# Thick hives, Cheaper? More Natural?



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Isn't thinner stock more expensive per board foot? I would think so. There is more waste produced in producing it.

One draw back I would think of is that thicker stock would produce a heavier hive body which would make moving the hive or just harvesting the crop harder work on the beekeepers part.

A simulation of more natural conditions? Not from where I am sitting. No, I don't think it matters or would make a difference.

IMO, we have the standard size boxes and thickness of materials because of what we beekeepers have decided is best for us. Of course the equipment builders have some input on this too, but if we didn't like it they wouldn't build it.

The bees make dop w/ what we provide them as homes. And seem to have done just fine over the last century or more.


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

I bought some lumber from a sawmill, planed to 1" thickness. I thought, hey! more wood, more insulation, why not? Well, I discovered why not... :doh: bottom boards too narrow, inner covers too narrow, telescoping covers won't fit. Standard supers have to be placed just so or there are gaps for the bees and elements to enter. 

So, while the inside dimensions are the same, the outside dimensions change things. Thus if you build your own, and size everything accordingly, you'll be ok. And, that extra 1/4" adds more weight to lift. May not seem like much, but, you can tell the difference when you pick the boxes up.
Regards,
Steven


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

Thanks fellas. 

I had actually read somebody selling what amounted to topbar hives with two-by supers on Facebook. I challenged him on the usefulness of it and he caved like a cardboard castle. He was charging WAAAAY to much for them as well. 

He claimed they were natural because the thicker wood had insulating properties more like a tree hollow.

I think I remember Dee Lusby mentioned something about starting a hive by putting some brood up near the ceiling of her honey house where the bees congregated. They raised a queen and everything. Given the right conditions, they don't need a box at all. But it wouldn't work over winter though.


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## everythingiownissticky (Mar 4, 2011)

Bees are opportunists. Who is to say what is more natural? :scratch:


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

Happy first post!

"Who is to say" is not gonna get you far around here. That's why we say things like "more natural". We all say. That's the point. It's a forum. We talk about things. It can't be "natural" that would be bees in a tree. But it can be more natural, more like a tree.

Another one you could avoid, "I don't think we really know anything about bees." Whenever I see that one, I always think "well, you obviously don't, speak for yourself."

Just some helpful tips.


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## everythingiownissticky (Mar 4, 2011)

WiredForStereo said:


> Just some helpful tips.


Who is to say?


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

I have to check hives for a guy with 400 hives, all his boxes are 2 inch thick lumber. He claims it's more natural, and maybe it is. But it adds surprising amount of weight, plus difficulty seperating the boxes, and I don't even like going to his hives.


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## ArkansasBK (Mar 5, 2011)

I've found out that anytime you vary from standard you create problems for yourself. Standard is always more easily sold, or new equipment added to. Everything needs to fit easily aquired accessories whether inside the hive, outside, or wherever. As always, this is just my opinion, based on quite a bit of experience.


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## Box (Jul 30, 2010)

In cold climate, to much insulation in the boxes, can get the queen started, before the vinter is over, they dont leave the brood and there is a greater, risk of them forming a cluster, a place where they cant get ,at the food just a 2 or 3 frames away, if the temp. falls again and stays low some time.
Sort of like goldfish going over the ice and getting freezed between the layers :s 
well thats my home grown teori anyway


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

Welcome back to the ranks of active beekeepers, ArkansasBK! As you're discovering, a lot has changed in the last 20 years...not always for the best. Except for this forum, it's great!
Regards,
Steven


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