copper topped "garden hive''

[Black Creek]

i'm sure everyone has seen these. they are really nice looking and maybe not so practical but i was going to build a couple and keep some ''garden hives'' near my garden in the back yard so i can keep up with what the rest of my hives are doing(nectar flows...) with out going for a drive. I thought i'd try to make some very nice looking focal point type hives for this.

the thing that has me puzzeled is the peaked roof. is there an open peak inside too? like in the attic of a house? or is there a flat board in there to mimic a normal telescoping top that makes the "peaked" area sealed off?

does anyone have one that can help enlighten me?

[Dave W]

I have (homemade) tops that are sloped (covered w/ 1 pc aluminum). I used 2 layers of 3/4" yellow pine plywood to first make it flat inside. I like the "extra weight", no rock needed on top. And the extra thickness provides plenty of insulation, both winter and summer.

FYI - Be sure to make it large enough that the top entrance slot in inner cover is not blocked.

[CentralPAguy]

the thing that has me puzzeled is the peaked roof. is there an open peak inside too? like in the attic of a house? or is there a flat board in there to mimic a normal telescoping top that makes the "peaked" area sealed off?


I actually purchased one last year -- It is only peaked on the outside and fits over the supers as the conventional outside hive cover.

They are asthetic to look at, but not practical. I often flip my hive covers up to stack supers on them if needed when working with the hive, but with them, you can't.

The outside cover is no longer gleaming copper and basically looks like an burnished copper pot that has not been shined. It has not aged yet to turn green and just looks dirty. I guess there are acids that you can use to turn your copper green.

I got one, but no more.

[Black Creek]

yeah, i understand about how copper ages. there's a certain lag time between shiny and actual patina that isnt very flattering. i havent decided yet... spray a clear coat on it to keep it nice and shiny, or rough it up a bit with some fine sand paper to help accelerate the patina. Maybe even spray on some vinegar or salt water solution to help it out. On it's own, nice shiny copper can take as much as 20yrs to start to turn that nice blue green colour. These 2 or 3 are just going to be ones i keep close to the house and i'm wanting them to stand out as something a bit different.

but back to design... so basically there is a sealed empty space inside? that's what i was guessing since if it was open they'd probably turn it into a mess of comb in there. i was just wondering if maybe it was screen in there or what

thanks!

[BigDru]

I have 3 garden hives with the copper tops. Wife really didn't want bee hives in the back yard, but the hives with the copper tops help ease her into having a hives in the backyard.

[KQ6AR]

We have two, one from mann lake & one from brushy mountain. The mann lake one is not real copper, but the brushy one is.
We put a chemical on them to get the blue patina, the brush mountain one looks great but I ended up spray painting the mann lake one because the galvanized colored underlayer was showing through.

Copper left out on its own where we live only turns brown, doesn't turn blue naturally here.

[CentralPAguy]

. i was just wondering if maybe it was screen in there or what

Mine was wooden -- And they are much heavier than the conventional flat top hive cover, which is a good thing as you couldn't put a brick on them.

[bennybee]

I've made some and on the inside I nailed strips of wood around the edges and put 1" insulation and then another set of strips to nail some plywood to. It's flat and works fine with an inner cover.

[kathygibson]

We have two, one from mann lake & one from brushy mountain. The mann lake one is not real copper, but the brushy one is.
We put a chemical on them to get the blue patina, the brush mountain one looks great but I ended up spray painting the mann lake one because the galvanized colored underlayer was showing through.

Copper left out on its own where we live only turns brown, doesn't turn blue naturally here.
KQ6AR: What did you use on the Brushy Mountain roofs? I just bought three for next year to keep in the garden. thanks

[KQ6AR]

Hi Kathy,
The stuff we bought came from www.artchemicals.com My wife chose the tiffany green patina, they have different shades.
I found it worked best if I applied it with a sponge & rinsed it off with the hose a few minutes later. If I didn't rinse it off the patina was too thick & pealed away.

I bought a quart & didn't even use 1/3 of it, with several tries before finding out it worked best if I rinsed it off. You could get by with a pint.