Building Beehives For Dummies
Overview
Building Beehives For Dummies (9781119544388) was previously published as Building Beehives For Dummies (9781118312940). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.
The easy way to build your own beehives and beekeeping equipment
Building Beehives For Dummies is the follow-up book to the bestselling Beekeeping For Dummies. It provides everything you need to learn how to build some of the world's most popular hives and beekeeping accessories. For each design the book includes a detailed materials list (what lumber, hardware and fasteners you'll need), step-by-step building instructions, and illustrative drawings that show how the components all fit together. There are over a dozen plans in all, including the traditional Langstroth hive, the eight frame garden hive, designs for elevated hive stands, the Warre hive, screened bottom board, the Kenya top-bar hive, four-frame observation hive, hive top feeders, and more. The book contains introductory chapters that teach you the basic carpentry skills necessary to build any of the plans in the book.
Whether you are a new beekeeper or a seasoned ol’timer, Building Beehives for Dummies provides you with the information you need to plan and succeed at building beehives (and other cool accessories). You'll discover what type of hive to build, hints on how to maintain your equipment, what bees need to stay happy and healthy, where to locate your hive, and much more.
- Covers "bee space," the critical technical measurement within a beehive that's crucial for easy inspection of your colonies
- Offers guidance on keeping both urban and suburban neighbors happy, getting proper permissions, and understanding regional laws and regulations
- Provides creative ideas for dressing up hives for fun and profit
In today’s world of self-sufficiency, back-to-basics and sustainability, building beehives is a fun hobby that both you and your bees will appreciate and benefit from.
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About The Author
Howland Blackiston is the author Beekeeping For Dummies. Howland is a business and marketing professional who turned his passion for beekeeping into a thriving business. He is a past president of the United States' largest regional beekeeping association, and is president and owner of the www.bee-commerce.com. Howland is often a featured beekeeping expert on television and radio programs. He is also a renowned graphic designer with a whole creative team at his disposal to create drawings, photos, schematics, blueprints, and 3-D modeling for numerous hive designs.
Sample Chapters
building beehives for dummies
CHEAT SHEET
As you plan your new beehive-building adventure, you may want to start by deciding which hive design to go for based on your woodworking skills and beekeeping needs. You will also need to know which tools and fasteners you'll need for that particular build. Plans may differ somewhat depending on the type of hive you choose, but you can follow some basic steps to build most types of beehives.
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Beekeeping
When you begin building beehives, saving money is always tempting, but think about the long term as you build your beehives. When you compromise quality early on, you pay for it later on. Avoid the temptation.
Don’t go cheap on materials
Remember to use galvanized nails that don’t rust, outdoor quality plywood that holds up better to the elements, and weatherproof glue that doesn’t deteriorate.
Here are eleven ways to dress up your beehive, from easy — swap out the wooden handles for some interesting, decorative hardware — to more difficult projects including shingles, observation windows, and webcams.
Use decorative handles and embellishments
The choices are nearly endless. A home design center or big-box hardware store is a good place to start looking.
Beekeeping
Here are some basic hand tools you will need for building nearly all the beehive build plans you'll likely come across:
Brad driver: Sometimes called a brad pusher, this spring-loaded tool allows you to push a small brad into wood. No hammering and no smashed thumbs! Just slip a finish brad nail into the spring loaded tube and press the tube against the wooden part you’re attaching.
After you measure, mark, cut, and join all your materials, it’s time to assemble everything into an honest-to-goodness beehive. Here are a few simple hints that makes building your hives and equipment easier.
Use glue in your beehive
It's a good idea to use of glue in addition to nails and screws. And though doing so isn’t mandatory, supplementing fasteners with weatherproof yellow carpenter’s glue surely makes your hives and equipment as strong and long-lasting as possible.
As you plan your new beehive-building adventure, you may want to start by deciding which hive design to go for based on your woodworking skills and beekeeping needs. You will also need to know which tools and fasteners you'll need for that particular build. Plans may differ somewhat depending on the type of hive you choose, but you can follow some basic steps to build most types of beehives.
Beekeeping
Before you build a terrific new beehive, you need to know where you’re going to put it. You should become acquainted with legal, neighborly, and venue considerations before you do this.
Is it legal to keep bees? In most places, the answer is yes. But some areas have laws or ordinances restricting or even prohibiting beekeeping.
When you have a lot of beehive-building plans to choose from, how do you decide which is best for your needs? Aside from aesthetics, several factors should influence your decision. One relates to your woodworking skills, and others relate to the reasons that you’re beekeeping.
Experienced woodworkers can jump in and tackle any hive they like.
Beekeeping
If you've decided to build the British National hive, prepare yourself for some fussy cuts on the hand and drip rails for the brood chamber and shallow honey. Read through the cut list tables and the following list and refer to the figures to better understand how to make these cuts. You can make all cuts on your table saw.
Beekeeping
The following two tables present the cut lists for the crown board and the roof of a British National hive (BNH). In the following tables, each Material column lists nominal dimensions, and each Dimensions column lists the actual, final measurements.
Crown Board for the British National Hive
Quantity
Material
Dimensions
Notes
4
1" x 6" clear pine
18" x 3/4" x 3/4"
These are the long side rails.
Beekeeping
The side bars for the British National hive have a wide profile at the top and taper to a narrower profile at the bottom. This tapered shape provides the correct distance between frames and allows for the proper bee space around and in between the frames so that bees can travel freely (and so they don’t glue the frames together).
Beekeeping
To help you build a British National hive (BNH), the following tables break down and provide instructions on how to cut and build the floor of the hive. The frames and other pieces of the British National require a number of tricky cuts, including dado and rabbet cuts.
Lumber in a store is identified by its nominal size, which is its rough dimension before it’s trimmed and sanded to its finished size at the lumber mill.
The following tables break down the various Langstroth frames into their individual components and provide instructions on how to cut those components for deep, medium, and shallow frames.
Lumber in a store is identified by its nominal size, which is its rough dimension before it's trimmed and sanded to its finished size at the lumber mill.
To build a frame jig for bee hives, first break it down into its individual components and follow these instructions on how to cut those frame-jig components.
Lumber in a store is identified by its nominal size, which is its rough dimension before it's trimmed and sanded to its finished size at the lumber mill.
To build a double-screened inner cover for a bee hive, first break it down into its individual components The following tables provide instructions on how to cut the individual components for each type of double-screened inner cover: the ten-frame Langstroth hive, the eight-frame Langstroth hive, the nuc hive, and the British National hive.
The following tables break down the four-frame observation hive into its individual components and provide instructions on how to cut those components.
Lumber in a store is identified by its nominal size, which is its rough dimension before it’s trimmed and sanded to its finished size at the lumber mill. The actual finished dimensions are always slightly different from the nominal dimensions.
The following tables break down the Kenya top-bar hive into its individual components and provide instructions on how to cut and build those components.
Lumber in a store is identified by its nominal size, which is its rough dimension before it’s trimmed and sanded to its finished size at the lumber mill. The actual finished dimensions are always slightly different from the nominal dimensions.
The following tables break down the Warré hive into its individual components and provide instructions on how to cut and build those components. This design involves making rabbet cuts.
Lumber in a store is identified by its nominal size, which is its rough dimension before it’s trimmed and sanded to its finished size at the lumber mill.
When building an elevated hive stand for your bee, it's easiest to break it down into its individual components — the following tables show you how and provide instructions on how to cut those components. (Note: This design calls for a rabbet cut.)
Lumber in a store is identified by its nominal size, which is its rough dimension before it's trimmed and sanded to its finished size at the lumber mill.
When building a hive-top feeder, it's easiest to break it down into its individual components — the following tables show you how and provide instructions on how to cut those components. Separate cut sheets for ten- and eight-frame Langsrtoth hives are included. The assembly instructions for each are identical.
When building an IPM screened bottom-board for bee hives, it's easiest to break it down into its individual components — the following tables show you how and provide instructions on how to cut those components. (Note: You'll make a couple of dado cuts for this bottom-board.)
Lumber in a store is identified by its nominal size, which is its rough dimension before it's trimmed and sanded to its finished size at the lumber mill.
Specific plans for beehives may differ, but you typically follow the same basic steps during the building process. Here are the fundamental stages of building a beehive:
Read and reread the plans.
Become familiar with the plans and procedures before you purchase or cut any wood. Make sure the project is up to your skill level and applicable to the type of beekeeping you’re involved with.
Wood isn’t the only material you work with as you build beehives. A number of beehive designs make use of metal — specifically, aluminum flashing and wire hardware cloth.
Cut and bend metal flashing
Some beehive plans specify aluminum flashing as a roof material. It’s very thin and easy to cut and manipulate. This is the same material that roofers use to waterproof critical seams.
Beekeeping
Safety involves more than just wearing the right safety gear. You want to ensure that your workshop environment and your own behavior keep safety paramount. Here are some critical best practices to follow:
Be fresh: It’s tempting to come home after a long day at work and tackle just one more beehive project before bedtime.
When you extract honey from a hive, the wax cappings that you slice off represent your major wax harvest for the year. There's also the excess comb you remove during each routine inspection of a hive. Save all of this wax. You'll probably get 1 or 2 pounds of wax for every 100 pounds of honey that you harvest, plus whatever burr comb you remove.
You assemble all Langstroth beehive frames, no matter the size, in an identical manner. Follow these instructions for each frame you put together. The configuration of frames is much like a picture frame: a wooden rectangle, with something displayed in the center. The frame firmly holds a sheet of wax foundation and enables you to remove the panels of honeycomb for inspection or honey extraction.
You assemble all of the Langstroth frames, no matter the size, in an identical manner. Follow these instructions for each frame you put together. Putting together frames can be monotonous, but the assembly is faster and more enjoyable if you use a frame jig. Never paint your frames. Painting can be toxic to your bees.
Beekeeping
Assembling the bits and pieces of a double-screened inner cover for your bee hive is an easy build — just a frame with a couple of screened inserts. Your bees will certainly enjoy the great ventilation!
Assemble the frame.
The short rails align with the notches that were cut from the ends of the long rails. It's kind of like building a picture frame.
Clear off your workbench: It’s time to assemble all the pieces of your frame jig, which holds all the parts to assemble and nail ten bee hive frames at a time.
Attach the long sides to the short sides.
Align the ends of the long sides with the edges of the short sides. Use the deck screws and your power drill with a #2 Phillips head bit to attach the long sides to the edges of the short sides.
Now that you've cut out all the parts, it's time to build your elevated bee hive stand. Remember, you need an elevated stand for every hive.
Attach the two short sides of the stand to the leg posts.
Using deck screws and your power drill with a #2 Phillips head bit, fasten the short sides (those that measure 22-1/2 inch x 5-1/2 inch x 3/4 inch) into the rabbet cut of the posts and secure them with two screws into each leg post.
Putting together the components of your British National hive (BNH) is pretty much just stacking one component on top of another (like a skyscraper). But there is, of course, a correct sequence. Understanding each element’s purpose is helpful in understanding the sequence in which you build and stack them. You start at the bottom and work your way up.
After you have all the pieces cut for your five-frame nuc hive, it’s time to put it all together and build your hive. Start at the bottom (the ground) and work your way up (the sky).
When screwing together parts in the following steps, remember that the screws will go in easier if you first drill a 7/64-inch hole in each spot you plan to place a screw.
Beekeeping
If you’ve cut all the parts for your four-frame observation hive, you’re ready to put it all together. Here are a few pointers to follow throughout this beehive assembly:
Consider using a weatherproof wood glue in addition to screws. It helps make the observation hive as strong as possible. Apply a thin coat of glue wherever the wooden parts are joined together.
With all the parts cut out for your hive-top feeder, it's time to assemble the pieces. The process is identical whether the hive-top feeder you're putting together is for a ten- or eight-frame Langstroth hive.
Attach the feeder's short sides to the floor.
Start with one short side board. Insert one of the plywood floor pieces into the dado groove of the side board.
Beekeeping
Using a screened bottom-board in a hive offers the great advantage of improved ventilation. Poor ventilation is one of the leading causes of stress on a bee colony. A screened bottom-board (sans the inspection board) provides the ultimate in ventilation. Some beekeepers leave the screened bottom-board on the colony all year long, even in cold winter climates.
To assemble a Kenya top-bar hive, gather all your tools and components. You begin at with bottom of the hive and work your way up and up.
The screws and nails will go in easier if you first drill a 7/64-inch hole in each spot you plan to place a screw. The pre-drilling also helps prevent the wood from splitting.
Whether you’re building the ten- or eight-frame version of the Langstroth hive, the assembly instructions are nearly identical. But there’s a correct sequence, of course. Understanding each element’s purpose is helpful in understanding the sequence in which the elements are built and stacked.
You start at the bottom (the ground) and work your way up (the sky).
You’re coming down the home stretch. It’s time to stack things together and build your Warré hive. Start at ground level and work your way up.
Screws and nails will go in easier if you first drill a 7/64 inch hole in each spot you plan to place a screw. The pre-drilling also helps prevent the wood from splitting.
Beehives are typically made from wood. You have hundreds of kinds of wood to choose from. But from a practical and financial viewpoint, you should limit your “discovery” to those woods that are readily available from most lumberyards and home improvement centers. Some woods are very cost-effective (they’re cheap), and some are very exotic (they’re expensive).
Beekeeping
So with all the different beehive plans to choose from, how do you decide which one to build? Maybe you just like the look of one hive over another. A better way to decide is to determine the primary reasons you’re beekeeping and select the hive best suited for those reasons. You also need to consider your level of woodworking experience.
Follow these steps to make cutting your lumber (both board lumber and plywood) easier and to give you better results when building your beehives. Cutting wood with a table saw isn’t difficult, but it surely can be dangerous if you’re not careful.
Fine-tune the blade depth.
You can manually move the blade up or down to expose more or less of it.
Beekeeping
Side bars for your Langstroth hive frames have a wide profile at the top and taper to a more narrow profile at the bottom. This tapered shape provides the correct distance between frames and allows for the proper bee space around and in between the frames so that bees can travel freely (and so they won't glue the frames together).
Beekeeping
The top bars of Langstroth bee hive frames require the trickiest cuts. Follow these steps and refer to the following figure to make these cuts.
Cut a kerf 1/8 inch wide by 5/16 inch deep along the entire long length of the designated underside of the top bar.
Cut a vertical notch 3/8 inch wide by 3/32 inch deep on both sides and at each end of the top bar.
Beekeeping
Figuring out how to read a tape measure is one of the most vital skills for building a beehive. Take a moment before you start cutting anything to become familiar with your tape measure and how to use it.
How well can you decipher those little marks on your tape measure (see figure)? Do you know which of those are eighths versus sixteenths?
Beekeeping
Whether you live in the country or the city, for many among the general public, ignorance of honeybees is complete. Having been stung by hornets and yellow jackets, they assume having any kind of bee nearby spells trouble. Not true. It’s up to you to take steps to educate them and alleviate their fears.
Here are some things you can do to put your neighbors at ease:
Restrict your bee yard to one or two hives, particularly if you’re in an urban setting.
Beekeeping
The roof of your beehive takes the brunt of abuse from sun, rain, snow, and other climatic challenges. The roof (or outer cover) is a critical component for keeping your hive dry and your bees safe from the elements.
Roofing materials for beehives
You can optimize the roof’s effectiveness and maximize its durability by adding some form of weatherproofing (just like the roof on your house).
Adhering to a measurement called the bee space lets you build hives that allow for the easy removal and inspection of combs and the simple separation and manipulation of the hive boxes. The bee space is simply the crawl space that bees need to pass easily between two structures. Three-eighths of an inch is the ideal space.
It’s mighty fun to consider those extra shop toys that make work on your beehives easier, faster, or more enjoyable. So even though the following items aren’t absolutely necessary, they’re a great way to spend your allowance.
Compressor and pneumatic nail gun: If you plan to build only a single hive and that’s that, investing in a pneumatic air gun is likely not justified.
You can keep beehives just about anywhere: in the countryside, in the city, in a corner of the garden, by the back door, in a field, on the terrace, or even on an urban rooftop. You don’t need a great deal of space or flowers on your property; bees happily travel for miles to forage for what they need.These girls are amazingly adaptable, but you’ll get optimum results and a more rewarding honey harvest if you follow some basic guidelines, as you discover here.
After you build your masterpiece beehive, you’ll want to protect it from the elements. After all, most of this beekeeping stuff is intended to be kept outdoors year-round, where rain, sleet, and the gloom of night can take their toll. Unfortunately, finding raincoats and parkas that fit a beehive proves to be quite the challenge.
Beekeeping
Before you pick up a hammer to drive a single nail into your beehive, spending a few moments to review some safety basics is essential. Any sharp tool has the potential to create the kind of danger in your workshop that can be far worse than a bee sting in the garden. Using a little common sense and taking a few simple precautions should be the first step in your beehive-building adventure.
Here's all you need in order to size up and purchase lumber for building your beehive. For example, most everyone has heard of a two-by-four. It’s the lumber used to frame a house. And that’s how you’d order it at the lumberyard: “I need a two-by-four.” But did you know that it doesn’t measure 2 inches by 4 inches?
One way or another, handmade beehives are designed to provide the bees with shelter from the elements, a space to raise brood, a space to store honey, and adequate ventilation so that the bees can regulate the colony’s temperature. In addition, modern hives provide the beekeeper with the ability to inspect, manipulate, and manage the colony.
Beekeeping
Forget about old-fashioned handsaws. You won’t likely use them on any beehive projects. They’re slow going, tiresome to use, and simply not precise enough for the task.
Accuracy is important when assembling the boxes that become your hives. And for accuracy, nothing can compete with power saws. For most projects, you need only two kinds of power saws and a small collection of blades.
You may be surprised to find out that you can build the beehive of your dreams with only a few simple tools and fasteners. Most of what you need is probably sitting in your garage or shed right now, and you can easily pick up what you don’t have at your local hardware store or big-box home improvement store.
Fasteners are the screws, nails, and staples you use to assemble your beehives and equipment. There are gazillions of different screws and nails in the marketplace. If you plan to build a number of different things, you can stock up on fasteners and take advantage of some quantity discounts (the unit price of nails in a big box is far less expensive than the unit price of nails in a small convenience pack).
The good news is that many beehive build plans keep it simple. You use only four different joinery techniques for many beehive builds.
You can join wood together using all kinds of techniques. Collectively, these techniques are referred to as joinery. The list of different joinery methods used in woodworking is long and diverse.
Beekeeping
Your bees will love you for making a double-screened inner cover for their hives. This design for a double-screened inner cover is extra heavy-duty compared to lightweight commercial designs that tend to twist and become damaged in use. Also, the double screen in this design has a specific purpose. Placing the cover on a hive one way provides a 3/8" upper entrance for the bees; flipping it the other way results in a snug fit with no upper entrance option.
Beekeeping
A five-frame nuc (or nucleus) hive is a small beehive with five frames of bees. If you'd like to build a nuc, here are some vital stats you need to know and a materials list for shopping.
Credit: Illustration by Felix Freudzon, Freudzon Design
Vital stats for a five-frame nuc hive
Size: 23 inches x 11 inches x 13-1/4 inches.
Beekeeping
Having an observation hive is great, even when you have conventional hives in your garden. The pleasure and added insight it gives you about honeybee behavior is immeasurable.
Credit: Illustration by Felix Freudzon, Freudzon Design
Vital stats for the four-frame observation hive
Overall size: 22 inches x 7-1/4 inches x 12-3/8 inches.
Beekeeping
The Kenya top-bar beehive has many design variations, but they all consist of a long, horizontal hive body with sloped sides, top bars (instead of frames), and a roof. The hive's sloped sides tend to result in stronger combs and discourage the bees from attaching the comb to the bottom of the hive.
Credit: Illustration by Felix Freudzon, Freudzon Design
Vital stats for the Kenya top-bar hive
Size: 38 inches x 24 inches x 31-1/4 inches.
Beekeeping
Langstroth frames for bee hives come in three basic sizes — deep, medium, and shallow — corresponding to deep hive bodies and medium or shallow honey supers. The method for cutting and assembling deep, medium, and shallow frames is identical. Regardless of its size, each Langstroth frame has four basic components: one top bar with a wedge, one bottom bar with a slit or groove running its length, and two side bars.
Beekeeping
The frame jig you build here holds all the parts to assemble and nail ten bee hive frames at a time (either deep, medium, or shallow). Assembling frames is so much easier when you don't have to juggle and nail frame parts one bit at a time. It's like having your own assembly line! You're going to love having this frame jig.
Beekeeping
Because of its size and expandability, the British National bee hive does well in climates similar to that of the United Kingdom (namely, where summers are hot and winters can be cold, the average annual temperature is between 45 and 65 degrees F, and minimum temperatures fall between 15 and 35 degrees F).
The British National roof has four ventilation holes, and good ventilation plays a critical role in keeping colonies healthier and more productive.
Beekeeping
Elevated hive stands keep your bee hives well off the damp ground and provides better air circulation, which keeps the colony drier. The hive's elevation helps deter skunks and other pests from snacking on your bees and makes it easier for you to access. Use the following information to build your own.
Credit: Illustration by Felix Freudzon, Freudzon Design
Vital stats for elevated hive stands
Size: 24 inches x 24 inches x 13 inches.
Beekeeping
The hive-top feeder is just one of several feeder designs you can use to offer sugar syrup to your bees when the nectar flow is minimal or nonexistent. Feeders also provide a convenient way to medicate your bees if you decide to do so (many medications can be dissolved in sugar syrup and fed to your bees).
Credit: Illustration by Felix Freudzon, Freudzon Design
Vital stats for the hive-top feeder
Size: 19-7/8 inches x 16-1/4 inches x 3-1/2 inches (for a feeder to fit a ten-frame Langstroth-style hive).
Beekeeping
A screened bottom-board really helps with mite control in your bee hive, and you find out how to build one here. With varroa mites a problem for many beekeepers, screened bottom-boards are gaining popularity. Here’s how a screened bottom-board works: A moderate number of mites naturally fall off the bees each day and land on the bottom-board of the hive.
Beekeeping
Most bee supply vendors offer ten-frame versions of the very popular Langstroth-style beehive — each hive body holds ten frames across. For decades, that’s been the most popular size for the Langstroth. However, as a result of some recent books and publications, the eight-frame version of this hive is gaining popularity.
Beekeeping
The Warré hive is simple, cost-effective, and has an efficient design. It has been gaining renewed popularity among DIY beekeepers and those seeking more natural approaches to beekeeping.
Credit: Illustration by Felix Freudzon, Freudzon Design
Vital stats for the Warré hive
Have a look at some statistics and tips for building a Warré hive:
Overall size: 18 inches x 19-3/4 inches x 47-3/16 inches.
The hive is the bees’ home. As a doting beekeeper, you aim to provide an environment for your bees that meets or exceeds the needs they seek out in nature. Here are the basic housing requirements for raising happy, healthy, and productive colonies.
Bees need shelter and safety
In the wild, honeybees don’t nest underground (like bumblebees and yellow jackets).
A nuc (short for nucleus colony) beehive is a small hive that many rookie beekeepers start with. It's also advantageous for experienced beekeepers, as a kind of "back-up" hive.The following tables break down the five-frame nuc hive into its individual components and provide instructions on how to cut and build those components.
Beekeeping
The Langstroth-style beehive — named after Rev. Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth, who invented it in 1851 in Massachusetts — is the most common style hive in North America. The following tables break down the ten-frame Langstroth beehive into its individual components and provide instructions for how to cut and put together those components.
Beekeeping
The Langstroth-style beehive — named after Rev. Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth, who invented it in 1851 in Massachusetts — is the most common style hive in North America. The following tables break down the eight-frame Langstroth beehive into its individual components and provide instructions for how to cut and put together those components.
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