Horizontal hive from plans of Frederick Dunn with some changes

ottawabarber said:

Standard deeps, the bottom 2x4 is the "shim" that Frederick Dunn suggests for building a larger amount of bees.

Click to expand...

I went this way, I'd make sure my box fits the Dadant-Blatt frame sizing.
Yours should fit it sounds like - 12.5" frame.

You won't like that extra space under the frames with langstroth deeps. They will build comb that requires sliding a lot of frames over to make enough space to remove a frame. There is potential of rolling queens frequently. As they build drone comb below the frame it's usually wider than the rest of the comb. Mine have 1.5 inches, maybe two below the frames and wide drone comb is a problem. Perhaps with yours having 3 plus inches they will not build the comb to the side of the bottom of the frame.

Slated bottom boards are good for two things. Provide space for bees when the brood area is overheating and provide a wind barrier and cold sink in winter below the brood. Promotes them to use the entire depth of frame near entrances. I mention this because that would be a great fix to stop the bees from drawing comb below your frames and make management easier. There is no reason for that bottom board to be slatted. Shim to height desired depth and cut plywood to create a second floor. Use a hole saw to provide one exit six inches or more in from the hive exits. You'd have a layer of air barrier for insulation, no direct wind into hive and a place for bees instead of bearding to regulate hive temp in summers.