Roofs again (sorry!)

[Cussword]

I've made a couple of lids from thick plastic cut from a 200litre barrel and a pallet timber frame. They have a useable depth of about 700mm so you can choose the overhang to shed the water you desire.
A local farmer where my out apiary is, is more than grateful for me to take them away. Have many other uses also, waterbutts, raised planters on the allotment, all sorts.
Previously contained iodene so no nasties!
I know the curved roof isn't everyone's cup of tea because of using it to stand the supers on but the earth around my hives is rarely flat. They can be flattened a little more but they naturally want to retain some shape.
Ask your local dairy farmers I'm sure they're all in the same boat and be glad for you to take them away.
If you can't find any but wanted a couple and are in/passing Bath give me a shout and I'll put a couple to one side.
Dan.

If you have access to power, a heat gun/paint stripper will help you shape the plastic. You can heat it & place between two paving stones to flatten, or just heat to let it fold down the sides.

 

[Cussword]

I need to make a fair number of hives over the winter and am looking at roof waterproofing materials.

I currently use 10mm polycarbonate roofing sheets, and silicone the edges. I am buying them locally in a DIY shop, but know I can get them cheaper. I am currently spending about £7 per hive for the polycarbonate alone.
The drawback is, if I skimp on the silicon just a little, the wood soon becomes waterlogged as the gap retains water (with the weather we have at the moment!). Probably about 1 in 10 fail after a year or two.

I thought about using thin ali or galv, but seems to be very expensive on ebay.

I have also considered fibreglass resin, but again very expensive.

I have been reading old posts, which mention printing plates, but looks to be hit and miss acquiring them. I would prefer a source which I know I can get.

I like the idea of a 'paint' of some description, but cannot find anything cost effective enough to use.

I would rather not go down the felt route, as I am not particularly gentle with my kit, and in my opinion, does not look very tidy.

Need to think mass producing, so must be reliably sourced...
thoughts?
Cheers
Pete

I have a Koi pond, the next one I build will be painted with this:http://5playleisure.co.uk/Pond_construction.html

 

[hedgerow pete]

I need to make a fair number of hives over the winter and am looking at roof waterproofing materials.

I currently use 10mm polycarbonate roofing sheets, and silicone the edges. I am buying them locally in a DIY shop, but know I can get them cheaper. I am currently spending about £7 per hive for the polycarbonate alone.
The drawback is, if I skimp on the silicon just a little, the wood soon becomes waterlogged as the gap retains water (with the weather we have at the moment!). Probably about 1 in 10 fail after a year or two.

I thought about using thin ali or galv, but seems to be very expensive on ebay.

I have also considered fibreglass resin, but again very expensive.

I have been reading old posts, which mention printing plates, but looks to be hit and miss acquiring them. I would prefer a source which I know I can get.

I like the idea of a 'paint' of some description, but cannot find anything cost effective enough to use.

I would rather not go down the felt route, as I am not particularly gentle with my kit, and in my opinion, does not look very tidy.

Need to think mass producing, so must be reliably sourced...
thoughts?
Cheers
Pete

printing plates dont exist anymore that was in the old'n days

yes resin and the like is a great option so is some form of metal plate, metal plates need to have 20mm of polystyrene under it to prevent sistal damp and condensation issues
the side off a washing machine was also a good one

green mineral felt is ok but does get batterd very easily

me personally i would be looking for a rot proof and water proof material for the whole lid.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Breakers yard for old caravans?

 

[peteinwilts]

I have a Koi pond, the next one I build will be painted with this:http://5playleisure.co.uk/Pond_construction.html

expensive for lids. tenner a lid with three coats...

 

[peteinwilts]

me personally i would be looking for a rot proof and water proof material for the whole lid.

... and something that is easily obtainable without scavenging scrapyards. It is ok for one or two, but when you have loads to do, and trying to make them uniform (I like neat!), scavenging is very time consuming.

 

[Hivemaker.]

printing plates dont exist anymore that was in the old'n days

They are still used.

 

[Nige.Coll]

you can get the metal covering for a national roof for about £7.50.(2014 price)

 

[hedgerow pete]

They are still used.

yes and worth money for scrap, no one hands them out for free they want paying for them, that cost for there thickness makes them uneconomical to purchase when you can buy decent all sheet.

if i was doing more than a few hives i would want to buy in a new product that can be used for all the hives and to sort all the situations and styles out

top of that list would be 0.7mm ali sheet or 1mm alli sheet

or a fibre glass resin casting mould

i would then build up and fibre glass the roofs from the outside on top of a ply wood former with a celotex core lid.

 

[Hivemaker.]

yes and worth money for scrap, no one hands them out for free

Yes, some places do still give them away for free, well one place at least.

 

[jd101k2000]

I would love to see that episode of Top Gear - recycling caravans as bee hives.

 

[Otis Hogg]

Ive put a bait hive on my garage roof, getting ready for spring. I done the roof with a cut down 200 litre plastic barrel, cheers to Dan Job for the idea. Ive painted it brown as it was bright yellow.

 

[dn170221]

Ive put a bait hive on my garage roof, getting ready for spring. I done the roof with a cut down 200 litre plastic barrel, cheers to Dan Job for the idea. Ive painted it brown as it was bright yellow.

Otis,
what way have you put the hive together?
You have planks that make up the "hive" body, which seem to be screwed together overlapping. How have you secured one layer of planks to the layer above? Is there a strip of wood inside the hive to screw the planks to?