excellent hives and I am extremely happy with them.

 

[aberreef]

What thickness of ply is suitable?

 

[bee crazy]

i work at Timbet which is a plywood merchants so i use whatever plywood i can get!

the best i found is birch plywood structral grade multi lam plywood 18mm thick i use this for my brood chambers and for the suppers i use 18mm OSB3 which is external OSB.i'm very lucky that most of the stuff i get is for free and sometimes the bees have to make do with whatever i can get hold of.

as HP stated if you treat your plywood hives once twice a year they will last for 10 years. if anyone lives close to gloucester i might be able to get some offcuts or cheap plywood PM if you like

budget beekeeping

 

[aberreef]

Thanks for that. Will go shopping today since the weather is pants

 

[beebreeder]

Plywood is fine if you do not mind the extra weight, when protecting I always seal the cuts with a coat of PVA before wood preserver
kev

 

[MuswellMetro]

Plywood is fine if you do not mind the extra weight, when protecting I always seal the cuts with a coat of PVA before wood preserver
kev

i have just made some Supers out of 12mm ply, with composite top and bottoms bar out of 12mm,18mm ply then 12mm inner side

the few extra internal 12 mm width in the other dimension does not matter in a super as varius frame spacings are used and bee space in highly variable and with wide spacers on SN1 is gives you a few extra mm for proplis etc on old frames

 

[The Riviera Kid]

Are there any issues with marine plywood (or any other type for that matter) in terms of "breathability"?

Is there any danger of condensation on the inside during winter? It doesn't seem to be as porous as "real" wood.

 

[hedgerow pete]

not that i have had any problems with

 

[The Riviera Kid]

Ok that's great news. we have got lots more marine ply lying in the garage - no need to go to Jewsons after all

 

[beestingjohn]

Does 18mm ply breath? If you put effective preservative on?
If not, why not use thinner ply and stick on plastic or roofing felt to preserve?