In the workroom

The thought of building a full hive could be overwhelming. In order to give you the opportunity to build it yourself, we shall explain each aspect of the hive. Our topic this month is flooring.

The term "bugs in a box" was used to describe a beehive at one point. Although it may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, the main point is that there is no set size or material limitation for the box. Creating a simple yet functional floor is the subject of this article. It is simple to construct, serves its purpose, and can be swapped out for other National kit, even if it doesn't appear to be something you buy.

Mesh or solid surface?

"Yes!" is the simplest way to put it. No matter what you decide, someone will have an opposing opinion! I settled on making the floors primarily solid (free wood) with some ventilation mesh after giving it a lot of thought. Perhaps it represents a middle ground or the ideal of both extremes. So, how does it seem to the bees? Because the bees are so good at keeping everything clean, the solid floor has never given us any trouble. Pieces of wax, lumps of pollen, and dead mites are about all that's found. The mesh is the most intriguing part. My bees will often propolise around half of a small hole (about the size of a Porter bee escape hole) that is closed with mesh in order to decrease the air movement. Some researchers, I'm sure, have hypotheses regarding this. My bees are always game for whatever I throw at them.

You can also use this item as a crown board. What is the point of doing this? No hassle at all; instead of floors and crown boards, I just need to transport this one design. The daring reader can use one of these pieces as a crown board, stack two brood boxes and another crown board on top, and then have a second colony and queen. When you remove the mesh, the bees will continue to use the bottom supers to store their nectar, just like the colony. The queens are spaced out enough that covering the hole with a queen excluder doesn't appear to make much of a difference.

Maintaining a minimalist design

The key to a successful do-it-yourself project is easy assembly. Batching is how I usually produce hive pieces. The number of levels can range from twelve to fifty or more, depending on factors such as the material at my disposal, the amount of time I have, and the weather. Below is a photo of a wood stack with a plywood base with a central hole. In the centre, there is a detachable square of floor mesh that is screwed down. The wood trim around the perimeter is fastened using screws and glue. The doorway was carved out of a single strip and is now an integral element of the surroundings. It was once said that beehives are like "bugs in a box" (Karl Colyer, Cheshire BKAI). Although it may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, the main point is that there is no set size or material limitation for the box. Creating a simple yet functional floor is the subject of this article. It is simple to construct, serves its purpose, and can be swapped out for other National kits, even if it doesn't appear to be something you buy. Wooden planks and ply flooring.Mesh that can be removed from the floor in the middle, of any size.

Where can I find wood?

You may get plywood from a few reliable places. Finding pieces that are at least 46 cm square is your goal; this is a crucial measurement to keep in mind while creating interchangeable National hive products. My ply comes from a plastics manufacturer that uses them to prevent harm to their product. You can find a lot of useful materials on construction sites. Operating strand board, or OSB, is utilised for cement shuttering and perimeter fences. A lot of plywood sheets wind up in the trash. You can purchase the material if you so like; a single sheet of OSB, which is 11mm thick, usually costs less than £20, and it can be used to construct ten floors or crown boards.

Check out your neighbourhood lumberyard for the pieces of wood you'll need for the border. Forklift access and ventilation are achieved by stacking the larger pieces of wood and using strips of wood to divide them. We end up discarding the majority of the spacer wood. As you can see in the picture, I frequently come across spacers in the on-site trash can. The supplier of the saleable wood and the finish on the saleable wood determine the somewhat varying sizes of the spacer wood. Two identical pieces are all that are needed to construct the four planks of wood needed for a single floor. Typically, I am able to collect twenty to forty pieces, ranging in size from two or three different varieties, whenever I visit the timber yard.

How big is the entryway?

I plan to write another piece later this year that delves more into the fascinating topic of entrances. Making an appropriate opening in the centre of one of the wood strips is all that's required before putting it all together. Believe me when I say that it becomes much more difficult to carve an entrance hole once the wood has been cemented in place. Making the highest point of the entrance around two-thirds of the way up the strip using a tin can as a shape template is the simplest method. Make sure there's enough room for the bees to enter and that there's enough wood left over to prevent it from falling apart. It appears that this size hole is ideal for the bees throughout the year. In the summer and early autumn, there may be a wait at the entry, but be assured, the wasps will not be there.

Attachments and adhesives

Here, screws usually measure around 30 mm in length, though they can be as long as 38 mm. Make sure their pointed ends don't penetrate the wood too deeply. Always use waterproof PVA glue when working with glue. In addition to preventing water from penetrating the hive, this also helps to preserve the wood. At first, I only get a glue container with a good dispenser on it. Afterwards, I transfer the glue from its 5-litre container to the dispenser. Use an empty sriracha, mustard, or ketchup container for a free dispenser. To further safeguard the plywood from water intrusion and delamination, you can consider brushing waterproof glue over the outside exposed wood surfaces. Instead of seeping into the wood, water will be able to flow off in most cases.