# General beekeeping > Starting out >  Beehive construction

## mark

Hi,

I'm new to this forum, and wanting to start keeping bees from next year.  I'm in East Lothian.

Now in order to keep the initial costs down, I'm considering constructing my own hive.  I've found a site which has a few ideas:

http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/bee-hive-construction.html

Basically there are 3 designs:

http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/support...ans_metric.pdf
http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/support...uild_a_tbh.pdf
http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/support-files/delon.pdf

I was wondering if anyone had followed this route and had any good pointers.

Thanks

Mark

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## madasafish

The top bar hive plans are pretty.. and useless unless modified - a lot.

I have 4 large ones and they are extensively modified: and beekeeping in them requires an understanding of beekeeping.

I don't recommend building your own until you learn something of bees : to start with, will you die from bee stings?
I am perfectly serious btw.

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## chris

For the Warré,I find his roof awkward and heavy. A standard metal roof is easier, though not so attractive. I would also put a window in the back of each box that can take a building frame. See pictures on this site:

http://bi-ne-drehu.over-blog.com/art...-62742308.html

This will enable you to have an idea of what is going on in the hive without opening up and lifting. Otherwise, use frames. My Warré is built from planks used as "casing" by cement layers. Here they are 20cm. wide and 27 mm thick which is ideal. Also they come in 4m. lengths for about 6 euros so the hive works out quite cheap.
p.s. welcome

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## The Drone Ranger

Just buy a cheap hive or polyhive Mark is my advice

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## mark

> Just buy a cheap hive or polyhive Mark is my advice


Thanks for the replies.  I'll take another look at ready made hives.

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## alancooper

Six years ago I started with a National cedar hive from Thornes and then made my own from pine or plywood. The cost saving I made was minimal after materials, time, mistakes and maintenance were taken into consideration. Manufacturer competition has brought prices down a lot recently. If starting again I would buy.

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## Greengage

I considered building my own hives, I started with a Top Bar, bought all the timber and assembled it took about a week, then atended some classes and went off and bought brood box for €25 assembly time 30 mns, Unless your into it in a big way its really not worth the effort and time, by the way the top bar is dissambled in the shed never used, I know people will disagree but the theory with TBH is great the practicalities of using and maintaining it are a little more difficult than people let on. Something for the future maybe but not now for me.

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## Jon

I buy cedar wood broods for £15-£18 in the Thorne sale. Supers are £11 or £12.
I got 15 Swienty poly broods from C Wynne Jones in a sale last year for about £20 each and these are excellent.

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## prakel

> I got 15 Swienty poly broods from C Wynne Jones in a sale last year for about £20 each and these are excellent.


Any chance of a detailed assessment on that polyhive thread at some point when time permits?

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## busybeephilip

Thornes seconds can be ok but at other times can be so full of knots that dry out and leave holes that its a pain filling these.  Also the seconds timber can still be a bit green, you may find the the side boards can warp resulting in gaps which wasps, robbers etc can get in.  To prevent this they need to be well glued as well as nailed/screwed.

The quality of the cedar is definately not like what the old bee brood boxes used to be like, these would have been heavier and a much tighter grained wood, the stuff they are using now is wide grained and very light like balsa wood, also soft as you can dig your nails into it no problem

Also, if the timber is not treated it will definately rot as I have found since i've stopped using cuprinol clear (old recipie)  has since found that the new recipe can be used but you need to give a bit more time before giving to bees and only paint the outsides. Many persons now paint the outsides with fencelife, garden shades or left over emulsions

I suppost for supers it does not really matter but for broods that are continuously exposed to the wet then thornes deal is not the best

To be honest, my masimore sale item deal brood boxes have proved to be much more robust , the timber is more solid 

If you have the equipment and time then making them is satisfying and cheaper, can even be made using waterproof ply, no need to worry about ventilation as most beeks have open varroa floors, even then extra vent can be given around the crown board  although I have never needed that.

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## busybeephilip

Swienty poly broods from C Wynne Jone


They are listed as £20.50 , not sure if they are compatible with national wooden equipment    jon will know ?

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## Jon

The ones I got were the old style swienty. I think they are sold out now. They are 460 X 460 mm so are compatible with wooden gear. There are no groves or slots on the base like some poly stuff. They hold 10 frames rather than 11. I have 2 of the new ones as well I bought at Gormanston last year for about 25 Euro each. Also a good box to work with. I painted mine with Cuprinol garden shades.

Paynes nucs and extension

nucs new apiary3.jpg poly-nuc-extension.jpg poly-nucs-painted2.jpg

These are the old style Swienty

marshall apiary-23-5-15.jpg

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## gavin

I'm using the old style Swienty at the association's bees and new style with my own.  I have to say that I struggled manfully on with the old style, telling myself this had to be good kit, until I tried the new.  I now detest the old ones!  Have to be really careful dropping frame lugs, hard to pick them up off the frame rests when propolised, generally a pain.  The new ones with their rail to support the frame lugs are great.

I managed to steal mine at £10 each, but they were out of spec needing trimmed to get the frames to fit properly.  A two-minute job with a hot wire run from a car battery charger.  Then the usual varnishing and painting.  I think I bought all 120 remaining cheap new-style brood boxes.

Yes, this belongs in the polyhive thread.  Will shift it later.

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## busybeephilip

> I'm using the old style Swienty at the association's bees and new style with my own.  I have to say that I struggled manfully on with the old style, telling myself this had to be good kit, until I tried the new.  I now detest the old ones!  Have to be really careful dropping frame lugs, hard to pick them up off the frame rests when propolised, generally a pain.  The new ones with their rail to support the frame lugs are great.
> 
> .



I always feel a bit wary if polystyrene hive bits,  Apideas don't really last that long and are stored indoors during the winter, would be a bit worried about rats and mice chewing through the in winter time as I get rats even chewing around the wooden entrances of my out apairy hives even though they are on stands almost 2 foot high.  Does Not take then long to eat through the soft cedar conpared to harder deal !

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## Jon

> Apideas don't really last that long


They do if you look after them. I am still using the first ones I bought 6 or 7 years ago.
Even if they averaged 5 years life that should produce 10-12 queens at £35 each for an initial outlay of about £15.

Rats and mice are the problem so you have to be careful about winter storage.

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## The Drone Ranger

Just a couple of examples 
I am not recommending them just that they exist
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B005...TFL&ref=plSrch
http://www.thorne.co.uk/hives-and-be...roduct_id=4649
http://www.solwaybeesupplies.co.uk/b...parts-91-c.asp
http://www.solwaybeesupplies.co.uk/p...ion-1615-p.asp

I would have a hunt around and then ask what folk think on one of the forums

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## Greengage

If you google or utube making a brood box there are some good videos on there most are american. i was wondering how easy it would be to convert a Nuc to an observation hive.

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## madasafish

> They do if you look after them. I am still using the first ones I bought 6 or 7 years ago.
> Even if they averaged 5 years life that should produce 10-12 queens at £35 each for an initial outlay of about £15.
> 
> Rats and mice are the problem so you have to be careful about winter storage.


Our Association apideas - used every year - were 16 years old when I started in 2010..

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## mbc

I think I bought all 120 remaining cheap new-style brood .[/QUOTE]

Going full time Gavin?

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## Mellifera Crofter

> ...  The new ones with their rail to support the frame lugs are great. ...


Gavin, don't you find that the frame lugs get propolised to the box above causing havoc when trying to lift a box?  I now trim the lug rails by 2mm, and now I'm happy.  I mentioned this on the Poly Hive Musings thread (post 350).

Kitta

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## gavin

Yup, full time.  I'nt it great?!  About 70 colonies over the coming winter plus extra nucs.  




> Gavin, don't you find that the frame lugs get propolised to the box above causing havoc when trying to lift a box?  I now trim the lug rails by 2mm, and now I'm happy.  I mentioned this on the Poly Hive Musings thread (post 350).
> 
> Kitta


Yes, I remember that and you are right about the issue.  I also get bridging across the boxes in my wooden Nationals, often central rather than the lugs, so the issue of sticking boxes and frames isn't just the Swienties - even though the bee space in a wooden one is better respected.  The other thing you highlighted was the likelihood of squashing bees on the frame lugs.  Needs a bit extra care when putting boxes back together.  One day I'll try your solution of trimming a piece off the rails.

Ideally Swienty would have provided a recess under base of the side panels to preserve the bottom space ... but then that would provide a hiding place for shy queens.

G.

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## nemphlar

Any of the single walled hives are cheap and easy to make from marine ply, I've still got the smiths I made 30 years ago, although I struggle to lift them when pressed into use
I just got 6 national polly broods from C Wynne £20.50ea today, they fit the smiths outside sizes perfectly

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## mbc

> Yup, full time.  I'nt it great?!  
> 
> G.


That's one description Gav, ff'in scary is another when you rely on an income entirely at the whim of the weather.

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## busybeephilip

> That's one description Gav, ff'in scary is another when you rely on an income entirely at the whim of the weather.


I wouldent want to be depending on the honey yield from 70 hive to keep me going for the next 12 months..... pulled 15 supers on Monday which are just going straight into storage all nice and dry, just like the extractor  :Frown:

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## mbc

I was up till 2am spinning the liquid gold, skirrics in the corners of some frames was all there was in some supers, averaging about 10 lb / super and that's not counting the completely dry ones, disheartening to say the least, luckily there's still enough 2014 in storage to see me through,  but things will be tight if there's no early 2016 honey to extract. 
Sorry to sidetrack the thread, feel free to delete

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