Any reason can't use tyvex or? instead of felt for winter wrap

[coldstream]

Don,t know if building wrap would work. Just a thought. I am very new.

[KPeacock]

Don't take this as fact, I'm new to beekeeping, but it is my understanding that the wrap is there to not only cut down on the effects of wind inside the hive, but also to absorb solar energy. Tyvek (what i have seen of it) is white/light in color and would be a poor choice to absorb solar energy. I believe this is the reason that many people use the common tar paper used in roofing applications.

[coldstream]

There s one that is dark gray. I thought it might help hive to breath. Moisture seems to be big problem.

[Beregondo]

Yep, a part of the reason for using roofing felt is the black color serving as a solar heat collector.
The other part is to stop wind infiltration.

If you're going to skip black wrap, duct tape at the joints will be cheaper than tyvek to stop wind infiltration. (It was designed to stop heat loss at joints in the first place.)

[coldstream]

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any feeling about it helping with moisture.

[shinbone]

I checked out a roll of Tyek wrap at my local Lowes. It was subsantially more expensive than tar paper, so I don't see much advantage to using it.

It is my udersanding that any moisture problem a hive has is due to moisture generated by the bees becomming trapped inside the hive, with the fix being proper hive ventilation and what you use as a winter wrap has little relevance. In other words, a water proof hive wrap won't make your hives dryer inside because the moister comes from inside the hive.