Took the SwingView plans from Bonterra Bees as a reference point. Did not like some aspects of the design after reading a lot of what was on this forum and Michael Bush's experiences, so I changed them. Met a local carpenter willing to make this hive for a modest fee. 3 weeks later, voila!
- Double wide (10 frames total)
- All medium frames - as I run all mediums in my yard (finally an OBH with mediums!)
- Feeding jar on the side - not the top
- Bee space preserved
- Laminate glass 1/4" thick
- Pull out debris tray on bottom / mini SBB
- Area up top for instrumentation and moisture control materiel
- Lots of ventilation potential (3x 1.5" vents per side, 2 per top). I can close off any of the vents when the hive is not fully populated.
Still a couple things to modify:
- Make the glass frames easier to come on/off
- Closing off entrance INSIDE hive, so it can be removed without bees escaping into the house.
- Making sure bees dont use added space on top of hive for comb
Costs:
- ~$500 for materials and carpenter time (including glass)
- ~$1000 Really big present for the wife to allow me to put 10,000 stinging insects in the living room