# Building a Warre Hive from 2" (1.5") boards



## KLBCOS

I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado - South of Denver. I have tried to find a mentor through my local bee association and not only are there none but it seems that people have little knowledge of the Warre Hive. Although, some said I think a few people may have tried it. That leads me to believe they were not successful. I also saw a posting looking for a North Colorado mentor. In there I believe someone is using Warre hives not far from me with limited success. This make me reluctant to try but in my heart, I really like the Warre Hive. That being said, I was wondering if a thicker box would possibly make this hive more successful in our area. I am thinking our eratic winter weather from very cold (below zero) to near 70's and back again could be affecting the wintering cluster. The association members highly discourage wrapping/insulating the hive in the winter as our crazy weather has "cooked" bees right in the hive if insulated.

Any thoughts on my building a hive with the thicker side walls? If so, has anyone done it and have the plans converted for the larger lumber dimension?

Thanks for your help.


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## Galaxie

A hive is just a fancy box. As long as it has adequate entrances and ventilation and keeps the elements out, it should be fine. Your personal beekeeping techniques will make the difference.

There are members of this forum that use 1.5" boards. The difference in insulation value between 1X and 2X wood is minor.

The thing about "cooking" the bees sounds bizarre to me, but then again I am nowhere near CO. If anything, I would expect insulating the hive to make it easier for the bees to regulate the temperature.


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## rmcpb

Don't really need any special plans, just make sure the internal dimensions are the same and you will be fine. As for cooking bees, its hard to do if you have appropriate ventillation.


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## KLBCOS

One thing I should clarify is that the hives that overheat and cause this outcome are langstroth hives. Warre's design provides more efficient ventilation. Another consideration is we are at almost 6,000-7,000 feet elevation and when the air temperature is 50 degrees, the sun warms objects almost hot to the touch. It can also be below freezing at dawn and 50 degrees at 9-10 am. The temperature and intensity of the sun can change rapidly. What may have happened is the internal temperature went up so quickly that the bees didn't gradually warm and have a chance to escape/cool the hive. Since I am a complete newbie, all I can do is listen to the experienced beekeepers in my area regarding this phenomenon.


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## jadebees

I made some from 2× materials, they are excellent. I'm at 6600 ft, Az, high plains. Better than 1 × materials, they are not even 3/4" thick. Just make the insides standard Warre size.
I use them for the ones I wish to breed, the thick wood insulates from temperature changes better.


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## KLBCOS

jadebees said:


> I made some from 2× materials, they are excellent. I'm at 6600 ft, Az, high plains. Better than 1 × materials, they are not even 3/4" thick. Just make the insides standard Warre size.
> I use them for the ones I wish to breed, the thick wood insulates from temperature changes better.


I am glad to hear this is working for you. I think our climates are similar. However, I think your summers are hotter. Sounds like I may be on the right track. Thanks for the reply.


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## DirtyLittleSecret

KLBCOS said:


> One thing I should clarify is that the hives that overheat and cause this outcome are langstroth hives. Warre's design provides more efficient ventilation. Another consideration is we are at almost 6,000-7,000 feet elevation and when the air temperature is 50 degrees, the sun warms objects almost hot to the touch. It can also be below freezing at dawn and 50 degrees at 9-10 am. The temperature and intensity of the sun can change rapidly. What may have happened is the internal temperature went up so quickly that the bees didn't gradually warm and have a chance to escape/cool the hive. Since I am a complete newbie, all I can do is listen to the experienced beekeepers in my area regarding this phenomenon.


You could also just use a vivaldi board/quilt box with any langstroth effectively gaining all the benefits of a warre. All my langs have quilt boxes. Well worth the investment of $ or time.


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## 200 oaks

I built a couple of the warre hives 2 years ago now. I used 2" material and both of my hives are booming. All I did was to keep the internal dimensions and then just add the 1.5" on to of that to get the outside measurements. I am running only 2 boxes on each as I use these hives to produce swarms that I can use in my observation hives. I did however build the top cover from 1" material so that it wasn't too heavy to remove. I added a ceded shake shingle roof for a nice aesthetic look and painted them hunter green. I live in central Ohio so it gets plenty cold here in the winter and this past week we have seen temp around 95. My bees are happy!!!


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## johnsof

Maybe I'm an idiot but one of the reasons I am using cedar or cypress is that I am worried that using pine and painting the outside seals the wood and it seems to me that you want the wood to"breathe", to help with moisture control. The quilt box helps for sure but there is an incredible amount of moisture generated in the winter and I think? hope? by not painting I let more moisture out? Like I said, maybe I'm naive, but it gets awfully darn cold here and they seem to overwinter pretty well.


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## johnsof

By the way, if you're going to build your own hive boxes you might consider to build them the same height as a Lang deep hive body, that way if you decide to transition to using frames all you will have to do is make them narrower (2 cuts) instead of narrower AND shorter (4 cuts and a lot of extra dadoing).


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## Bee14me

I think your on track with the 2" thick hive. I would like to see an r value difference between 1" and 2" thick wood. I"ll do some digging, maybe I can come up with some numbers. My hives are 1" thick cedar, though I built a "tavern" to keep the hives in. Not only does it keep the heavy rain and snow of the boxes but the direct sun as well. Plus it was easy to run the electric fence around the building to keep unwanted guests away, both human and animal... Lol


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## Bee14me

Keep thinking outside the "box". It's what makes progress possible.


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## wertzsteve

I made mine with 2x10, no cutting 9 1/4 deep boxes 3/8 by 5/8 rebate, I am making frames, top bar 12 3/8in and 11 1/2 in bottom bar both 15/16 x1/2 inches with a 1/4 slot down the middle of both bars. side bars 1/4 by 1/4 8 7/8 in long . measure 3/4 on both ends of the top bar drill 5/16 hole. on the bottom bar measure 3/8 in on both ends drill 5/16 hole. round the end of the 1/4 in side bars insert into hole with glue and hammer in. I am using plastic foundation 8 3/8 x 16 3/4 cut in half inserted in to frame. I also glue the 8 3/8 x 8 3/8 plastic foundation to the top and bottom bars. the side bars are similar to the 6 mm dowel rods side bars mention under frames at biobees, I just added a bottom bar. I am going to tie rap this frame to a 3/8 x 19in bar and insert (3) frames it in to my langstroth hive to start the frames for my warre hive


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