# Building a better beehive



## Joe Hillmann (Apr 27, 2015)

Will the bees control their own ventilation? I know they will fill up gaps they don't want with propolis but will they remove the propolis when they need more air flow?

Also something doesn't seem right with their numbers. At first they say “We’re hoping to sell 100 this year and 2,500 next year,” Then later they mention starting a production facility and employing 50 people. If you wanted to make 2500 top bar hives from scratch a year that is only 7 or 8 per day, Say 10 per work day if you take out weekends, holidays and a few sick days. Which should be doable by 1-5 people with a moderately equipped wood shop.

And to me the biggest benefit of a top bar hive is they are simple and or cheap to build. At 650 for a hive I wouldn't consider that cheap.


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## NSBee (Dec 20, 2014)

i agree about the whole business side of things . 
but the ventilation thing might be worth looking into . Nova Scotia is a damp climate . It is interesting I might try the modification to my long lang hive , it had quite a bit of moisture in it this year b4 i lost my bees . I was planning to modify the roof anyway and his modifications are easy to do .


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

NSBee, if your roof will allow the moisture to escape, try a ventilation bar.


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## mailmam (May 8, 2014)

I too had questions about the ventilation. He has sliding covers over the holes, so when would you use the covers if you want the bees to control it? Rather confusing but I'd love to talk to them.


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## jadebees (May 9, 2013)

When i used topbar hives, I had vent holes in the ends, wine cork sized. The hives had frost in the ends, too humid! This made an episode of nosema, which, after coping with it, I pulled the corks out, all thru the winter. The wind blew right thru, I didn't care because I thought they were dead anyway due to the Nosema. They survived, they thrived, they were my biggest hive of the next year. I live in the high desert, very cold in winter, humidity isn't a common issue. Unless you have an unvented top bar hive.


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## BobRagsdale (Nov 23, 2014)

I like the leg on the top. It makes for a nice working surface. The extra holes along the hive are a good idea. Rather than drilling holes I just stick a small stick under the end of a bar or two create ventilation which works as well. And the bees do propolize that closed as well when they want to.


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

The hive they're making in Digby looks way to involved to me. I like top bar hives for their simplicity.

I wintered tbh's in Nova Scotia for years with no problem. I made my first one there in 2009, and several more since then.Most 4'+ in length. For ventilation I drilled a series of 7/8" holes along the top of the follower board, just beneath the top bar and screened them over with #8. Having the ventilated follower located at the back of the colony, furthest from the end entrance, and under the roof meant there wasn't a draft, and didn't let in more light, so the bees never covered it. 

I also built with a peaked roof, which allowed me to put some insulation over the cluster, under the roof in the winter.

I do not believe the boys in Digby are mite-free because they're using a top bar hive.

Adam


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## threepingsthree (Mar 3, 2014)

I build the lids to me top bar hives with insulation between the roofing membrane and the plywood. It helps insulate the top from the sun-heat and the winter condensation. I use 3/4" polyiso and paint the top a light color. The problem with building and attaching everything to the hive, like the lid with hinges, is that it makes a 4ft hive nearly impossible to move without 2 very strong people. I try not to move hives but it is part of the game


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