The mesh company Varroa Floors - for home-made floors

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

oliver90owner

Queen Bee
***
Joined
Jul 15, 2009
Messages
16,148
Reaction score
607
Location
Lincolnshire
Hive Type
14x12
I have recently knocked up a few floors.

I actually used scrap nominal 50mm thick x 150mm, recovered from a skip by my wife (with the kind permission of the householder) to be used for a raised bed. I substituted slightly thinner section from my wood stock and requisitioned her 'find'.

Ripped down, planed to size, cut to length, I soon made enough wood for 10 new floors. So cost was my free labour (and a new TCT saw blade).

I sourced the floor-mesh from Chris, at The Mesh Company, after noting the links on this forum previously. I normally use galvanised expanded mesh (per Th*rne, per eg) or old fireguards. I found the service to be second to none and the costs very competitive.

Buying in PSE for the main section would have been about £2.50 per floor and 50p(?) for the top battens. Scrap was used for the runners under (for the varroa-check board). A large cost, I found, was scews. I prefer them to nails (which are much cheaper). Screw costs amounted to about 55p per floor.

Surface coating, so far, has been for fungal protection only.

Total cost would have been about £6.50 - £7 for materials. Mine were considerably less. The check sheet will likely be correx sheet - wish now I had collected some election hoardings! Extra visits to Jewsons would have been an extra cost also.

Regards, RAB

PS no connection whatsoever with the floor mesh supplier apart from being a well pleased customer.
 
Thanks Rab,its always very good to hear positive feedback from members that have used a company.
 
Didn't. I used cheaper, plated screws, some from Jewsons, some from Highland Supplies in Inverness.

I tend to use my Reisser screws on brood/super boxes only.

I could have used shorter (and thus cheaper) screws by counter-boring, not just counter-sinking. I kept the floor riser at about 22mm, so I was using 40mm screws mainly. I was toying with leaving just an 8mm entrance, but thought the mesh-holding batten might be too thin. 22mm was only chosen to be similar to my other (old) solid floors which have been 'holed and screened'.

Regards, RAB
 
Looking at the stainless steel sheets, they are dearer than JT Wirecloth where I get mine from.

Less than £5 a sheet inc postage and you just email him for what size you want.

Yours Roy
 

Latest posts

Back
Top