In this section of the Warre Hive Construction Guide we will build the hive box. It forms the living space where the honeybees create their beeswax home. The Warre hive box is fairly easy to build with regular woodworking tools. Let’s begin!
Step 1: Prepare the Parts
To build a Warre hive box we will need to cut the following wood pieces:
- 2 long sides measuring 34cm long by 21cm wide (13 3/8″ long by 8 1/4″ wide)
- 2 short sides measuring 30cm long by 21cm wide (11 13/16″ long by 8 1/4″ wide)
- 8 topbars measuring 32cm long by 2.4cm wide by 1cm thick (12 5/8″ long by 15/16″ wide by 3/8″ thick)
You will also need:
- Nails or screws
- Shorter nails or screws to attach the handles
- Even shorter nails to attach the top bars. Very small nails or pins work best, so you can remove the top bars easily during harvest time.
Top bars are an integral part of the Warre Hive Box. Each hive box needs its own set of top bars. You will need to cut rebates into two sides of the hive box to support the top bars. You can cut the rebates with a router, or you can use a table saw. Following are the instructions for a table saw. Set up your saw so that the fence is 1cm away from the blade.
Set the blade to a depth of 1cm. Take one of the short sides measuring 30cm long by 21cm wide (11 13/16″ long by 8 1/4″ wide) and run it through the saw lengthwise.
Please note that I have removed the table saw protective guard for demonstration purposes. Please do not use your table saw without proper safety precautions. Refer to the information provided by your table saw manufacturer. Thanks!
You should now have a board with a slot cut into it, as shown in the picture below.
Now take the board and stand it upright. Place the previous cut towards the fence and run the board through the table saw.
You should now have a nice rebate cut into the long side of the board. Repeat this process for the other short board measuring 30cm long by 21cm wide (11 13/16″ long by 8 1/4″ wide).
Congratulations on preparing all the hive box parts! Go on to the next page where we will build the hive box.
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30 responses so far ↓
Yassin // November 26, 2008 at 2:36 am |
Great information, thanks
Nick // November 26, 2008 at 9:05 am |
Yassin – Glad that you found it helpful!
john // January 27, 2009 at 7:57 am |
Thanks for your effort here, what a great site. Just looking at the top bars and that you have them fastened. Why is that? It seems like this is the first time i’ve seen it.
Nick // January 27, 2009 at 10:59 am |
john – Thanks for your compliment! I attach my top bars with small pins just to keep them in place. The pins are very small, so it is easy to remove the top bars. You could just lay the bars in the hive box if you want…it would work just as well!
aco // March 14, 2009 at 10:35 pm |
kolika je udaljenost od jednog do drugog topbara (Croatian)
What is the distance from one to the other top bars (English)
Nick // March 28, 2009 at 11:34 am |
aco – It is about 12mm between each top bar.
I hope this translates correctly: Prostoru između vrha prečke je 12mm
Podinsmen // March 20, 2009 at 10:26 pm |
I want to relate a question to you that your type of bee hive will it be suitable to our State (Shillong, Meghalaya,India, Shillong-793003). Our Meghalaya state is a subtropical climate zone.
Nick // March 28, 2009 at 11:06 am |
Podinsmen – I think it might be a good hive for you. There are many top bar hives in Africa along the same climate zone as yours. You could definitely give the Warre hive a try and see how it works for you!
deutschin // March 26, 2009 at 7:29 am |
how many maximum boxes are practically allowed
Nick // March 28, 2009 at 10:50 am |
deutschin – As many as 6 or 7 hive boxes if you have a large enough hive. Usually, the average Warre hive size is around 4-5 hive boxes.
Deborah // March 26, 2009 at 10:36 pm |
Warre’s Beekeeping for All book talks about painting a strip of wax as a starter on the top bar so the bees have it to make the comb. Have you found this to be unnecessary? Or did I miss something? Obviously it would be so much easier to skip this step.
Nick // March 28, 2009 at 10:49 am |
Deborah – I have found this to be an unnecessary step. Other Warre beekeepers like to lay a strip of starter wax, and some have reported that the bees like to use it. Others have reported that their bees chewed the wax down to the bare wood and started their own wax. I think that you can skip this step if you want to.
Logan MacGregor // May 11, 2009 at 5:58 pm |
Although the wax is likely unneeded, I have found that sawing a kerf into the bottom of the top bar stright through the middle seems to help and couldn’t hurt. It is very easy to do with a table saw.
Nick // May 28, 2009 at 9:13 pm |
Logan – Right, I don’t use wax myself. My bees do just fine without waxed top bars. I don’t see what benefit a kerf on the underside of the top bar would be. You might try roughing up the bottom of the top bars to add some extra traction and surface area for the bees to attach their honeycomb to.
Tom Warren // May 3, 2009 at 12:08 pm |
Great instructions! Thanks sooo much! Per Brenden’s hive you sent me the links to, I’m doing mine out of plywood!
A small correction: If you look up above at the part about assembling the top bars, it says “Take the 10 top bars … and ….”
I think you meant to write “Take the 8 top bars …” correct?
Thanks again, Nick!
Nick // May 8, 2009 at 10:17 am |
Tom – Hoho, how did I miss that one? Yes, it should be ““Take the 8 top bars … and ….” Thanks for your sharp eyes. And thanks for your kind comments too!
Logan MacGregor // May 11, 2009 at 6:04 pm |
I have built observation windows into my Warre’s. This helps me look at how the bees are doing without lifting the lid.
Just be sure to build a shutter for them. The bees don’t like so much light inside the hive and the glass doesn’t perform thermally the same way wood does. I just put wood on the outside of the glass, covering the window by about 2 cm in all directions. I just made a tonge and groove slider that slides out and back in (using a method similar to what you would do for the reveal for the top bars in the box.). I only put a window on one side, and a two-window box would be overkill. Plexiglass works okay, but I don’t like plastic in the hives (worried about outgassing), so I use glass.
Nick // May 28, 2009 at 9:17 pm |
Logan – Sounds good! I would love to see some pictures some time of your hives. I don’t use windows that much, (not natural…do trees have windows?
) but they are very good for learning about your bees. Nothing like watching bees live inside their own hive.
chad // May 18, 2009 at 7:57 am |
hey nick but i just wanted to say i like this site you did a good job doing this site but i am confused with the measurments when i was cutting my wood to build the warre hive it looks much smaller than your hive wood can you help me figure out my problem
Nick // May 28, 2009 at 9:44 pm |
chad – You may have the everything right. The Warre Hive is pretty small compared to the Langstroth. Here is what you can do: stand up a hive box as if it was assembled. Then take your interior measurements. You should have a width and length of 30 cm or 11 13/16″ If you get this measurement, your hive is the right size.
Brian // August 6, 2009 at 2:45 am |
do you put anything on the inside
Stephen // August 16, 2009 at 6:26 pm |
If the two bottom boxes are full with comb and brood can you just add a box on top for the bees to use as their honey stores
Eric // November 30, 2009 at 10:20 pm |
In nature, bees build down, very seldom does a hollow tree suddenly form a new cavity above the present nest. But by adding the new box at the bottom, the bees make new comb, new brood, and the emptied upper comb becomes honey stores.
Debbie // December 19, 2009 at 4:31 pm |
Hi
Can you tell me the best type of wood to use the bee hive and how thick the wood should be for the Hive box. Thanks
Ernie // February 20, 2010 at 10:43 pm |
Hi,
Great info. I just attended a bee-keeping class and found out that you should not use plywood when building a bee hive. Apparently, bees can smell any glue that is used and it can keep them from using the hive. Don’t use any glue in building the hive box or any wood that has been glued together.
Peter // February 23, 2010 at 9:55 am |
Debbie,
I think the type of wood to use depends on where you live. Here the choice is Spruce or Pine. I haven’t been able to figure out which is preferable. Don’t think it matters as long as the bottom brood box is not sitting in water and you have done something to protect it like painted it.
Thickness should be at least 3/4″ for strength and the rabbet for the frame rest.
try this link
http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/10-frame-langstroth-barry-birkey/
Ernie,
I have used plywood boxes that are nailed and glued together for both brood and supers without any problems. Bees just slather propolis all over it and go about their business. The glued joints are much stronger and the boxes hold up longer. I glue all my boxes.
Peter // February 23, 2010 at 10:38 am |
I know the link is for a langstroth hive, but the rabbet is the same.
Ernie // February 24, 2010 at 7:18 pm |
Peter,
Sounds like any wood glue would work but is there a particular type or brand of wood glue that you have found to work better? I’m really going to try and build a couple of these. So thanks for all the info.
One more item, I found a reference to how to treat the exterior. The suggestion was to take linseed oil and warm it in a pan (not boiling). Then add some beeswax to the oil. Let it cool some and then paint this all over the outside of the box and screws. Does this sound reasonable?
Dave // April 10, 2010 at 2:51 pm |
Hi. Great site! I’m building my first Warre and I’m wondering how critical is the 8-1/4″ depth? Standard size from the lumber yard is 9-1/4″ — should I bother ripping it down?
KB // April 10, 2010 at 5:48 pm |
Dave
Use the dimensions required for the hive boxes. Give them too much space and they’ll fill it up with burr comb, even down to the next boxes top bars. I have been using Warres for a few yrs now and they fill up until they get the 3/8 room to move around.