Bee hive: drawings and dimensions, device and how to make a house with your own hands

Properly made bee hives allow you to successfully breed insects and get a lot of honey. At the same time, you can buy them or design them yourself. To obtain the desired result, it is important to carefully study the drawings and pay attention to the choice of materials. It is also worth choosing the right hive design and following the recommendations of experienced beekeepers.

Basic Requirements

The building for bees must meet the following requirements:

1. Have enough space inside to accommodate combs and food.
2. Reliably protect bees from the negative impact of external weather factors.
3. Easy to transport.
4. Ensure the convenience of the beekeeper.
5. Easy to change the internal volume according to your needs.
6. Have standard dimensions that allow replacement of the corresponding housing elements and internal elements.
7. Made from quality materials. For this, it is worth using exclusively dry boards that do not have mold and cracks. They must be made from softwoods.

Selection of materials, drawings and dimensions

The design for bees can be made from the following materials:

1. Wood - is considered a classic solution for the manufacture of bee hives. In such houses, insects feel like they are in the natural environment.A suitable option for making hives is cedar. You can also build a structure of linden or aspen. At the same time, coniferous woods are cheaper, but the bees are not very comfortable in them.
2. Plywood - this material is considered durable and environmentally friendly. A house made of such material must be coated with paints and insulated from the inside with polystyrene foam. Only in this case it will be warm and dry enough. At the same time, plywood does not withstand moisture, so it needs to be properly looked after.
3. Expanded polystyrene - this modern material is often used by beekeepers to build beehives. It has an affordable price and does not need insulation in winter. The disadvantage of expanded polystyrene is increased fragility.
4. Styrofoam - is considered the most economical solution. Its advantage is lightness. In addition, the material is characterized by excellent thermal insulation. The disadvantage is the fragility of the substance. In addition, it needs to be painted all the time to protect from the influence of the sun.
5. Polyurethane - characterized by excellent thermal insulation properties. The substance does not rot or decompose. It does not accumulate fungi and bacteria. Also, the material does not allow moisture to pass through and does not accumulate it inside. The disadvantage of polyurethane is flammability. Also, the substance requires ventilation, since it does not allow air to pass through.

When drawing up a hive diagram, it is important to consider many factors:

• climatic features of the region;
• products that the apiary will produce;
• wintering place;
• materials at hand.

There are many drawings below, so choosing the right one will not be difficult. One of the popular solutions will be the design developed by the famous beekeeper Mikhail Polivoda. For its construction, it is permissible to use wood materials that have already been used, and even waste from furniture production.At the same time, a minimum of tools is required for work. The hives are small, so they can be easily transported.

The simplest design proposed by Polivoda is a horned beehive. It got its unusual name due to the presence of connecting metal parts that protrude outwards. The housing for bees is simple and multi-tiered. One section includes 4 framed boards. They are 23mm thick and 156mm wide.

Sections are fastened together with bars measuring 23x28 millimeters. They protrude from above by 23 millimeters, and at the bottom they do not reach 18. After fixing the bars, it is possible to create a solid and durable frame that can withstand increased loads. Inside the hive has a fairly large size - 452x305 millimeters. At the same time, the joints of the structure are made quite dense. This is achieved by end seams from the edges of the boards. Sometimes they are not used, but small bars are mounted.They give additional strength to the entire structure.

What tools will you need

To make a beehive from boards or other products, you need to prepare everything you need. After choosing the materials, care should be taken to prepare the tools. In this case, it is worth using the following:

• axe;
• hammer;
• drill;
• joiner;
• chisel;
• planer;
• marking tool;
• corner spikes;
• PVA glue;
• nested frame;
• electric tools.

How to make a beehive for bees with your own hands

The construction of beehives is considered to be a rather complicated process that should be divided into a number of stages.

Case assembly

To get a bee house, it is worth preparing 8 metal plates. It is required to put spacers between opposite sides, and fix the outer plates with bolts. To create a notch for gripping in the design, it is worth attaching metal linings to the internal elements of the outer tiles.

The base and cover are recommended to be made with grooves into which the plates will be inserted. Metal strips must be applied along the edges and fastened with bolts. Make holes inside and outside. This will make it possible, when assembling the structure, to insert metal rods with threads inside. Bolts can be screwed to them to hold the entire structure.

It is important to make a hole in the lid of the structure to pour the mixture into it, and install a valve with a plug. This will help close it.

Installation of bottom and roof

For the manufacture of the roof, you need to use 2 rectangular parts, one of which must have protruding sides along the edges, and the second - a rectangular inner part.

The bottom is a rectangular frame, in the center of which is a metal mesh. It is best assembled from individual polyurethane foam bars and bolted together. Separately, it is required to design forms for the bars.

A metal strip should be placed along the inner perimeter of all bars. It is needed for the formation of folds. It is worth putting and nailing a metal mesh on them with a stapler. In this case, the front bar is recommended to be placed lower. This will help to get the entrance slot.

After casting, make a groove in the inner sidewalls. It is necessary for the bottom valve. It is required to be made of polycarbonate. The rear bar should be placed lower. Thanks to this, it will be possible to insert the valve into the slot and direct it into the grooves of the side walls.

Preparation of polyurethane foam mix

This material is the result of the reaction of a polyisocyanate and a polyol. When pouring the mixture, it is worth correctly calculating the total amount. In this case, the following order should be followed:

1. Find the volume of the hive parts and multiply it by the width, length, thickness.
2. The resulting parameter is multiplied by the technological loss factor, which is 1.15, and the density of polyurethane foam. Its value is 60 kilograms per 1 square meter.

Typically, this 1 beehive body, which is 5 centimeters thick, requires 1.7 kilograms of polyisocyanate and 1.5 kilograms of polyol. The composition must be poured rather quickly - within 10 seconds. The fact is that it hardens very quickly.

For mixing and pouring, you should use special devices or an ordinary construction mixer. In the second case, polyisocyanate must be poured into a flexible container and immediately mixed with a mixer. Then it is worth adding the polyol and stirring for 3 seconds. The finished composition can be poured into the form.

Extraction and staining of the hive

It takes half an hour to set the composition. After that, the bolts that hold the rods need to be untwisted. It is recommended to knock down the top of the mold using a wooden beam and a hammer. After that, you need to unscrew the bolts on the edges of the form, acting as carefully as possible to avoid deformation of the device. Thus, you need to make 2 circles on all the bolts and remove the spacers. Excess polyurethane foam around the edges of the case should be removed with a sharp knife.

In conclusion, the structure should be sheathed with fine-grained sandpaper. Acrylic dye must be applied to the facade, which will protect the homemade hive from ultraviolet radiation. Painting the house is required to be done within 1 week after the construction of the structure. But this is allowed to be done no earlier than after 8 hours.

Buy or DIY?

There is no definite answer to this question.To begin with, it is worth deciding on the solution to the problem and calculate the costs. If the goal is to make honey for yourself, then the purchase of tools and materials will significantly increase the costs. In addition, building a bee house with your own hands is not easy, and it takes a lot of time.

If carpentry is established and there are some capacities, you need to think about it. It is important to prepare high-quality drawings. To fit all the structural elements, a high degree of skill is required. Therefore, many beekeepers still buy factory hives.

Rare bee hives

Sometimes in the professional literature for beekeepers there are unusual names of hives - Roger Delon, Alpine, Varre. At the same time, experienced beekeepers are advised to think carefully before trying to make such a design. Despite the positive reviews, it is important to understand that such structures can be poorly applied in reality.Therefore, the information received should be used to form a general outlook.

Unique designs can create serious problems with the unification of inventory and nesting frames in the apiary. Neither honey extractors, nor bee carts, nor wax melters will fit them. Therefore, rare types of hives have not received wide distribution. Service difficulties are believed to be the main reason for this.

Possible problems during construction

When constructing hives, many beginner beekeepers face various problems. To avoid them, you need to follow the basic recommendations of professionals. Key tips include:

• it is desirable to make the bottom of the structure removable;
• the roof should be made flat - this will facilitate the transportation of the structure;
• frames are recommended to be supplemented with side strips;
• for a bee colony, you should definitely make a feeder;
• it is recommended to assemble the roof only after the end of the home insulation process;
• the design must be sealed.

Making a beehive with your own hands is quite realistic. To do this, you need to choose the right tools and materials and strictly adhere to the manufacturing technology of the structure. At the same time, in some cases, the independent manufacture of such a structure is considered economically unprofitable. Therefore, before starting work, it is important to carefully think over and calculate everything.

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