Before you rush out and buy the boxes that I use in this video, please be patient and wait for the whole series. There will be one video per week for the next three weeks. The main issue people are going to face in regards to the Bee Barn concept is going to be the building of the frames. They are a challenge even for experienced woodworkers. I am working very hard on a solution to this behind the scenes, hoping to have news for you before the whole series is complete. And remember, these concepts can be applied to any hive boxes. You do not need to invest a ton of money to help your bees!
Too late... I'm just buying 2 to see how much better they react compared to the wood frames. I think with no top vent. There really should be a ton of moisture if the top insulated cover is snug. Thoughts?? Did you pick up them from Betterbee? I only ask because the shipping was ridiculous.
Thank you Jim for the heads up regarding the frames! No places in Canada to even order the Lyson boxes so was going to bite the bullet for shipping to Canada but will wait to see what options you come up with for the extra deep frames. Got out of bees for that very reason, bad box designs for cold weather and was tired of working so hard. Keep up the great work, looking forward to the rest of the series. Cheers!
Jim, this is excellent and I'm so happy you have been able to share your discoveries and creations with us. Thank you for the heads up about holding off and I hope Lyson is ready for some business.
I really hope Lyson Sees this video and makes up a 4" hive based on your spec. Given they produce a PolySty hive it shouldn't be all that difficult to make up some molds if there is enough interest generated by this video. Edit: I forgot to say: thank you for putting together this very detailed explanation on how you set up your Bee Barns. It is very clear from the array of techniques you used that you have iterated on this design many many times. Like you said, all that work you put in up front, even to the point of during the design phase, saves us subsequent headaches and re-builds down the road. Thank you.
I made my own version of the V1 barn doing a detailed image breakdown of your videos, and my own design modifications. One key item I saw in the V1 that was going to be a moisture problem was the top. Instead of starting with actual bee boxes internally that ended up with a seam on top, I made a box that was 1 1/4" shorter than I wanted, then topped it with a deeply bevelled 2x6 frame cut down to the appropriate width and height and notched for the frame ledges. That way water had no chance to enter from the top and the bevel would direct rain/snow away from the seam of the moisture box on top during the winter. I'm really looking forward to watching the bees draw out the extra long frames.
I really want to try this, your instructions are detailed and (seem simple) If you make a kickstarter I would back this on day one! Thank you for sharing your talents
Hi Jim,Jim here. I saw this a couple years ago. I built 2, love them. I'm going to be looking into version 2.0. Also Jim, remember people laughed their behinds off at Henry Ford. Look at the automobile today. Keep up the genius,bee keeping of the future.
I love your instructional videos. Most of all, I love your light-weight hives. I love the idea that we can peek inside w/o disturbing the bees. I have been educating myself & comparing different hives. My daughter & I will be taking classes early next year. We hope to have most of the prep completed & ready to go in the spring. Again, thank you for your time, talent & dedication!
Thanks Jim. We are getting back into beekeeping after a two year hiatus. Just like you, we had issues with hives, they survived the winter but died in the spring. With warm ups in the early spring then 12 inches of snow and freezing temps we continually lost hives. We had seen your efforts with a new hive construction and have been waiting for the results. Again thanks for your contribution to the bee world. Your local neighbors Ed and Suzanne from the Freindly Town.
Thanks for sharing all this! I know it took a lot of time to put this together and your final product looks really well thought out. I look forward to the rest of the videos.
Your attention to detail is really impressive because as they say, that the devil is in the detail, one missed opening and all your work is undone, I have learned so much from this video and I look forward to the others in this series.
Great design. Too bad you used wood for the entrance (tunnel sandwich). Lowes has 1x4 PVC board that could substitute for the wood and remove and chance of swelling/rotting
@@ericmanteuffel6403 Not at all. I have loads of that PVC material laying round from house projects. I wanted to put some wood on there so people wouldn't yell at me for making an entirely plastic hive. Ha ha.
@@vinofarm I understand that, but in this day and age, you can't please everyone. As long as you are happy at the end of the day, that is all that matters. Just ignore the noise that some people on here have left for you. They complain just to complain because of jealousy. Keep up the good work!!
I made one of these hives and attached the foam to the old standard wood hive. I got some corplast sheets cheap and I affixed that over the foam using 3" screws. I screwed up so many times, but it came out ok and it is functional. What I noticed after the first hive, was that sugar ants were going up into the corplasts, so the next hive I built I caulked it. Caulk is my friend! I wish I could post a picture for you to see. My hubby helped with the table saw. 🙂 Thank you for all of your efforts to help fellow beekeepers. Living in upstate NY, near the adirondacks, i get that insulation is good and needed. Why not make their life a little easier? Thanks for your help! I appreciate you and your videos.
I’m going to try this same approach, not having time this fall to build new foam boxes, but I wonder, what did you do for the moisture drainage that he designed into his foam boxes? In the last video he talked about his bottom board design that allowed moisture that ran down the inside walls of the hives to drain out the lower back of the hives where the bottom board access is.
If you have a SawStop table saw, cutting foam generates static electricity and that can be enough to trick the blade into thinking it's hit your hand - and it'll stop. After the mechanism triggers, you'll have to replace the blade & the cartridge. Just FYI edit to add: very impressed with the new bee barn build, looking forward to the rest of this series.
Today was the day I started building my first bee barn. One of my hives starved out in a single deep this winter (with 5 frames of honey left - northern new England), I'm not keen to repeat this issue forever.
I like the new design but I'm gonna stick with the wood on the outside due to the skunks, opossums, and raccoons in my area. I'm sure they would tear the foam to shreds. best part I love is the plexiglass inner cover. I could spend hours watching my girl's do their thing.
Greetings from Holland. I foll0w you for a long time and i like as a beekeeper you are doing. To create a beehive That is as natural for bees. And too work as easy as possible.
I thought Lyson recommended painting all polystyrene surfaces to keep bees from chewing on it. I have their 6 frame NUC for this coming year and I put primer on the inside too. But I love this concept and I’m shocked how well the zip tape painted.
@@vinofarm yeah, that was my one question about making poly hives… I only ever kept bees for a couple of years in a college program that didn’t do well but I have lots of experience with paper wasps. I know bees don’t chew as much as wasps but they can if they want to. I think on a personal level I would prefer a wooden box interior but find a way to waterproof it naturally. Maybe a heavy soak in mineral oil? Or make a spot in the back wall of the hive specifically designed to condense and drain moisture? A metal strip or something…
GREAT …EADYTO FOLLOW Project…. One Q… is there anywhere I can buy the frames.? (I have tools to make the boxes, BUT NOT THE FRAMES. Thank you . (I know the fourth video will cover the frame making topic, but I don’t have the saw tool needed….trying to get the boxes out before I do spring splits.)
this looks so easy to make compared to the original! no great carpentry skill required :) great job on the instructions very clear and well put together!
Not a critique here. Not a judgement. But, I would “cut my junk” if I left a blade out on a clamp on my workbench. I just would… We will work out an alternative solution there…. : )
I really appreciate your sharing. I use a lot of lyson poly hives now as well as some other poly hives and will try a few of your designs abs ideas. I found the bees chew my lyson hives less than some others that have less dense polystyrene. They did chew more entrances under the entrance reducers on mine after about 3 years eventhough it was painted, but it's not really a big issue. I guess that would be solved with the wood face you use on the front. Good idea.
I made a lot of improvements over your original design for my hives, but you just one upped me again with an even better design! At least I still have a better bottom board than you 🤣 you did a great job sir! Thank you for sharing
@sharktripdan This is how I keep water from entering between my boxes. I use what I call the Morse cleat all the way around and 1/2" above the bottom of the boxes. It has a sloped top and the saw kerf drip 1/8" from the bottom edge. For the same purpose I considered doing an offset edge like the Lysons in Jim's video. But i was concerned I wouldn't be able to get a hive tool between the boxes. Of course, Jim doesn't take his boxes apart. I hope to talk about my set up in a future video. Nothing nearly as sophisticated as Jim's!
Amazing build. For your next build so foam in a can wont leave gaps.. which they do.. just drill 2-4 holes from outside and just spray inside.. so when it comes out from other holes it filled all void inside. just cut out the excess and its done.
The insulated Bee Barn concept is very interesting. I have 12 hives now and am at 41 degrees latitude. I am thinking of building a couple of these and running my standard semi-insulated and uninsulated hives. Same location, same mite treatments and see how it goes after a few seasons. Bees seem to survive well in some seasons and other seasons no so much.
Awesome work! Thanks for your effort. I have a small suggestion. When you put your entrance sandwich on you could use the flashing tape instead of the caulk. I figured that is kinda what it was designed for, but I could be missing something. Thanks again for all your work, it is inspiring.
Good tip! Someone else suggested that, too. However, I knew it would all be covered with the layer of foam and then the wood dressing so the caulk was fine. Plus, a bead of caulk is a lot cheaper than zip tape.
Fantastic build, Jim! I have a suggestion for protecting the wood entrance dressing with a product I just discovered that you may want to try. It's a soy-based stain, called Green EZ. I contacted them last week to ask if their stains are good for outdoors and yes they are. Also, a hint for "oops" paint: If you don't like the color, you can get the home center to add tint to get it closer to something more aesthetic. I agree with your philosophy of putting in the investment of time/effort/$ up front, which will save time/effort/$ in the future. Looking forward to the rest of your build.
You are the man, Jim! I have been waiting for this moment. I am totally excited about building a few of these hives! Thanks for your time and effort and videos and providing all the info for free! I can’t wait until the rest of the series comes out. You have a kind and gentle way of explaining things. Keep up the great work.
Working with EIFS we usually use EPS foam but I have used XPS foam. I trick we use when bonding foam to foam is Great Stuff Pro construction Polyurethane Foam Adhesive. It does work with foam but can be used on other materials as well. It may simplify the materials used, however it depends on what a person wants to spend, what materials they are used to working with, what materials they have on hand and if they have environmental concerns. Just a thought, interesting idea of insulating hives. You can stucco the foam or use a direct foam finish such as Flota Craft Smooth Finish to add a flare, just a thought.
All good points. I have been using Great Stuff for foam on foam bonding for a long time. I just learned that wood glue works quite well, too, if you have good contact.
One idea I see you could add. On the awning under the front edge 1/8 in back run a groove 1/8 in deep so that drips do not flow back to the face of the hive. The groove makes the water drip at the front where you want it to. Nice build and thanks for the videos.
@@vinofarm From the looks of it you probably already have the fronts finished. Instead of doing a groove, since that would be a hassle at this point, you can cut, very carefully, a 1/4 inch triangle and glue that to the outer underside edge of the awning to accomplish the same thing without having to take anything apart.
I also believe you have solved the problem, I have been trying different ideals and designs to solve what you have just done you did it..!! Very excited to see the rest of the three videos. I use Aplimaye hives now... but will be doing construction work this spring to them all... converting them to Bee Barn 2.0 style.... keep up the Great job. Leon Bland from Northwest Indiana.
Thank you for your dedication and free information. I will be waiting for the rest of the video series and will be building my first Bee Barns this summer!!
Ha this was a good vedio the hive u covered looks great. I can not aford to buy all new hives for my apairy, the wood boxes are u going to show how u made them when u first got this idea does wrapping the wood boxes work the same no lifting ect thanks looking forward to your next video have a blessed week
Great build video, Jim. I like that you’re providing us with choices in materials and construction to suit varying skills and needs. The way you explain what you are doing rather than providing a rigid, measured drawing is a great way to encourage creativity and innovation in our community. Thank you!
Absolutely brilliant design. They really do look nice once they get painted. But apart from the modern esthetics, the bees will have a wondeful home with less disturbance.
Thank you for this series Jim. I'm a beekeeper over in Berkshire County, and I'm excited to bring about this change to my apiary this spring. Keep the video's and tips coming!
He is correct in the insulation factor .bees in trees have a thicker area surrounding hive.commercial boxs are like surrounding a hive with paper.worthless in winter.build your own .use thicker wood.
Greetings from a newbie bee keeper. I started keeping bees by purchasing two nukes this past spring. I have them each in a 10 frame Langstroth hive. I have built a big barn similar to how you’ve designed it. My question now is how and when do I move my bees from my Old 10 frame Langstroth hive into the new B barn? Your help would be very much appreciated. Thanks Matt
That offset in the lyson box edge is something I've considered in my wooden boxes to stop water from migrating into the hive thru capillary action. However I decided not to because I feel it would keep me from being able to insert a hive to break the boxes apart. Of course you don't break your boxes apart so that isn't a concern.
Once again, Vino, you knock it outta the park for simple yet effective. Upon observation of bee's and where they tend to go (especially in houses) to nest. Watching those expert bee removal guys helps a ton in learning: what do bee's gravitate towards and how they build up their comb from there. They go where it's the most insulated and where water will gravity fall away from their comb home. In walls between joist and attics where the eves meet the outer exterior. This is done with bee's in the far north with extreme winters and the south where the weather is hotter and wetter. They tend to keep their homes as vertical as possible. They draw their comb height wise with some being 5 or more feet in length, networking around the 2 x 4/6's. So the longer comb is an excellent observation... though we have to keep it real for pulling heavy honey laden pieces straight up and down. I think you nail it. Awesome job and the working with how BEE'S do things in conjunction with how humans can keep them is beautifully done. Thank you so much for all your hard work and sharing so freely - for the love of bee's! Smiles and blessings...
Very nice man, I like what you done to your hives, but still you have to figure a way to deal with the extra honey frames in your bottom brood box, if you don't bees will swarm on you, they will build fast and furious and won't have the space in de brood area to expend; next is nucs boxes, check this out, you might like it: ruclips.net/video/bkvzaQx_4u0/видео.html. Dan
Great video as always. I have always been concerned with the bees chewing on poly hives. I use the pink foam for winter insulation and they chew it like crazy. Best of luck to you and I look forward to seeing how these hold up.
Thanks for all of the videos on the Bee Barn hives. I have been looking at Apimaye since I have a friend who keeps bees in some and they do well here in Oklahoma but the frame aspect and the not tearing the brood boxes apart are what make want to put one of your style to work. I like the idea even better. I just have to figure out how to still collect pollen and I think I can using the Apimaye bottom board. By the way, I like how you broke the video up in segments at the bottom. That is awesome. I didn't know you could do that. I use foundationless frames but I run all mediums and usually the queen lays in two boxes, no problem. I wonder if running wire straight across through the holes would be good enough to keep the comb strong enough to pull out and examine wihtout causing a problem. Another thought was that I sometimes do bee removals. I'm trying to get away from it but that would be something else I would have to think about. I may just go with two deeps and make the frames for those since I already have those frames and they are trimmed down to 7/8" to match the brood comb I find in structures which means I can fit 11 frames in a 10 frame box but I like what you've done with the slider board. I use a v wedge to keep them building comb straight. I built quilt boxes that I put a round feeder in so I can feed them anytime it's needed and I should be able to adapt what you've done to all of that.
The reason I did not use Apimaye is that their hives are filled with holes and they really lean into the ventilation. I am doing the opposite of that, sealing everything tight. Different concept. Also, I am not at all interested in collecting pollen from the bees as I think whatever they collect should stay with them. SO I didn't leave any space for pollen traps. I'm not saying you shouldn't use them... you'll just need to re-engineer some things.
@@vinofarm I didn't know that about Apimaye or I don't remember knowing about it. I sent your videos to my friend but I don't know if he's seen them or not. We'll have a discussion over this I'm sure but if nothing else I think he'll at least be interested in the frames. It reminds me of the Rose Hive method and what he was trying to accomplish.
a little idea now that you have a plexiglass window on the inside: a little webcam with led light so you can watch your bees in real time without opening bee hive? Also using temporary application silicone to seal all cracks for winter? Like the top and middle parts?
Love you video, I’m interested to see or heard you thoughts on adding a hive flow on top of you hive barn system. And is there a website that has your custom XL internal frames with or without guide comb?
Too bad I didn't see these videos before I bought my first brood box a few months ago however you have inspired me to do better for the bees I want to keep thank you looking forward for the next video
One minor tip: When cutting the foam with the knife, don't cut into the "T" on the Tsquare, dulling your knife. Put the "T" at the top of the board and draw the knife into the open end. Of course, be careful not to draw the knife into your leg!
Thanks for finally doing this. I’ve been wanting to follow your build design and test it in my area. Have you ever thought about top bar hives? I’d be interested in how you approach space management and winterization.
Top bar hives are kind of the antithesis of bee barns. Not my bag... but there are certainly things you could add to your top bar hive to help the bees with insulation and temperature management.
Jim, I saw your last video of the improved bee barn. In it, you talked about making the entire hive out of styro foam. I do see one issue with that. bees have been known to chew on Styro foam, It might be a good idea to use something on the inside that the bees won't chew. All other aspects it seems like a great idea.
Awesome video. I built 2 bee barns like your first version. It was your common sense approach that got me. I've only had my bees since last spring. In the 1.0 barn and they built up so fast. I can't thank you enough for all of your videos. Saratoga N.Y.
PM loves to criticize others in his videos but has comments off. It's hard to take such people seriously. Jim is a wonderful contrast. I applaud him not only for his efforts at better beekeeping, but his courage and integrity for doing so publicly.
@@timothyodonnell8591 I can afford to have courage and integrity because of all the corporate sponsorships and brand deals I have! The Bee Barn industry is really lining my pockets.
Hi! Awesome videos on your bees, youre part of the reason we decided to start beekeeping! Im just curious on how this (and the resulting Spring Brood Boom) affected the Varroa issues! Varroa is pretty much the biggest problem bees face where im from, interested to hear if this insulation helps the bees keep the varroa in check. Since the mites are affected by temperature, and a strong bee population is usually less affected and more dilligent in cleaning. Would love to hear from you!
I don't have head to head data from an un-insulated hive in my own bee yard, but I will tell you that last spring, most of my colonies had 0-1 mite counts (per 300 bees) when I tested with alcohol washes. I treat with Apivar in the fall only. Colonies are really huge in spring. Build up was rapid and I had swarms. I'm trying to mitigate that this spring with larger brood boxes.
Thank you for the awesome videosa and sharing you great idea. I am just getting into beekeeping and have to beecastles that are yet to be put together. I think would like to start off with the bee barn design. I am preparing over the winter for bees in the spring. Do you think modifying a Lyson bottom board to fit the bee castle wood hives would work and avoid the condensation issue when building the bee barn?
I like the fact that you are thinking outside the box. Successes and Failures are important to all progress. I appreciate you sharing. Best of luck on your bee season.
This bee barn build is amazing. Thank you for the careful thought you have put into this. I have been sitting in my workshop trying to figure out how to insulate my hives year round. I’m a first time beekeeping and live in New-Brunswick, Canada and unfortunately I lost my hive this year to the cold. Will you be offering detailed plans that one could purchase or acquire? Again, this is an awesome series. I will be build 3-4 of these in February.
Thanks. This video is as detailed as you're going to get from me! There are no "plans" because it's more of a concept. Everyone is starting with different hives and materials and needs and this video is a close up look at what I did to get you started.
Great to have you back Jim.... been following since your early days and have always enjoyed your content. It may have been asked, but I'm curious about your entrance especially during the winter. Having a single entrance and keeping the snow from blocking the entrance is an easy one, but I was more curious about cleaning out the dead bees during the winter given the size opening you're going with. Of course it varies from year to year, but some times I'm pulling out alot of dead bees that would otherwise be blocking that single entrance. Going with that 8" entrance, any insight as to clearing out the dead ones since you'll have a tougher time getting something in there to clear them out?
Thanks so much for these videos, we really appreciate your time and effort. Know it takes a tremendous amount of time to do this and you are a busy man. Thanks again!!!
Have been anxiously awaiting these videos. You were my inspiration to take the leap into bees, and I had them for a couple of years, but I’ve been bee-less since mine died in winter of 2020 and life got in the way. I am planning to get more bees this year. Trying to decide whether to convert existing wooden langstroth equipment or bite the bullet and get foam hives for the brood boxes, and just use the existing boxes for supers…. Totally doable either way. Love the concept - mimic nature and let the bees do what they would do naturally Can hardly wait for parts 2-4 - then more bees!!! ❤❤
I live in Oklahoma and I’m planning on starting 3 hive spring of 2025 was wondering if I should go with a thinner insulation board or the same. Winters run between 36/20 degrees and summer 95/107. What do think?
Thank you for putting this series together. Great to see how you put the box/insulation together. I actually built 8 of v1.0 a year ago from the bits and pieces of pics and videos you shared. So far, all the hives are surviving our winter here in N. Central Washington at 4000ft. I have a question regarding the beveled top on the side insulation. At the 36-minute part you are showing trimming the zip tape and corners of the insulation to match the bevel, and I noticed your 20-degree bevel is not the full width of the top, but that you have a flat next to the hive body. How wide is that flat? Looking forward to the rest of the series as I need to build more hives for this coming year and may go this route. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
That is a very specific question! The answer is, about 3/4" or so. I didn't want to remove all the insulation up top there, but I did want a bevel to meet up with the negative bevel on the underside of the winter lid. It also looks kinda cool.
Before you rush out and buy the boxes that I use in this video, please be patient and wait for the whole series. There will be one video per week for the next three weeks. The main issue people are going to face in regards to the Bee Barn concept is going to be the building of the frames. They are a challenge even for experienced woodworkers. I am working very hard on a solution to this behind the scenes, hoping to have news for you before the whole series is complete. And remember, these concepts can be applied to any hive boxes. You do not need to invest a ton of money to help your bees!
Too late... I'm just buying 2 to see how much better they react compared to the wood frames. I think with no top vent. There really should be a ton of moisture if the top insulated cover is snug. Thoughts?? Did you pick up them from Betterbee? I only ask because the shipping was ridiculous.
@@logandstone3348 Yes, betterbee. No, I had them shipped. Shipping is ridiculous for everything right now.
Thank you Jim for the heads up regarding the frames! No places in Canada to even order the Lyson boxes so was going to bite the bullet for shipping to Canada but will wait to see what options you come up with for the extra deep frames. Got out of bees for that very reason, bad box designs for cold weather and was tired of working so hard. Keep up the great work, looking forward to the rest of the series. Cheers!
Jim, this is excellent and I'm so happy you have been able to share your discoveries and creations with us. Thank you for the heads up about holding off and I hope Lyson is ready for some business.
Thanks for making light of a heavy hive situation!
You are a genius. Don't question that. Thanks so much.
I really hope Lyson Sees this video and makes up a 4" hive based on your spec. Given they produce a PolySty hive it shouldn't be all that difficult to make up some molds if there is enough interest generated by this video.
Edit: I forgot to say: thank you for putting together this very detailed explanation on how you set up your Bee Barns. It is very clear from the array of techniques you used that you have iterated on this design many many times. Like you said, all that work you put in up front, even to the point of during the design phase, saves us subsequent headaches and re-builds down the road. Thank you.
I made my own version of the V1 barn doing a detailed image breakdown of your videos, and my own design modifications. One key item I saw in the V1 that was going to be a moisture problem was the top. Instead of starting with actual bee boxes internally that ended up with a seam on top, I made a box that was 1 1/4" shorter than I wanted, then topped it with a deeply bevelled 2x6 frame cut down to the appropriate width and height and notched for the frame ledges. That way water had no chance to enter from the top and the bevel would direct rain/snow away from the seam of the moisture box on top during the winter. I'm really looking forward to watching the bees draw out the extra long frames.
Great stuff thank you.
I really want to try this, your instructions are detailed and (seem simple) If you make a kickstarter I would back this on day one! Thank you for sharing your talents
Hi Jim,Jim here. I saw this a couple years ago. I built 2, love them. I'm going to be looking into version 2.0. Also Jim, remember people laughed their behinds off at Henry Ford. Look at the automobile today. Keep up the genius,bee keeping of the future.
I love your instructional videos. Most of all, I love your light-weight hives. I love the idea that we can peek inside w/o disturbing the bees. I have been educating myself & comparing different hives. My daughter & I will be taking classes early next year. We hope to have most of the prep completed & ready to go in the spring. Again, thank you for your time, talent & dedication!
Great videos! You're an excellent teacher 🙂
Thanks Jim. We are getting back into beekeeping after a two year hiatus. Just like you, we had issues with hives, they survived the winter but died in the spring. With warm ups in the early spring then 12 inches of snow and freezing temps we continually lost hives. We had seen your efforts with a new hive construction and have been waiting for the results. Again thanks for your contribution to the bee world. Your local neighbors Ed and Suzanne from the Freindly Town.
You’re a genius, Jim. Thank you for all you do.
I love using my band saw and even though it takes up a ton of space I refuse to get rid of it :) Nice build Jim :) --- Hit the thumbs up everyone !!
Thanks for sharing all this! I know it took a lot of time to put this together and your final product looks really well thought out. I look forward to the rest of the videos.
I am so excited to give this a shot in the spring! Thanks for your ingenuity!
Truly enjoy watching and learning all the way from sourdough to barns, bees 🐝 and beehives. Keep up the great work.
Thank you.
Your attention to detail is really impressive because as they say, that the devil is in the detail, one missed opening and all your work is undone, I have learned so much from this video and I look forward to the others in this series.
Beautiful work sir, very inspiring thank you.
I love the way you celebrate your mistakes because it leads to another good idea. Your a creator.
Great design. Too bad you used wood for the entrance (tunnel sandwich). Lowes has 1x4 PVC board that could substitute for the wood and remove and chance of swelling/rotting
That wood is Alaskan Yellow cedar from Bee Barn 1.0. It's not going to rot!
@@vinofarm I am sorry if I came across as criticizing your design. That wasn't the intention.
@@ericmanteuffel6403 Not at all. I have loads of that PVC material laying round from house projects. I wanted to put some wood on there so people wouldn't yell at me for making an entirely plastic hive. Ha ha.
@@vinofarm I understand that, but in this day and age, you can't please everyone. As long as you are happy at the end of the day, that is all that matters. Just ignore the noise that some people on here have left for you. They complain just to complain because of jealousy.
Keep up the good work!!
I made one of these hives and attached the foam to the old standard wood hive. I got some corplast sheets cheap and I affixed that over the foam using 3" screws. I screwed up so many times, but it came out ok and it is functional. What I noticed after the first hive, was that sugar ants were going up into the corplasts, so the next hive I built I caulked it. Caulk is my friend! I wish I could post a picture for you to see. My hubby helped with the table saw. 🙂 Thank you for all of your efforts to help fellow beekeepers. Living in upstate NY, near the adirondacks, i get that insulation is good and needed. Why not make their life a little easier? Thanks for your help! I appreciate you and your videos.
I’m going to try this same approach, not having time this fall to build new foam boxes, but I wonder, what did you do for the moisture drainage that he designed into his foam boxes? In the last video he talked about his bottom board design that allowed moisture that ran down the inside walls of the hives to drain out the lower back of the hives where the bottom board access is.
I'm getting my hives tomorrow and will be building these I'm so excited to start working on these!!!!
Veeeery nice work Sir! thanks a lot for all the hard work and for sharing !!
I love what You're doing, your dedication to the Bee's will help make Bee Farming a lot Easier.
Thank you.
Waited and watched the series on the BB 2.0. I dig it. I used the 10 FR box, this thing is a beast. Great idea, thanks for sharing.
I truly respect the fact that you share your knowledge gained so honestly and free for us to use. Thank you.
If you have a SawStop table saw, cutting foam generates static electricity and that can be enough to trick the blade into thinking it's hit your hand - and it'll stop. After the mechanism triggers, you'll have to replace the blade & the cartridge. Just FYI
edit to add: very impressed with the new bee barn build, looking forward to the rest of this series.
Good tip. I do not own a sawstop!
Today was the day I started building my first bee barn. One of my hives starved out in a single deep this winter (with 5 frames of honey left - northern new England), I'm not keen to repeat this issue forever.
I like the new design but I'm gonna stick with the wood on the outside due to the skunks, opossums, and raccoons in my area. I'm sure they would tear the foam to shreds. best part I love is the plexiglass inner cover. I could spend hours watching my girl's do their thing.
Just made a hive modeled after your hive ideas. Looking forward to seeing the results. I am encouraged by this. It makes sense. Thanks for sharing 👍
Not able to have bees where I am right now but, I love the channel. So I am watching purely purely to give you my view.
Greetings from Holland. I foll0w you for a long time and i like as a beekeeper you are doing. To create a beehive That is as natural for bees. And too work as easy as possible.
Thank you very much!
I thought Lyson recommended painting all polystyrene surfaces to keep bees from chewing on it. I have their 6 frame NUC for this coming year and I put primer on the inside too. But I love this concept and I’m shocked how well the zip tape painted.
I would never paint the inside of a hive. But that's me.
What kind of paint did they recommend?
@@vinofarm yeah, that was my one question about making poly hives… I only ever kept bees for a couple of years in a college program that didn’t do well but I have lots of experience with paper wasps. I know bees don’t chew as much as wasps but they can if they want to. I think on a personal level I would prefer a wooden box interior but find a way to waterproof it naturally. Maybe a heavy soak in mineral oil? Or make a spot in the back wall of the hive specifically designed to condense and drain moisture? A metal strip or something…
GREAT …EADYTO FOLLOW Project…. One Q… is there anywhere I can buy the frames.? (I have tools to make the boxes, BUT NOT THE FRAMES. Thank you .
(I know the fourth video will cover the frame making topic, but I don’t have the saw tool needed….trying to get the boxes out before I do spring splits.)
@@johnkese8953 I'm working on it. They are not for sale anywhere right now. It's going to take some patience.
You’re so awesome!!! I love your craftsmanship!
Thank you Vino 👍🤠
this looks so easy to make compared to the original! no great carpentry skill required :) great job on the instructions very clear and well put together!
Thank you very much!
Not a critique here.
Not a judgement.
But,
I would “cut my junk” if I left a blade out on a clamp on my workbench. I just would… We will work out an alternative solution there…. : )
Yeah, that move is not OSHA approved.
I really appreciate your sharing. I use a lot of lyson poly hives now as well as some other poly hives and will try a few of your designs abs ideas. I found the bees chew my lyson hives less than some others that have less dense polystyrene. They did chew more entrances under the entrance reducers on mine after about 3 years eventhough it was painted, but it's not really a big issue. I guess that would be solved with the wood face you use on the front. Good idea.
You are right about the heat loss at the thinner locations.
I made a lot of improvements over your original design for my hives, but you just one upped me again with an even better design! At least I still have a better bottom board than you 🤣 you did a great job sir! Thank you for sharing
Thank you!
Thank you for taking time to experiment and share with us.
Run a saw kerf about 1/4 from the front of the awning, it breaks the surface tension so if water tries to wick over the edge it will drip off.
Good idea!
@@vinofarm thanks for the reply, it's a thing I saw for window wooden sills. search drip kerf for pictures, etc.
@@sharktripdan Oh, yeah, I know what they are, but I forgot to add one and in this scenario, it’s not all that critical. But I’m glad you reminded me.
@sharktripdan This is how I keep water from entering between my boxes. I use what I call the Morse cleat all the way around and 1/2" above the bottom of the boxes. It has a sloped top and the saw kerf drip 1/8" from the bottom edge. For the same purpose I considered doing an offset edge like the Lysons in Jim's video. But i was concerned I wouldn't be able to get a hive tool between the boxes. Of course, Jim doesn't take his boxes apart. I hope to talk about my set up in a future video. Nothing nearly as sophisticated as Jim's!
You guys talk all knowledge but are buying new stock every year and not teaching even the basics to be sustainable. With your heads held hi?
Great video. Very clear instructions for the construction of the hive.
Thank you.
Thank you for your dedication, time, integrity and love of bees.
Amazing build. For your next build so foam in a can wont leave gaps.. which they do.. just drill 2-4 holes from outside and just spray inside.. so when it comes out from other holes it filled all void inside. just cut out the excess and its done.
Thanks!!
Can’t wait for part two!!
The insulated Bee Barn concept is very interesting. I have 12 hives now and am at 41 degrees latitude. I am thinking of building a couple of these and running my standard semi-insulated and uninsulated hives. Same location, same mite treatments and see how it goes after a few seasons. Bees seem to survive well in some seasons and other seasons no so much.
Nice boxes, great video, excellent timing. Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
All I want to say is a most sincere Thank You. Your efforts are very much appreciated.
I appreciate that!
Awesome work! Thanks for your effort. I have a small suggestion. When you put your entrance sandwich on you could use the flashing tape instead of the caulk. I figured that is kinda what it was designed for, but I could be missing something. Thanks again for all your work, it is inspiring.
Good tip! Someone else suggested that, too. However, I knew it would all be covered with the layer of foam and then the wood dressing so the caulk was fine. Plus, a bead of caulk is a lot cheaper than zip tape.
Fantastic build, Jim!
I have a suggestion for protecting the wood entrance dressing with a product I just discovered that you may want to try. It's a soy-based stain, called Green EZ. I contacted them last week to ask if their stains are good for outdoors and yes they are.
Also, a hint for "oops" paint: If you don't like the color, you can get the home center to add tint to get it closer to something more aesthetic.
I agree with your philosophy of putting in the investment of time/effort/$ up front, which will save time/effort/$ in the future. Looking forward to the rest of your build.
You are the man, Jim! I have been waiting for this moment. I am totally excited about building a few of these hives! Thanks for your time and effort and videos and providing all the info for free! I can’t wait until the rest of the series comes out. You have a kind and gentle way of explaining things. Keep up the great work.
for the foam cutting i would suggest using a heat wire. Super easy to make and WAY WAY safer than saw and 100 times easier than a knife.
Next video series...how to build a heat wire.
Working with EIFS we usually use EPS foam but I have used XPS foam. I trick we use when bonding foam to foam is Great Stuff Pro construction Polyurethane Foam Adhesive. It does work with foam but can be used on other materials as well. It may simplify the materials used, however it depends on what a person wants to spend, what materials they are used to working with, what materials they have on hand and if they have environmental concerns. Just a thought, interesting idea of insulating hives. You can stucco the foam or use a direct foam finish such as Flota Craft Smooth Finish to add a flare, just a thought.
All good points. I have been using Great Stuff for foam on foam bonding for a long time. I just learned that wood glue works quite well, too, if you have good contact.
Thank you for your experience. I am a future BeeKeeper.
One idea I see you could add. On the awning under the front edge 1/8 in back run a groove 1/8 in deep so that drips do not flow back to the face of the hive. The groove makes the water drip at the front where you want it to. Nice build and thanks for the videos.
Cool idea
@@vinofarm From the looks of it you probably already have the fronts finished. Instead of doing a groove, since that would be a hassle at this point, you can cut, very carefully, a 1/4 inch triangle and glue that to the outer underside edge of the awning to accomplish the same thing without having to take anything apart.
@@michaelically7893 The dripping hasn’t really been an issue as far as I can tell. I’ll keep it in mind if I do this again. Thanks.
Bees are living better than some of us. Nice bee barn! 🙂
It will be interesting to see how the bees do or don't propolise the not-wood hive
I also believe you have solved the problem, I have been trying different ideals and designs to solve what you have just done you did it..!! Very excited to see the rest of the three videos. I use Aplimaye hives now... but will be doing construction work this spring to them all... converting them to Bee Barn 2.0 style.... keep up the Great job.
Leon Bland from Northwest Indiana.
First thing to do with Apimaye is seal all the vents. Those hives are like insulated houses with the upstairs windows wide open.
I used a track saw to cut my foam. That made it really quick and easy without the element of danger from the table saw 15:58
I had a run in with my table saw thankfully nothing serious. I bought myself a track saw and it was one of the best tools I ever bought.
Thank you for your dedication and free information. I will be waiting for the rest of the video series and will be building my first Bee Barns this summer!!
You are welcome!
very well done video. thank you for that I am going to get started on my own
Ha this was a good vedio the hive u covered looks great. I can not aford to buy all new hives for my apairy, the wood boxes are u going to show how u made them when u first got this idea does wrapping the wood boxes work the same no lifting ect thanks looking forward to your next video have a blessed week
Great build video, Jim. I like that you’re providing us with choices in materials and construction to suit varying skills and needs. The way you explain what you are doing rather than providing a rigid, measured drawing is a great way to encourage creativity and innovation in our community. Thank you!
No matter what I did, people are going to improvise, so I tried keeping it more vague in places so people would use their brains!
Absolutely brilliant design.
They really do look nice once they get painted.
But apart from the modern esthetics, the bees will have a wondeful home with less disturbance.
Thank you for this series Jim. I'm a beekeeper over in Berkshire County, and I'm excited to bring about this change to my apiary this spring. Keep the video's and tips coming!
He is correct in the insulation factor .bees in trees have a thicker area surrounding hive.commercial boxs are like surrounding a hive with paper.worthless in winter.build your own .use thicker wood.
Greetings from a newbie bee keeper. I started keeping bees by purchasing two nukes this past spring. I have them each in a 10 frame Langstroth hive. I have built a big barn similar to how you’ve designed it. My question now is how and when do I move my bees from my Old 10 frame Langstroth hive into the new B barn? Your help would be very much appreciated. Thanks Matt
That offset in the lyson box edge is something I've considered in my wooden boxes to stop water from migrating into the hive thru capillary action. However I decided not to because I feel it would keep me from being able to insert a hive to break the boxes apart. Of course you don't break your boxes apart so that isn't a concern.
Once again, Vino, you knock it outta the park for simple yet effective. Upon observation of bee's and where they tend to go (especially in houses) to nest. Watching those expert bee removal guys helps a ton in learning: what do bee's gravitate towards and how they build up their comb from there. They go where it's the most insulated and where water will gravity fall away from their comb home. In walls between joist and attics where the eves meet the outer exterior. This is done with bee's in the far north with extreme winters and the south where the weather is hotter and wetter. They tend to keep their homes as vertical as possible. They draw their comb height wise with some being 5 or more feet in length, networking around the 2 x 4/6's. So the longer comb is an excellent observation... though we have to keep it real for pulling heavy honey laden pieces straight up and down. I think you nail it. Awesome job and the working with how BEE'S do things in conjunction with how humans can keep them is beautifully done. Thank you so much for all your hard work and sharing so freely - for the love of bee's! Smiles and blessings...
Yes, yes, yes!
Very nice man, I like what you done to your hives, but still you have to figure a way to deal with the extra honey frames in your bottom brood box, if you don't bees will swarm on you, they will build fast and furious and won't have the space in de brood area to expend; next is nucs boxes, check this out, you might like it: ruclips.net/video/bkvzaQx_4u0/видео.html. Dan
Great video as always. I have always been concerned with the bees chewing on poly hives. I use the pink foam for winter insulation and they chew it like crazy. Best of luck to you and I look forward to seeing how these hold up.
There is no place where the bees are in contact with the outer wrapping. I don’t see why they would go out of their way to chew it, but we will see!
Thanks for all of the videos on the Bee Barn hives. I have been looking at Apimaye since I have a friend who keeps bees in some and they do well here in Oklahoma but the frame aspect and the not tearing the brood boxes apart are what make want to put one of your style to work. I like the idea even better. I just have to figure out how to still collect pollen and I think I can using the Apimaye bottom board.
By the way, I like how you broke the video up in segments at the bottom. That is awesome. I didn't know you could do that.
I use foundationless frames but I run all mediums and usually the queen lays in two boxes, no problem. I wonder if running wire straight across through the holes would be good enough to keep the comb strong enough to pull out and examine wihtout causing a problem.
Another thought was that I sometimes do bee removals. I'm trying to get away from it but that would be something else I would have to think about. I may just go with two deeps and make the frames for those since I already have those frames and they are trimmed down to 7/8" to match the brood comb I find in structures which means I can fit 11 frames in a 10 frame box but I like what you've done with the slider board. I use a v wedge to keep them building comb straight.
I built quilt boxes that I put a round feeder in so I can feed them anytime it's needed and I should be able to adapt what you've done to all of that.
The reason I did not use Apimaye is that their hives are filled with holes and they really lean into the ventilation. I am doing the opposite of that, sealing everything tight. Different concept. Also, I am not at all interested in collecting pollen from the bees as I think whatever they collect should stay with them. SO I didn't leave any space for pollen traps. I'm not saying you shouldn't use them... you'll just need to re-engineer some things.
@@vinofarm I didn't know that about Apimaye or I don't remember knowing about it. I sent your videos to my friend but I don't know if he's seen them or not. We'll have a discussion over this I'm sure but if nothing else I think he'll at least be interested in the frames. It reminds me of the Rose Hive method and what he was trying to accomplish.
a little idea now that you have a plexiglass window on the inside: a little webcam with led light so you can watch your bees in real time without opening bee hive? Also using temporary application silicone to seal all cracks for winter? Like the top and middle parts?
Take these ideas and run with them! Do whatever you like. As I modify my design, I'll share the changes here. This is still only V2.0!
Love you video, I’m interested to see or heard you thoughts on adding a hive flow on top of you hive barn system. And is there a website that has your custom XL internal frames with or without guide comb?
Keep doing what you are doing...
Too bad I didn't see these videos before I bought my first brood box a few months ago however you have inspired me to do better for the bees I want to keep thank you looking forward for the next video
That was informative but still entertaining; not an easy feat with a how-to. You did a great job!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the video.
Great idea! Thanks for this gift of technology.
One minor tip: When cutting the foam with the knife, don't cut into the "T" on the Tsquare, dulling your knife. Put the "T" at the top of the board and draw the knife into the open end. Of course, be careful not to draw the knife into your leg!
Thanks for finally doing this. I’ve been wanting to follow your build design and test it in my area.
Have you ever thought about top bar hives? I’d be interested in how you approach space management and winterization.
Top bar hives are kind of the antithesis of bee barns. Not my bag... but there are certainly things you could add to your top bar hive to help the bees with insulation and temperature management.
Jim, I saw your last video of the improved bee barn. In it, you talked about making the entire hive out of styro foam. I do see one issue with that. bees have been known to chew on Styro foam, It might be a good idea to use something on the inside that the bees won't chew. All other aspects it seems like a great idea.
Watch the video... the inner hive where the bees live is not "styrofoam." It is a very dense polystyrene hive made for bees.
Awesome video. I built 2 bee barns like your first version. It was your common sense approach that got me. I've only had my bees since last spring. In the 1.0 barn and they built up so fast. I can't thank you enough for all of your videos. Saratoga N.Y.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for us. And this video answered my question about bees chewing thank you ❤
Oh my. Peaceful mind has gone off the rails.... well done lol
#toxicchemicals
PM loves to criticize others in his videos but has comments off. It's hard to take such people seriously. Jim is a wonderful contrast. I applaud him not only for his efforts at better beekeeping, but his courage and integrity for doing so publicly.
@@timothyodonnell8591 I can afford to have courage and integrity because of all the corporate sponsorships and brand deals I have! The Bee Barn industry is really lining my pockets.
@Vino Farm Ahhh, yes. . . there's nothing like that filthy beekeeping sponsorship lucre to make you rich beyond your dreams.
@@vinofarm lol. ... but I have to question why I follow that Muppet
Hi!
Awesome videos on your bees, youre part of the reason we decided to start beekeeping!
Im just curious on how this (and the resulting Spring Brood Boom) affected the Varroa issues!
Varroa is pretty much the biggest problem bees face where im from, interested to hear if this insulation helps the bees keep the varroa in check. Since the mites are affected by temperature, and a strong bee population is usually less affected and more dilligent in cleaning.
Would love to hear from you!
I don't have head to head data from an un-insulated hive in my own bee yard, but I will tell you that last spring, most of my colonies had 0-1 mite counts (per 300 bees) when I tested with alcohol washes. I treat with Apivar in the fall only. Colonies are really huge in spring. Build up was rapid and I had swarms. I'm trying to mitigate that this spring with larger brood boxes.
Patiently waiting for the day you decide to sell this honey
I’ve loved following your journey these past couple of years
Thank you for the awesome videosa and sharing you great idea. I am just getting into beekeeping and have to beecastles that are yet to be put together. I think would like to start off with the bee barn design. I am preparing over the winter for bees in the spring. Do you think modifying a Lyson bottom board to fit the bee castle wood hives would work and avoid the condensation issue when building the bee barn?
I like the fact that you are thinking outside the box. Successes and Failures are important to all progress. I appreciate you sharing. Best of luck on your bee season.
This bee barn build is amazing. Thank you for the careful thought you have put into this. I have been sitting in my workshop trying to figure out how to insulate my hives year round. I’m a first time beekeeping and live in New-Brunswick, Canada and unfortunately I lost my hive this year to the cold. Will you be offering detailed plans that one could purchase or acquire? Again, this is an awesome series. I will be build 3-4 of these in February.
Thanks. This video is as detailed as you're going to get from me! There are no "plans" because it's more of a concept. Everyone is starting with different hives and materials and needs and this video is a close up look at what I did to get you started.
@@vinofarm that’s completely understandable and the video is very self explanatory. I’ve already ordered new hives 😀
Welcome back! What would you do for California? I would also like to know how can we buy from you? Thank you
Do you see any benefit or need to go with 4" thick foam on a wood box build? I live in northern lower Michigan.
Great to have you back Jim.... been following since your early days and have always enjoyed your content. It may have been asked, but I'm curious about your entrance especially during the winter. Having a single entrance and keeping the snow from blocking the entrance is an easy one, but I was more curious about cleaning out the dead bees during the winter given the size opening you're going with. Of course it varies from year to year, but some times I'm pulling out alot of dead bees that would otherwise be blocking that single entrance. Going with that 8" entrance, any insight as to clearing out the dead ones since you'll have a tougher time getting something in there to clear them out?
Simply awesome, thank you!
Thanks so much for these videos, we really appreciate your time and effort. Know it takes a tremendous amount of time to do this and you are a busy man. Thanks again!!!
this 100%
Have been anxiously awaiting these videos.
You were my inspiration to take the leap into bees, and I had them for a couple of years, but I’ve been bee-less since mine died in winter of 2020 and life got in the way. I am planning to get more bees this year. Trying to decide whether to convert existing wooden langstroth equipment or bite the bullet and get foam hives for the brood boxes, and just use the existing boxes for supers…. Totally doable either way.
Love the concept - mimic nature and let the bees do what they would do naturally
Can hardly wait for parts 2-4 - then more bees!!!
❤❤
I live in Oklahoma and I’m planning on starting 3 hive spring of 2025 was wondering if I should go with a thinner insulation board or the same. Winters run between 36/20 degrees and summer 95/107. What do think?
I believe you cannot OVER insulate a bee hive.
What is the interior volume for your bee barns? Can you use 2 deeps rather than a deep and a medium?
You can use whatever you want. This is a starting point. I like deep+medium.
Thank you for putting this series together. Great to see how you put the box/insulation together. I actually built 8 of v1.0 a year ago from the bits and pieces of pics and videos you shared. So far, all the hives are surviving our winter here in N. Central Washington at 4000ft.
I have a question regarding the beveled top on the side insulation. At the 36-minute part you are showing trimming the zip tape and corners of the insulation to match the bevel, and I noticed your 20-degree bevel is not the full width of the top, but that you have a flat next to the hive body. How wide is that flat?
Looking forward to the rest of the series as I need to build more hives for this coming year and may go this route.
Thanks again and keep up the good work.
That is a very specific question! The answer is, about 3/4" or so. I didn't want to remove all the insulation up top there, but I did want a bevel to meet up with the negative bevel on the underside of the winter lid. It also looks kinda cool.