# Request: Warre hive plans - Modified - Framed - Verticle top bars



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

You are giving yourself a lot of work over just using eight frame Langtroths. The companies selling modified Warres just buy Lang frames and shorten them. Other than one hive being square and the other rectangular, they are identical. Last year I made eight frame langs and a modified Warre, you can manage them identically and you are only talking about a few inches of difference in width and frame height, the bees don't know the difference.
The dimensions are the same a Warre, you just make frames to fit rather than using only topbars. Here are the Lang and the Warre together.


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## Ecaz (Jan 14, 2014)

odfrank said:


> You are giving yourself a lot of work over just using eight frame Langtroths. The companies selling modified Warres just buy Lang frames and shorten them. Other than one hive being square and the other rectangular, they are identical. Last year I made eight frame langs and a modified Warre, you can manage them identically and you are only talking about a few inches of difference in width and frame height, the bees don't know the difference.
> The dimensions are the same a Warre, you just make frames to fit rather than using only topbars.


What about building down vs up, and queen excluders, etc... Those are things I want to avoid in Langtroth hives.

I'm happy to be educated though!


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## Ecaz (Jan 14, 2014)

Sorry, I just re-read your post and it makes sense now.

You're saying that I can use Langstroth hive boxes in a Warre fassion... put a roof on it, put new boxes on the bottom, etc...

In other words, don't reinvent the wheel.


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## Stephenpbird (May 22, 2011)

You don't have to re invent the wheel, most Warré hives in france have full frames. 
All the info you need and more can be found here.
http://warre.biobees.com

Warré hive by Marc Gatineau with frames is one design based on Warré.

http://warre.biobees.com/gatineau.htm


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>What about building down vs up

Add the boxes to the bottom if you want. I think it works fine adding them to the bottom but it's too much work for me.

> and queen excluders, etc...

I haven't used excluders in my Langstroth in 39 years.

> Those are things I want to avoid in Langtroth hives.

So avoid them.

The other thing to consider. The extra inches in the eight frame Langstroth are the direction that the bees can easily move. I think it makes sense to have it longer in this direction. The width is about the same as the Warre'.


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## JClark (Apr 29, 2012)

Running a true Warre system is fine if you want a feral hive that you don't get much--if anything--from. If you want a chance at some honey you are best to go straight to the lang and modify the procedures to your goals.

Also, don't buy the "building down" hype. Bees WANT to build up and will swarm before building down after you have two boxes of comb. This being the case you will never get any honey unless you have great flows--what is left will be needed for winter (being in Fl may be a plus here). If you are worried about "old comb" simply rotate frames out.

Just speaking from experience. Started w/ a Warre for the reasons you cite and quickly realized how duped I was by all the hype. Still have a Warre w/ fixed frame brood boxes and modified frame supers and it is much more of a pain than it is worth--just gets taller for the same amount of honey produced by my langs (a modified warre super is the height of a deep with the volume of a medium).


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