Horizonal Hive Plans

**Mike S** · 01-21-2010, 07:11 AM

I am wanting to build a horizonal hive about 3 boxes wide using meduim frames. I want to make it where I can feed and stack honey supers above it. Should be 19-7/8 wide and 48-3/4 long. Im wanting to use a screen bottom ( 8 x 8 cloth) where I can slide in some 1/4 plywood to seal up for winter. Is there anywhere on the net with plans for a hive like this? I saw one somewhere but have looked for 2 days surfing with no luck. I pretty much have it figured what I want except the bottom. Can anyone send me some or post some links? Thanks for any help..........

**11x** · 01-21-2010, 10:08 AM

i say start building man.. you know what you want so get to it.. j/k as a famous man said GET-ER-DONE.. i just jumed in and built a top bar hive, i am goung to build a long hive myself to take medium frames. i am going to build mine like a kenyan top bar hive and put it on legs, going to make mine 3 med long and then i can super it. screan the bottom and put my entrance in the end. no landing board

**Mike S** · 01-21-2010, 10:17 AM

I also built a TBH with an observaton window in the side this winter and looking forward to loading it with bees and watch them work this summer. I was just worried about the bee space at the bottom, I guess I could just add 1/2 or 3/4 inch to the bottom of a med super to allow space where the bottom board would of been. I think your right, just build it!! I look very forward to trying this out.

**laurelmtnlover** · 01-21-2010, 11:03 AM

I googled "supering a top bar hive", and came up with this:

http://www2.gsu.edu/~biojdsx/super.htm

**bigbearomaha** · 01-21-2010, 12:14 PM

If you are just wanting a long hive that uses standard frames, why not just use plans for a standard hive box and change the width to your desired size?

by adding a bottom to it attached from the outside bottom (as opposed to trying to fit a bottom inside the box) you will have beespace enough.

just my 2 cent.

Big Bear

**Michael Bush** · 01-21-2010, 01:03 PM

If you want a long medium hive, make it out of one by eights, not ripped, just full width. Cut the rabbet either 5/8" or 3/4" (I'm partial to 3/4" as it leaves a full 3/8" beespace up top). The box should be outside 19 7/8" wide with a 3/8" wide (and 3/4" deep) rabbet. You can either put a solid bottom on it or a screened bottom with some kind of tray. After trying both, I prefer the solid. 1/4" luan works well for the bottom.

**fafrd** · 01-21-2010, 03:52 PM

Michael,

what did you like better about the solid bottom versus the screened bottom for your long hives?

thanks,

-fafrd

**Michael Bush** · 01-22-2010, 09:16 AM

>what did you like better about the solid bottom versus the screened bottom for your long hives?

Well, the SBB doesn't really make any difference that I could see in Varroa mites. It has to be closed anyway or there is too much ventilation for the bees to cool it in the summer (they need to do controlled ventilation in order to cool it) and too much ventilation for the bees to survive the winter, so I end up putting in something to block the ventilation, in which case I could have just used that for the bottom and saved the cost of the #8 hardware cloth and the extra wood to make a space for the "tray" to be below the hardware cloth. It's simpler and cheaper and just as effective to skip the screen all together.

**Mike S** · 01-24-2010, 09:10 AM

Thanks Mike for the info, sure will make it simple. I'll use the full 1 x 8 for the sides and use the 3/4 deep rabbet. Thanks all for the info, I'll have her up and running this spring.

**Randall Clark** · 01-24-2010, 06:59 PM

I started a thread on the Bee Forum titled "Needing Ideas for a Long Hive" . It is now on about page 3 or 4. Got some very good responses with sites to check out with pictures. One of the sites dealt with a 3-wide box.

**fafrd** · 01-25-2010, 10:43 PM

Thanks Michael. I thought I saw somewhere on your website or in a postf of yours that you use SBBs and indicated hey provided some benefits. Was that only for ventilation and not for Varroa? And assuming that I have understood your message correctly, any benefit you have seen to SBBs is only for vertical hives and they give no benefit to horizontal hives, right?

Have you ever used Slatted Racks and do you think they would offer any benefit in a horizontal hive?

-fafrd

**Michael Bush** · 01-25-2010, 11:23 PM

>I thought I saw somewhere on your website or in a postf of yours that you use SBBs and indicated hey provided some benefits.

I thought it might. I haven't seen any difference.

> Was that only for ventilation and not for Varroa?

Originally it was for Varroa. A lot of people are still hung up on having a SBB. There isn't anything wrong with one.

> And assuming that I have understood your message correctly, any benefit you have seen to SBBs is only for vertical hives and they give no benefit to horizontal hives, right?

They provide more ventilation. On an eighht frame medium hive, that is only a little more than one square foot. On a 48" long hive that's more like five square feet.

>Have you ever used Slatted Racks

Of course.

> and do you think they would offer any benefit in a horizontal hive?

Not enough to build one. Yes, they would have some benefit, but the materials and the time to build them are more than the benefit, in my opinion.

**raosmun** · 01-26-2010, 05:00 AM

[QUOTE=Mike S;495538]I am wanting to build a horizonal hive about 3 boxes wide using meduim frames. I want to make it where I can feed and stack honey supers above it. Should be 19-7/8 wide and 48-3/4 long. Im wanting to use a screen bottom ( 8 x 8 cloth) where I can slide in some 1/4 plywood to seal up for winter. Is there anywhere on the net with plans for a hive like this? I saw one somewhere but have looked for 2 days surfing with no luck. I pretty much have it figured what I want except the bottom. Can anyone send me some or post some links? Thanks for any help.........

This is what I did. Adjust length to suit. I use a bottom entrance and a landing (nice place for an entrance feeder) + an 1 1/2" at the rear. I used; 2 X 4 X ?, ripped 5/8" off, leaving a 1 1/2 x 2 3/4, one one end notch out for the landing (if used), just below the landing cut in a 1/4+" notch (bottom seal) which should leave about 1 7/8", here I rip 3 2 Xs to 1 7/8" X 18 3/8", one for each end and one on center. Staple the screen in place and nail on the 5/8 ripped piece to secure and gives a 5/8 entrance. This will leave a 3/4" exposed edge, to this I added a wedge for rain runoff and for the upper box to nest into. As for the closure (bottom seal), I cut it in half were the center stringer supports it. As for the entrances; cut a block to fit the rear to seal off, as for the front entrance; it can be reduced in the same manner, in the winter I use a block of wood with a 3/8" notch about 2" wide full width.

**Mike S** · 01-26-2010, 01:19 PM

Raosmun, I have began construction and have started two, one with a closed bottom as M. Bush suggested and one with two screen sections. I have both framed up with the bottom on the closed one, and installing the slats and screen on the screened one. Both are 48-3/4 long and 19-7/8 wide. I made openings in both ends with landing boards same as a regular hive where I can install entrance reducers or block one end if wanted. I still have to make some tops and paint, I plan on just painting latex white. I enjoy the wood working as much as caring for the bees and Im pretty green at both but learning. I apreicate all who replyed with information, this is a great site to learn from.

How are your horz hives doing in honey production? Are they worth the time and effort? Even if they dont help I have enjoyed working on them and look forward to setting them up and getting some bees in them. When I get them completed I'll post some pics.