AZEK screened bottom boards

[Madison68]

Just finished making these screened bottom boards out of a product called AZEK. It is a pvc dimensional lumber that never needs painting. It also cuts and sands much like pine. The tray is also azek and is really easy to clean and mites show up easily as well. I'm going to build some nucs and hive bodies out of it also. Another similar product is KOMA. I've used both and they are pretty much the same. Madison..

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l306/madison68/AZEKsbb.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l306/madison68/Azekscreenedbottomboardwithslideout.jpg

[power napper]

Lookin good!

[odfrank]

A website about AZEk says store on a flat and level surface. Are you sure it won't sag the way you have it on a steel stand? Does it stay straight good in years of ultraviolet exposure?

[Madison68]

Good questions; I don't believe that it will sag or deform. The way it sits on the steel stands distributes the weight evenly (I've had my three hives on them now for a month). We use a ton of it on ocean front homes and some we paint and some we leave unpainted. I believe that over time it may yellow due to uv exposure but I've had scrap laying outside in direct sun for a long time with no obvious effects. It also seems to keep itself clean because of the fact that it is dense and is non-porous. The tray wipes off easy too. Five years ago all of my oceanfront projects were cedar on cedar, today they are all plastic on concrete. Madison...

[Jack Grimshaw]

Tested a few SBBs made from Trex this year.They held up quite well but slid around on the hive stand.Whenever I tried to split 2 propolized supers the hive wanted to take right off.

[db_land]

Hey Madison,
Why make the insert pull out from the front (in bee flight path) versus the back? Just curious if you see some advantage that I don't. Great looking SBBs. Is this material the same stuff that decks are made of? If so, it should hold up a long time. :cool:

[Madison68]

DB, That's why I put out some ideas that I have tried so as to get input for improvement. I could easily change the end that the tray slides out of and yes it would make better sense to do that. Especially in the hot summer months when hang'in around the front of the hive can be exciting. Most of the composite decking materials that you mentioned have wood fiber mixed in them except for OASIS which is completely synthetic (plastic). The AZEK/KOMA products are PVC based and actually get glued together with a type of PVC cement (incredibly strong). I'm going to try using AZEK to build some hive bodies and an observation hive in the next few weeks, I'll of course post some pictures. Madison...

[Dave W]

I have used the AZEK brand of pvc dimensional lumber in a few remodeling projects.

It machines well.
Deck screw type fasteners hold well.
Glued joints are almost a must.
Its hard as a rock.
It weights a ton.
Expands and contracts w/ outside temperatures.
And is very plyable, espically when heated.
A 12" board, 3/4" thick, 20' long, sags about 2 to 3 FEET when you pick it up in the middle, its almost scary.

I think, the manufacture recommends it to be painted.

Wish I could afford "scrap" for some top covers.