View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
Martin White Nurse Bee
Joined: 24 Jul 2011 Posts: 46 Location: Co. Meath, Ireland
|
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 10:16 pm Post subject: Insulating the Roof of a Top Bar Hive. |
|
|
Fellow Beeks,
What is the preferred insulation for the roof space in a top bar hive, is it necessary and also should I insulate the side spaces, the hive is contained in the mid 1/3 of the Hive
Martin |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
biobee Site Admin

Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 1063 Location: UK, England, S. Devon
|
Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 6:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
Yes, you should insulate the space all year round. Use anything you have handy: wool, straw, glass fibre (loose material should be in a bag), old pillow, newspaper, etc. No harm in adding extra in the spaces beyond the followers. No such thing as too much insulation! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Vern Faulkner New Bee
Joined: 15 Dec 2013 Posts: 7 Location: St. Stephen, NB Canada
|
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 12:14 pm Post subject: |
|
|
biobee wrote: | Yes, you should insulate the space all year round. Use anything you have handy: wool, straw, glass fibre (loose material should be in a bag), old pillow, newspaper, etc. No harm in adding extra in the spaces beyond the followers. No such thing as too much insulation! |
Any merit in simply building in a rigid-foam insulation system, contained (naturally) by wood, etc.? That has some appeal to me for reasons I can't yet explain. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
buffalobob House Bee
Joined: 04 Apr 2014 Posts: 17 Location: US, Michigan, Detroit
|
Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I have a small top bar hive, 21 bars, about 36" long. There were combs on all the bars so I left them all in for the winter. I put 3/4" pink foam insulation on the bottom. Then I wrapped all the sides in 1 1/2" pink foam insulation. I taped all the joints with gorilla tape, similar to duct tape. I left an opening of 1/2" ht and 3" long for the entry. I have a flat top on the hive. I built a top to go over the existing top. It had 3/4" pink foam insulation on the sides and under its plywood top. I extended this top to cover the landing board. 1st winter for the bees and no supplimental feeding and they survived the winter. This spring I got 3 qts. of honey off of the last 3 bars. I'm going to build my next hive to include 3/4" foam insulation within dbl. walls and the floor. The roof is still a question but will be a gable roof, with a ridge vent. I'm thinking of some sort of a warre quilt over the top bars but still allowing airflow to remove excess humidity. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
rmcpb Scout Bee

Joined: 17 Jul 2011 Posts: 447 Location: Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia
|
Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 2:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
buffalobob wrote: | I'm thinking of some sort of a warre quilt over the top bars but still allowing airflow to remove excess humidity. |
Yes to the Warre quilt. Sealed insulation just keeps the moisture in but a quilt allows it to slowly get out while adding insulation. A simple version is an old pillow as has already been mentioned or several layers of hessian over flywire.
Cheers
Rob. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Quality Top Bar Hives by Andrew Vidler
|
Conserving wild bees
Research suggests that bumble bee boxes have a very low success rate in actually attracting bees into them. We find that if you create an environment where first of all you can attract mice inside, such as a pile of stones, a drystone wall, paving slabs with intentionally made cavities underneath, this will increase the success rate.
Most bumble bee species need a dry space about the size a football, with a narrow entrance tunnel approximately 2cm in diameter and 20 cm long. Most species nest underground along the base of a linear feature such as a hedge or wall. Sites need to be sheltered and out of direct sunlight.
There is a spectacular display of wild bee hotels here
More about bumblebees and solitary bees here
Information about the Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)
|
|
Barefoot Beekeeper Podcast
|
|
|
|
4th Edition paperback now available from Lulu.com
|
site map
php. BB © 2001, 2005 php. BB Group
View topic - Insulating the Roof of a Top Bar Hive. - Natural Beekeeping Network Forum
|
|