# osb med. hive



## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

You might paint the interior side if nuc first. Osb can come up with lots of little spot for SHB. 
David


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## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

Unless it's advantec, osb is one of the worst materials to use to make hive bodies. It will literally self destruct outside despite how well it gets sealed with paint. Plywood would be a much better choice.


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## tomkat (Apr 27, 2014)

I must agree, free is not always free.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

It is advantec, actually. The top cover in white color lasted 3 years outside
already. It is the same composite material use for roof top siding. 
Before painting I sealed it with Thompson water sealer. Let the wood soaked in
the sealer and then dried out in full sun. After a few coating then it is time to paint
it with exterior water base house paint. 
So far so good. It is durable perfect for this application. Regular plywood is too expensive
here. I didn't see any SHB on hive check almost everyday. Maybe I'm lucky and didn't get any here.


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## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

Advantec is great stuff. If they sold it around here all my hive bodies would be made out of it. All my top covers would be made out of it too. We don't have shb here so I can't comment on that aspect of your post. I thought your hive bodies were made from regular osb which doesn't hold up well outside despite anyone's best efforts :gh:


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## Scpossum (May 4, 2014)

Educate me. How do you know it is advantec? Does it say it on the sheet? Just saw something that looks like that for $6/sheet today.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

When I bought 2 pieces of the 4'x8', the big banner on top of the pallet said made by Advantec.
The ones I picked up for free all have the same composition and design. So I know it is the same stuffs
from the ones I bought. Roofers don't care as long as it does the job. When in doubt I am sure the store
clerk can let you know who is the manufacturer.
There is no place for the SHB because one side is smoother finer grain while the other side is rougher larger chips on
the plywood. I use the finer grain for the inside and the rougher side on the outside for better painting.
I can also put some bee wax to coat the inside too. But it is just fine without. They should last a long time 
after water proofing and painting just like the hive covers should bee.


Made 3 more boxes this weekend:


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I think you are going to find that bees will build comb between the end bars and the space below the bars you installed to hang frames from. And how are you picking them up when stacked a s a hive? No hand holds. You might want to add a cleat to the outside narrow ends.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

I have made lots of nucs out of Advantec. 

All of my tops are migratory and are made of Advantec.

Only drawback on larger hive bodies would be the weight. Advantec is heavy.









Here is a photo of the nucs made from advantec. About half of mine are not painted. Never had a problem. The side rails of the bottom board is made of cypress. 

I put the same hand hold in mine as in larger hive bodies, using a skil saw and the jig I developed. Plans to make the hand hold are here on Beesource.

cchoganjr


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## Orje (May 22, 2011)

This is how I build my hives bodies out of plywood and some wood. 
Its steady, have hand holds and smooth inside.


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

Orje said:


> This is how I build my hives bodies out of plywood and some wood.
> Its steady, have hand holds and smooth inside.
> 
> View attachment 11120


I like it. This looks like it would make a good plan for the body of a nuc or swarm box. Would it be stronger if you shortened the side pieces of plywood by the thickness of the wooden rails (but left the side pieces long enough to cover the ends of the end pieces of plywood) and made the wooden end rails longer to cover the ends of the side pieces of plywood? (This would make a joint that would function like a "rabbet" where the wood rails covered the ends of the side plywood.)


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

Riverderwent said:


> .... Would it be stronger if you shortened the side pieces of plywood by the thickness of the wooden rails (but left the side pieces long enough to cover the ends of the end pieces of plywood) and made the wooden end rails longer to cover the ends of the side pieces of plywood? ....


Absolutely not. This would require fastening to the end grain of ply/osb. Zero holding capacity. A ply lap joint works because it has face fastening to the solid wood piece. Fastening endgrain ply/OSB will either delaminate (you are essential driving a splitting wedge into a weak piece, or simply pull out -- no withdrawal strength. Don't believe me -- look at the fancy end grain fastening hardware created for cabinets and IKEA knockdown "furniture" to obviate this problem. You could spend $20 on hardware to securely fasten a "free" plywood nuc.

I make nucs with solid wood ends, and ply scrap side which lap over and provide through fastening into the solid wood. The huge problem with the ever popular "cloake" design nuc is that it requires endgrain fastening into ply.

IMPORTANT: the grade stamp clearly visible on the thumbnails show the manufacturer to be LP (Louisiana Pacific). Advantech is gradestamped by Huber (in an oval). Unless LP is poaching the Huber patent -- the OSB in the pix is going to "melt" in the weather in a year. Advantech is rated Exposure 1 (not exterior) just like crummy run-of-the-mill OSB, but that underestimates its weathering capacity.

http://www.askthebuilder.com/plywood-osb-grading-specifications/


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

JWChesnut said:


> . Advantech is rated Exposure 1 (not exterior) just like crummy run-of-the-mill OSB, but that underestimates its weathering capacity.
> 
> http://www.askthebuilder.com/plywood-osb-grading-specifications/


If Advantec is not rated for outdoors and does not last more than one year, someone forgot to tell all my migratory tops and lots of my 5 frame nucs. Most are not even painted and they have not de-laminated and they are well over 5 years old. (about how long Advantec has been on the market.)









This photo shows a few of my hives with the Advantec migratory top, and feeder holes drilled in them. Notice most are not painted.

cchoganjr


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

beepro said:


> Made 3 more boxes this weekend:


the one thing i can recommend with ur hive design is to use more od a 'coates' style for the ends. meaning,dont do the inside rail to hang the frames from (if u can figure out the dimensions). i have some nucs with rails like that and the bees build the comb on the outside of the endbars due to the beespace being incorrect. it can get messy some times. wish i could find advantec here. heard alot of good things about it.


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

Cleo, I believe you that Advantech is stable and long-lasting. In my region, the panels are chiefly used for reusable concrete form board. The "weather resistant during construction" purpose is not needed given our predictable summer drought. 

The Exposure 1 spec is what Huber certifies for. They obviously are under-rating their own product.

The 1 year to disaster refers to standard OSB, not Advantech. The grade stamp on the original poster's pix demonstrate he is **not** building with Advantech.

The difference is the same as using medium density fiberboard vs. moisture rated high-density in bath cabinets. Use the MDF, place tile, and chaos ensues.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

No, these hives and migratory covers will not fall apart in a year because I had tested them 3 years ago when I got
started with beekeeping. I know what I got. The migratory covers still hold as stated here. I built 6 of them.
All I did was to water proof the outside and gave it 3 coats of exterior house paints and one last coat of water proof
finish. Works very good! No peeling or wrapping as of now. It is not heavy either just the right weight to cover the hives. 
The completed box only weight 6 lbs compared to the pine board boxes which is heavier. 
Still brand new under the weather rain or sun. If you don't believe me then build one for yourself to try. 
Why say something else when others had already tested them.
The finished boxes will look like the pics. I can put metal strips to further reinforced the joints on the sides of the box. Maybe some
TB-III glue too. This is all doable as others already done so. All I can do is further improve on it. Ohh, the inside will be covered by a piece of foam so they will not build burr comb on the sides. This will create the perfect bee space for them.

3 years old migratory covers:


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

No, the LP osb board I am using is not made by Advantech. Advantech has
the logo stamp on it. The LP board is made in Canada. The price is a lot cheaper and lighter
than the heavier AT board. But it does the job after sealing it for so many years. Must done a
good job at sealing them back then. Not sure when it will fall apart so will put an update when it does.

This is Advantech board:


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

beepro, you already figured it out. I was reading through all the posts in the thread to see if anyone had already told you that what you have pictured in the original post is not Advantec. Like you said, it's just run of the mill OSB. OSB will last for several years outside, in our wet and humid climate if it's painted. I don't plan to use any for hives, but it would last a couple years at least.


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## Rob73 (Apr 19, 2009)

Yeah, I wouldnt use it. Those butt joints will not hold up. Even a box joint on osb wouldnt be much. It may work if you were to paint it up with some epoxy & never try to pry the boxes apart. Dont throw em out though, they will make good swarm traps surely.


Rob


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