The Beehive Workshop
The five frame nucleus hive's are available as standard or 14 x 12 with 6" rooves, they are made to the same high standards as the hives all solid cedar and correctly jointed with a separate varroa stainless steel mesh floor and removable tray, aluminium roof and metal frame runners. The floor is fixed to the hive with stainless steel screws.
Gabled roof made from solid cedar and 12mm WBP exterior ply covered with aluminium gives a more traditional look and pleasing apperance to the hive
Standard 4" flat roof made from solid cedar and 12mm WPB exterior ply covered with aluminium
Crown board/clearer board with feed hole or porter bee escape holes the latter acting as a clearer board
Supers made from solid cedar construction and jointed rails with metal frame runners each can hold 12 SN4 Hoffman frames or 11 SN1 frames on narrow plastic ends or if you prefer 8 frames on wide plastic ends
The half supers are a big help to people with bad backs as the full standard super can weigh 40lb and may need to be placed back on the hive carefully without banging the hive.
Although not the complete answer the half super can be the difference to continuing with beekeeping and having to stop.
Standard Brood Box/chamber again constructed from slid cedar and jointed rails with metal frame runners this will hold 11 DN4 frames or 11DN1 frames on narrow plastic ends leaving a space for a dummy board this will give the brood area 50,000 cells. You can if you wish fit 12 frames but this can makes inspections tricky
The 14 x 12 Brood box/chamber becoming more popular with the extra space for the queen increasing the brood area to 72.000 cells
Eke conversion to convert the standard brood chamber to a 14 x12 brood chamber
Varroa floor with stainless steel mesh and tray for monitoring the varroa drop throughout the year, the tray can be left in place to act as a closed floor. The varroa floor is the first defence against the varroa mite and is now considered standard on all hives.
The stand often overlooked needs to be strong and substantial, as the weight we ask it to carry can be and in excess of 170lbs. The floor is constructed with strong joints substantial frame and legs notched and splayed for extra support, the legs glued and screwed with stainless steel screws, it’s a bit like the foundation of your house the hive is as good as the stand it sits on.
