# Telescoping Cover



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

http://www.beesource.com/plans/wbc.htm 
This is the wrong dimensions because it's for a WBC hive, but the concept is the same. Just take your telescopic and add the gable ends and deck it with some plywood and either cover it with metal (copper is nice or aluminum isn't bad) or make the roof steeper and put cedar shingles on it.

Brushy Mt. Sells them for Lanstroth hives.


----------



## Dave W (Aug 3, 2002)

Greetings Beeboy,

I made my TC w/ "peak" roof. 

May I suggest, lots of HEAVY lumber when you make this style cover. You probably won't lay a rock on top to keep it from blowing off.

I made mine using 3/4" exterior grade, yellow pine, plywood. Inside, I made the "bottom" (that sit on hive body) two layers thick, for added weight. I covered w/ aluminum and painted it like my hive. 

My TC weighs 15 lbs, most flat telescoping T-covers weigh 5-6 lbs.

------------------
Dave W . . .

A NewBEE with 1 hive.
First package installed
April, 2003.


----------



## txbeeguy (Jan 9, 2003)

...and you might want to ask Daisy to see how to make it look like a church steeple, or a firehouse, or an elementary school or a Wal-Mart store, etc. [she has lots of goooood ideas about how to decorate hives!]


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I tend to make my covers (when I make them) of 3/4" plywood for the weight. Also it keeps them flatter longer and a warped top means a "bee" leak where robbers can get in etc. My favorite simple one is a migratory style that is a bit snug on the cleats and 3/4" ply. That way it never blows off between weight and propolis. I also like this on top of a simple vent box that is like a migratory cover made with 1/4" waterproof laun with a couple of Mason jar lid sized holes with #8 hardware cloth and a 1 x 3 box with a couple of 3/4 to 1" holes with hardware cloth on each end, low enough that they don't get blocked by the migratory cover on top of that.

My theory on weight is, it's a good thing on a lid, and a thing that is preferably avoided on everything else.

A real windstorm around here will blow off a telescopic lid that has two or three bricks on it. I usually end up with concrete blocks on them. But a 3/4" ply migratory (or a 3/4" pine migratory) will usually not blow off no matter what the storm if it's propolized down. I admit, I like to get them propolized by putting them on as the only lid and then I'll put them on top of the vent setup so that they get glued down. Easier to pry the propolis loose than to lift a concrete block.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I'm lucky to just keep it organized without making it pretty!









I encourage people to put lots of things on top of the hive. It's very disconcerting to go out in the morning after a big dowpour of several inches of rain and find a hive with the cover blow off. We had a 60 mile an hour wind come through one day that blew off a good chunk of my roof and blew over three of my hives. The whole hive! The bees were not happy. I prefer the concrete blocks to that, but I would rather not have to lift them off and then lift them on. I've had hives that were all I could do to get the top super on, let alone put a concrete block on top of that.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>I think beekeepers should consider keeping beeyards really sharp and attractive in order to impress upon the public that what's going on there is top-quality stuff, whether it's a commercial operation or a hobbiest.

Most people have no idea of what is going on at all in a honey operation, so I dont think you should be worried about it. Most people still think honeybees are raised in skeps. I had one concerned city dweller inform me of is deadly reaction with bee stings becasue his arm swelled up!,, ha ha

Ian


----------



## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

Coyote,
I'm with you on appearance. Its when you least expect it, that it pays off. Alot of my bees are rented out so it makes a difference to my customers. All are painted the same color. All have the same lid. All have the same entrance reducer. You get the point. Referrals and having someone speak highly of you matters.

If I use bricks, than they are all the same red brick. Then I use the brick method-Flat, sideways, standing, for record keeping. 

I would say the same about my bees in the backyard except I use alot of thrown together stuff. But I occassionally have a visitor checking the bees out, and I want to be proud of the way I keep it. (Wish my garage was that neat.)

Everyone can get the big stuff correct, its the small stuff that separates the group.


----------



## beeman 202 (Jan 8, 2003)

I am into healthy bees and honey production, everything else is secondary. I don't have time to look cute, and my beeyards are out of view. Looking orderly is fine, but it can also indicate your spending alot of time doing stuff that helps your state of mind, but has nothing to do with healthy bees or honey production.


----------



## Hillbillynursery (Nov 13, 2003)

I was in fast food during High School and college. I was given the job of going through the district and inspecting the different stores after the store I worked at won the nation wide cleanlyness award( I was the midnight store cleaner). 80% of the time you can tell how clean the kitchen will be when you walk in the door and look at the floor. So I think you are right about running a neat ship. Neat does not mean everything has to match but you need to keep the weeds down around the hives. No trash pile were it can be seen( I am guilty of this because the house that is near my bees is being remodeled and you have to walk by the burn pile to get through the fence to get to my hives). If your yard is a mess what do you think that the people think your honey house looks like. I have not had anyone say anything about the hive being different colors or the blocks on top being different. I did have someone say something about my hives being set at different heights. Some of the hives were set low and some at waist high. i was told the one up high looked stupid and dangerous because the landing portion of the BB stuck out past the concrete blocks. My hives can not be seen from the road. I do not care how they look as long as the bees like them. I plan on getting a couple of pretty hives near the road close to were I plan on putting a stand for home grown produce a couple years from now. By this time I should have my number of hives built up and have a honey house( atleast the equipment in the garage). So you do need some hives to show off but the extra work and money for good equipment are better spend else were for me.


----------



## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Good looking equipment is nice,but not relevant to whats inside.The biggest pollination event in the world is Cal.almond pollination.The only thing that matters is how many frames of bees are in the hive when the inspectors open the hives and count them.No extra points are given for well painted boxes.
More important than the hives appearance is closing gates and picking up trash in the beeyard when on honey locations.I obtained one yard where the farmer absolutely refused to let the former beekeeper come back because he left trash in the yard.

[This message has been edited by loggermike (edited December 05, 2003).]


----------



## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

I got a laugh a few years ago when my oldest son moved to Idaho."Dad these beekeepers up here all drive old Ford trucks like yours,but the hives look even worse than yours.They look like a good wind would collapse them" I told him they probably belong to the most prosperous beekeeper in Idaho!


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>I am into healthy bees and honey production, everything else is secondary. I don't have time to look cute, and my beeyards are out of view. Looking orderly is fine, but it can also indicate your spending alot of time doing stuff that helps your state of mind, but has nothing to do with healthy bees or honey production.

Well said beeman 202. That is exactly how it is.

Ian


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

"If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is an empty desk the sign of?"

I learned a long time ago, you can't do everything, so you decide what NEEDS to be done and do that.


----------



## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

The difference between keeping bees,and the bees keeping YOU,is learning what operations are essential and what arent.One person operating a large number of hives without employees will soon find that with only 7 days in a week,only truly essential tasks will get done.The hard part is learning what IS essential and what is fluff.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I don't see the comparison b/w rigs and resturants to beeyards. A cluttered yard, means nothing to honeybee management, profitabliity, safty, or quality of product produced. Keeping beeyards really sharp and attractive in order to impress upon the public is good to keep in mind, especially because most hives are on other peoples property. But tell me, what is a "sharp and attractive" beeyard?

Ian


----------



## beeman 202 (Jan 8, 2003)

Ian, A stranger to bees walking into one of my yards would be very curious "what is all this junk", but a experienced beekeeper would smile and think---"wow, I wish I had a stack of those, and one of those...."

an experienced beekeeper would note the thick stream of bees going in and out the rotted hole and think, "great bee population, must have good queens". 

Meanwhile, as my rusty, dented Ford hauls my many BARRELS of WHITE honey to market I will contentedly smile, knowing that I paid attention to the things that mattered to improve/maintain the health of my bees; and to maximize their ability to produce.


----------



## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

A sharp attractive beeyard to me is one where the air is full of millions of bees coming in heavy with nectar to hives that are stacked tall with supers.


----------



## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

Thats whats great about a forum like this. One cares about one thing and another cares about something else.

If I was a hobbiest, taking pride in my hives would matter as friends and family would see my yard.

If I was a sideliner, than time vs a little profit would matter most. Probably where most fall into this catagory.

If I was a growing commercial operation, than appearance and professionalism, would count a little more. I have farms that are immaculantly kept. Some farms are Mennonite, and others by fruit farmers that keep everything mowed and neat as they live in "apple country" where tours, bed and breakfasts are throughout, and image does count. Those are the farms that appreciate neat yards. Those are the farms that pass on referrals, those are the farms I'm after. Those are also the farms that care about my bees, and do thier best to work with me with pesticides, etc.

This past month, a Pa. bee inspector from Centre county gave a presentation. He noted that of all the bees he inspected this past year, he would of only considered buying or owning one apiary site, if he had the chance. Most he said was poorly kept. It didn't surprise me.

I will occasionally wash and wax my car, even though it will get me down the road. I will occasionally take pride it cutting my yard, even though I didn't have to. I shave on Saturday mornings, didn't have to do that. I'll polish my shoes even though I can still walk in them. I'll wash a window though I can still see through them. And I'll keep a neat beeyard and paint my boxes and take pride. And when I take that next contract from the old beekeeper who's operation looks like crap, nobody will convince me it was not worth it.......


----------



## Hillbillynursery (Nov 13, 2003)

If you worked around many restraunts( or the oil rigs which I know nothing about), You would know what I say is true. I have plans for 3 yards this spring( each will only have a couple hives this years). 2 will be on the same property but on oppisite ends. The other is on another piece of property my father owns about 11 miles away( main reason for using this one is making splits to move back to the other yards). One of these yards will be in view of the road. This yard will be kept clean and neat with all one color hives(most likely light blue). I want to get others into beekeeping as we do not have very many around here. I want a good clean yard to show to everyone that ask about starting with bees. If they are interested in honey more than pollenation I will show them what else works and the cost difference. I will tell all about this site that has access to the web. My yard away from public view will be mostly all homemade hives. Many of these will probly be long hives near waste high. It is hard to sell anything that does not look proper or conform to what books on the subject say they should look like. The visitor I had to my yard this year had no problem with the hives being different colors. They even understood why I made a box out of plywood to cover the feeder jars. What they kept asking about was the hive I placed on concrete block that were stacked 3 high. I did this so I did not have to bent over which I no longer can do much of. They kept asking how the bees were doing that high off the ground and how I kept it from blowing over. They had no concept of a bee tree or other natural hive locations. So you see it is not all about being pretty it is more about being orderly and of the norm that outsiders look at our hives are thinking. 
BTW a full desk is better than an empty one. An empty desk you can never find a piece of scrap paper when you need it.


----------

