# There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch



## odfrank

In 5/2014 I won a "free" Warre hive in a raffle contest at Honey Hive Farms in Missouri, that I read about here on Beesource. I paid $108 for shipping of the hive to me here in California. I put a substantial amount of time into adding windows and decorative tiles to the hive, and staining/sealing it. I put bees into a month ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkLBQBuTUbY
I now see that the supplier used unstable wood, only staples and evidently no glue. The wood is substantially cupping/warping. And this is in almost rainless, droughted California. It was a strong swarm, it almost looks like they are breaking out from the inside. They are only in one box so far, maybe I can remove and strengthen the other three.

Lesson learned: There is no such thing as a free lunch, and maybe no such thing as a free Warre hive also.


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## IsedHooah

Sorry to see this. For what it is worth, the work you did to it was very nice. Hopefully you can salvage the other two boxes before you place them in the yard, but your best bet maybe to build a new hive from scratch, or simply purchase a kit from a supplier this late in the season. Good luck!


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## Charlie B

Wow, even after staining and sealing it warps like that? Was it made out of cardboard?
You had it looking real nice with all the work you did to it. That's a shame.


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## biggraham610

Wow, that sucks. G


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## rainesridgefarm

bar clamps and glue then screw it to fix it.


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