plywood hives

[greywolf]

Does any one have an opinion on plywood hives as I am thinking of buying one as a second hive for my first season.

They are cheap and cheerfull but are they fit for the purpose?

Not sure if I am allowed to post this link but this is the one in question.

http://www.fragile-planet.co.uk/buydb.php?Key=102

 

[drstitson]

FP have been criticised in other threads for being poor quality (even allowing for the recycled nature of the materials).

 

[nelletap]

I bought some cheap and cheerful ply supers - there was a special offer for 3. (I think it was about £22 for the 3 from FP) I was a little disappointed at how hard it was to nail them but anyway thought the weight without honey might be a problem for me. I thought I would see whether anyone on my BKA was interested in the two I haven't made up but if there was someone local who wanted to take one to try, give me a shout/PM. I decided you don't have to have all bits of the same wood and initially thought having ply supers but cedar brood might be economical. I had a hive stand from FP that I like a lot.

 

[hedgerow pete]

please dont buy ply wood hives.

i have hundreds of ply wood hives and would never use any thing else but only because imake what i require if you have the money to buy hives then please save time, effort, money and energy and speak to one of the many very capable hive makers on this forum, for what you are looking at spending and the extra that it will cost you over the next few years you would be better of buying quality rather than quantity

 

[keith pierce]

Stick away from plywood hive as they are capable of soaking up gallons of water throught the end grains and then they fall apart fairly quickly

 

[buffalow]

I was looking at two ply hives purchased last year from FP , very poor quality shuttering ply construction, I do use ply hives myself but make my own from higher quality ply and they are ok but cedar outshines asthe best choice

 

[Leigh]

Ply hives: If they are made well (ideally by yourself) they are absolutely fine. A definate downside is weight, and a theoretical downside is their inferior insulation qualities compared to cedar. I made 15 hives from plywood last year, so can't comment in the long term. Two have gone tatty because initially I didn't have a good table saw and the cut was rough = easy way for water to delaminate the top layer. I now have a good saw and use marine ply.

The photos of those from FP do look a bit ropey.

As others have said' cedar is ideal, but good ply works fine. Oh, and bees live in holes in rotting trees so can cope! If they are dry and have food, they'll be fine!

 

[hedgerow pete]

on the plus side of ply hives , yes they can be cheaper and if well looked after/painted protected they will normaly last me 5 to 8 years out side and 15 years in the shed easily

 

[peteinwilts]

I use softwood ply (I make my own!)

on the brightside of soaking up liquid, I normally give them three or four coats of ducks back as it soaks it in quite nicely.

I used to use normal (insect freindly) cupronal but used to take weeks\months to dry!

I made the mistake of buying shuttering ply because it was cheap... but it was also very nasty. I probably spent more on no more nails sealing the edges than I did the wood.
Because I bought it, I used it... i will not buy it again.

Did someone say nails!?! Screws are so much better for most jobs!

 

[peteinwilts]

I use softwood ply (I make my own!)

on the brightside of soaking up liquid, I normally give them three or four coats of ducks back as it soaks it in quite nicely.

I used to use normal (insect freindly) cupronal but used to take weeks\months to dry!

I made the mistake of buying shuttering ply because it was cheap... but it was also very nasty. I probably spent more on no more nails sealing the edges than I did the wood.
Because I bought it, I used it... i will not buy it again.

Did someone say nails!?! Screws are so much better for most jobs!

I also use no-more nails for all the joints as well as screws!

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

They build yachts out of ply wood. The only difference is that they are coated in epoxy resin.
So why not do the same with your hives, it woundn't need much, the resin goes a long way.
Plus it won't harm the bees, dentists use a form of it in your tooth fillings...

Brian

 

[wightbees]

dentist used mercury and was that safe

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

That is only used in amalgam fillings. By the way, they still do.
How many do you have?

Brian

 

[wightbees]

too many, i eat too many sweats as a Kid.

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

If it will float on an ocean for years, i'm sure will sit in your hive stand a lot longer....

http://wharram.com/site/node/96

Brian

 

[Skyhook]

I had a plywood boat. It was fine as long as I kept it under a sheet. Once the water got a chance to soak through, it rotted.

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

I had a plywood boat. It was fine as long as I kept it under a sheet. Once the water got a chance to soak through, it rotted.

How old was you rotten boat and was it epoxy coated or just varnished/painted?

Brian

 

[Skyhook]

How old was you rotten boat and was it epoxy coated or just varnished/painted?

Brian

Fair point, it was only painted.

 

[peteinwilts]

too many, i eat too many sweats as a Kid.

yuk! did you harvest it first or go straight for the armpit?

 

[johna]

Proper marine plywood used in boat construction is made from durable high quality timber-this is not the rubbishy far-eastern stuff sold as "marine plywood".The ply sheet used in boat construction costs about four times the cost of the other stuff.
O.K. if you are prepared to pay double the normal price for a cedarwood hive,would also look very good varnished!!.
Stick to cedar hives if you intend to keep bees for a long time,much cheaper and durable than ply hives in the long run.I've got cedar hives over 40 years old and still going strong-nuff said.