Plans For Top Bar Beehive

You can also print the complete design plans and parts list which is posted below to build your own hive.

Plans for top bar beehive. This top bar hive design is ideal for the weather in the colder northern states. Carr and john bradford have a beautifully engineered plan for a top bar hive. Decide a working height for the top of the hive and add 2 to arrive at the length of the legs. The number of top bars the hive will accommodate varies with the width of the box but as a reference a 42 box will use 28 top bars.

Manufacturers build langstroth and warre hives much like filing cabinets with the queen sequestered in the bottom drawer. The first written report observing these hives comes from the 1600s. Many beekeeping experts cite top bar hives as one of the easiest to build and most straightforward to maintain. Mar 22 2015 beehive design plans special projects uncategorized woodworking here s a how to video on building a new top bar beehive using thermally treated poplar.

This is a building bee hive plan for the warre or vertical top bar bee hive. For a small fee you get great quality plans for a top notch hive. The plans come with a hive stand design a gabled roof and a viewing window. The free plans will enable you to build a working top bar hive using simple tools and readily obtainable timber.

Distinct in shape and size the top bar beehive commonly features a single rectangular or tub shaped hive body with parallel bars. They will be trimmed a little to accommodate the roof see below. Hive plans narrative 360 degree view you can also find the most recent addendum showing hive ventilation here. These uncomplicated bee boxes allow the residents to build their honeycombs down from the top bar in any way they choose hence the name.

Building a top bar hive once you have built your hive i strongly recommend a practical training course before you add bees. 8 warre bee hive plan by david heaf. They originated in kenya where bees have a tendency to be more aggressive versus those we have in the united states and europe. Many beekeepers will use top bars that have a small comb guide hanging down.

The length of the top bar is 315mm the floor board can be measured from 15 to 20mm the floor boxes should be 1mm and the entrance notch in the floor should be 40mm to stay rigid. If you leave in an area with long harsh winters then this would be a good one to try. If you want more detail with backgtound information and more pictures you may like to buy my book balanced beekeeping i. 38 langstroth top bar and warre hive plans 1.

The colorado top bar beehive. Made from different materials that are often repurposed or recycled top bar hives can be observed around the world. Top bar beehives may be one of the oldest forms of domestic beekeeping. The great alaskan top bar.

Each top bar is laid across the hive with one end at the front of the box and the other at the back. 9 kiss langstroth bee hives by bbe tech. User you may want the top of the hive to be about 24 from the ground so make the legs 26. You can find the newly updated plans released october of 2012 here.