plywood for hive bodies ?

[psfred]

Before you complain about Mann Lake, you should be aware that they will tell you that shipping foundation in the winter is at your risk. Beeswax becomes very brittle when it's cold, and will shatter like glass at 15F. If you had it shipped when it was cold, you were warned it wouldn't likely make it to you intact. Nothing Mann Lake or anyone else could do about it.

I need a pile of foundation, but will either drive down to Kelley's to get it or wait until the night temps are well above freezing to order it, it will arrive shattered otherwise.

Peter

[tommysnare]

yeah i read and understood that no worries. i took the risk and knew it. BUT...it wasnt the cold weather (if we want to continue to talk about something im really past) it was the fact that it was scattered in the box along with my other items. it seriously looked like they used it for packing material. pretty weird frankly. but like i said...im over it. remember...never sweat the small stuff...also remember...everything is small stuff.
im really just excited to have a new passion with these little buggers and im jumping all in with both feet.

[bluegrass]

Is advantech bee safe? Man that stuff is great!! It want rot it want warp and it is water proof. I never thought about making hives out of it. It may be the way to go if it don't hurt the bees. Its not real cheap but a few coats of paint they would last forever.

I have pulled bees out of used oil drums, and pockets in walls that they chewed all the insulation out of. They are pretty adaptable.. I would have no concern about it being toxic to them if I were to use it.

[minz]

Use exterior siding (T1-11). Don’t go so thin that you do not have strength for the width of super or body. Hit the exterior with a good coat of primer before you paint on any exposed portion. Take a look around and you will see that it is a combination that lasts for exterior buildings. Exterior sheet product, exterior glue, exterior primer, exterior paint. IMHO Tightbond makes a great glue but it is not paint primer, try it and you will find that is where the paint will fall off and the sun will destroy it (as Tommy Mac says read and follow the directions).

[Michael Bush]

I haven't used it lately and maybe the glue has improved. Mine didn't last as long as solid wood. The glues in plywood have also improved as far as outgassing. It used to give off a lot of formaldehyde but after a lot of press about how new buildings were making people sick, they improved the outgassing a lot.

[Jeffzhear]

If you are not happy with your Mann Lake experience you probably should not order any bee stuff from anybody else.... Because you will be real unhappy. .

I am a happy Mann Lake customer too....nothing but good things to say about them! :-) I would contact them...and I bet they would fix my problem quick.

[Jeffzhear]

I've used plywood for migratory and telescoping tops and for bottom boards. 10 per sheet works for me and if you pay 20 to 30 bucks for 3 or 4 ply 3/4" plywood, the cost per cover is way lower then commercial covers even when you add in the cost for pine boards you need to finish the bottom boards, or telescoping covers, glue and staples. My bees have never seemed to complain about the plywood either :-) Now, I do dip in way heated rosin and wax all my equipment...and the plywood almost never warps on me with my process.

[tommysnare]

Mann lake just took great care of the situation !

definitely a loyal customer now !!!!!!

[Jeffzhear]

Mann lake just took great care of the situation !

definitely a loyal customer now !!!!!!

Wonderful news! :-)

[psfred]

Kelley's packs theirs in very sturdy boxes, not as loose sheets. I still don't buy it when it's really cold, but you would have to work to break it even then.

Glad it got taken care of.

Peter

[whiskeytripping]

You guys are really making me nervous, i ordered a 200$ order of foundations from Mann Lake, they should be here today, still haven't made it. I just wish you could buy insurance on it. Im sure i will be fine, i have been watching the weather there in hackensack, boy I'm glad i don't live that far north. Even if they break, I'm sure i will find a way to use them

[Jeanette]

A while back, I did some research into the safety of using plywood for beehives. You are welcome to have a look at the blog I wrote: http://hivetasks.com.au/blog/113/for...wood-bee-hives

Despite my personal wariness, I concluded that modern plywood was safe. To make it even safer, you can age your plywood for a couple of months before using it (the VOC emissions reduce by 25% within 6 weeks of production). There is also low-VOC and VOC-free plywood available from some suppliers.

[minz]

wow Jeanette, you really did some homework. Thanks for the link as well as all the references to back it up.