# 2x4 Hive Stand



## Paulemar (Aug 28, 2013)

I used 2x4's to make an 8 ft long hive stand. I have the top covered with 1x2 cage wire and have it supported with cement blocks on the ends. I only have 3 hives on it now but it is sagging a bit from warping. I'm going to add another 2x4 to the front and back in the Spring with deck screws and add a support in the center. It has not shown signs of breaking but the sagging seems to be tilting the one hive sideways just a little. I plan to add 2 more hives to this stand for a total of 5, thus the reinforcement needed. If you are making a stand for a single hive, 2x4's should be just fine. If I were doing it over I would use 4x4's instead of the scrap I had just laying around.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

My 2 by 4 stands are basically four feet by eight feet and hold 14 eight frame hives.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#hivestand

On a slip I have to support the middle and the end by one means or another. Often just an angled four by four or two by four with the angle adjusted to the slope. I always level them.


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

I'm using 2x4 stands on top of metal stands with the metal feet in cans of water to keep fire ants out of the hives. My stands are 19"X48" on metal shelving bases that are about 47"L by 15"W. The spacers are 16" long on 16" centers, and there are four for the 48" long pieces. They seem to be holding up well at two years old. There is a little warping but it's not bad yet. If I was going to put more than two hives on the stand, I would probably use 2x6 or 2x8 lumber. It is treated lumber but I still paint it to cut down on fumes and help keep the carpenter bees out. They work well for me. The metal shelving stands came from a big box store, fall bulbs are displayed on them. I was able to get several racks once the displays were empty.


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

I like 2x12 for the add height. On a cement block.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I like 2x12 for the add height. On a cement block.

And I like 2 x 4 because the are lower to the ground (not putting on supers with a ladder) and don't blow over so easily. I don't see added height as a good thing...


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Maybe I should elaborate. On a four foot by eight foot stand with heavy hives on it, you must add some support in the middle somewhere, and probably more than one place. If it's really high on one end because of the slope, that could be cement blocks or some kind of support built of wood. If it's something in between you can slip a four by four under it adjusted to whatever angle puts it in contact with the stand. Or an edgewise 2 x 6 etc. But an eight foot two by will not support hives full of honey without some support in the middle. If the ground is level this can be the ground, but if it's not you'll need to prop it up with something strong enough to hold a lot of weight. One booming hive in the middle of a honey flow might weigh 300 pounds. 14 of them might weigh two tons...


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

beeditch said:


> So this year I am making them from 2x4's instead of 1x's.


When we built some new stands this summer, I started by pounding old fenceposts, then cut them to hight, and put 4x4's on top. I'm using 8 feet spacing on the posts, with 16' 4x4. I expect these stands to last many years. Photo taken when most of the bees were in a yard elsewhere, and we built the new stands before they came home for the winter.


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## Tim KS (May 9, 2014)

If those stands start to warp or bend down, you can screw some 2x4 legs where ever you need one for added support. Personally I use 2x8's of treated lumber supported by cinder blocks.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Cut up a 10' 2x4 PT. 2-4' and 2-1'. Nail the 1' pieces between the 4' pieces, 1' from the ends. Holds 2 hives. Lay directly on ground.


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

the one mp decribed is what we used to use. If the short 2x4s are placed right the two hives can be pushed together for winter giving a dead air space under the hives. back then we used to wrap for the winter. not being able to work them from the side makes it not practical to place more than 2 on a stand. get them up in the air too high and its harder to take off honey etc.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Tim KS said:


> If those stands start to warp or bend down, you can screw some 2x4 legs where ever you need one for added support. Personally I use 2x8's of treated lumber supported by cinder blocks.


Those stands look nice, BUT will start to bend if not supported. I use 4x4's, with blocks supporting each hive.


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

snl said:


> Those stands look nice, BUT will start to bend if not supported. I use 4x4's, with blocks supporting each hive.


With the winter weather here, blocks wont make a difference. We've had 10 inches of rain already this month, and it's only the 5th, the ground out back is soft and soggy. Blocks will just sink. Putting the hives on palettes isn't viable for the winter here either, they get totally waterlogged, they have to be up above the ground run water. Rains here start in late November, and continue pretty much non-stop thru till the beginning of February.

I didn't realize just _how much_ rain we get here over the winter when we set up for the first winter. We cleared and fenced the back half over the last spring, so we knew much better what to expect, and built stands that'll keep hives up out of the ground runoff during the monsoon. I built these to try out the concept, set up for 8 colonies on each stand. If we do have a problem with bending, then I'll do something different as we build more stands next summer. To get a solid foundation for these, we pounded the posts down till they hit the hardpan, about 3 feet. I've got lots of posts left over, they came from the small fence we pulled out to put in a much taller fence you see in the photo. If it's a problem, we can do 3 or 4 posts per beam on the next batch.


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## cheezer32 (Feb 3, 2009)

I've used 2x4 stands of various shapes in the past. Most all of them started to bow/sag pretty bad. 

I now use 2x12's, I nail in a square lay on the ground and set the hives on them. Gives me a good height, not to high not to low (12 inch of the ground obviously). I use 2 hive per stand but you could easily fit 3 10 framers on there. I screw an eyelet in each side so I can ratchet strap the whole thing down. I really like this by far over everything else I've used. I'm on my phone right now, but I have pictures I'll try to put one up later when I have an actual computer.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

beeditch said:


> Last year I had a hive stand break apart and almost collapse. This is one I had purchased.
> 
> So this year I am making them from 2x4's instead of 1x's. Has anyone else had this issue with a hive stand or is currently using 2x4 hive stands?


Buy three 2X6X8s or 2X8X8s. Cut two 10" pieces from one board and nail those pieces between the other two making a double H hive stand. That's all you need for three hives. Get pressure treated lumber so it lasts longer.


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## philip.devos (Aug 10, 2013)

I would think 2X4's are a little light duty for a hive stand. I think you would be better off with 2x6's.

I used home depot land-scape timbers, which might be on sale in January, and are plenty stout. They are 8 ft long. I aligned them with the flats in the vertical, and used scrap 1X's to join them together. I used about 7 or 8 pieces. Then I put them on concrete blocks, which raise the tops about 1 foot off the ground. I have 4 2-deep 8-frame hives on these.

Phil


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## beeditch (Dec 19, 2013)

Actually I meant a 2x4 stand for each hive... Do most of you build one long 'stand' and just sit the bottom board on them?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Oh, a landing board. I see what you mean now. I have used those in the past. Set two 4X8X16 cinder blocks on the ground and set that landing board on them. It works.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

http://www.bushfarms.com/images/StandsTwoSm.jpg

I was building stands and here are two of them on top of each other...


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