In this section of the Warre Hive Construction Guide we will install the completed Warre hive. Once installed, your beehive will be ready for a new package or swarm of bees. Let’s begin!
To install a Warre hive, find a good flat area on your property. It should be somewhat shaded, but not so shaded as to be completely blocked from the sun’s warmth. The area that you select should have good soil drainage, and preferably be out of the path of strong prevailing winds. The area in the photo below satisfies all of the above criteria.
Place your Warre hive floor on a level space of ground in the area you have selected. Use a carpenter’s level to make sure the floor is level. You can lay the floor right on the ground, or you can put the feet on bricks or cement blocks. Alternately, you can build the floor without feet and just use a stand of your own construction to support your Warre hive.
Next, place your Warre hive box onto the floor. Situate the hive box so that there is an even overlap on all sides of the box. The box is designed to be slightly larger than the floor. This prevents water from running down the sides of the box and into the hive via the floor.
Go on to the next page where we will finish installing the Warre Hive.
Thank you so much for all the detailed info re construction of Warre hive. It must have taken you ages. We’re going to start building after Xmas and are giving details of this site to all our chums- French and English speaking.
Many thanks once again
Joyce – Thank you for your comments! I am glad you have found the site to be helpful.
What an astonishing set-up. I and my son plan on beekeeping this spring in Northern Illinos, and while searching through so many web pages for an affordable starter, it becomes overwhelming. Well, I decided to do other searches and came across “beespace.” I found this to be very interesting to give a try. Was not able to browse the entire book by Warre, but for the foundation pieces attached to the box, what is applied to them or how, to attract the bees to begin building? Do you also have a hive top feeder built to get a better idea of how they will feed? I have added your site to my links for beekeeping and hope many more interested will choose to look you up.
Thanks
Keith
Keith – If you want to, you can coat the bottom of the top bars with beeswax to help the bees start building comb from them. However, this is not necessary. My bees build comb attached directly to the top bar.
No, I do not currently have a top feeder built. Here is another comment about top feeders for you. And here is a post on a bottom feeder you might find helpful.
What a beautiful hive design!
Sigh. I wish I had time to get back into bees.
bug_girl – I didn’t know that you used to keep bees! So you are probably familiar with the Langstroth hives with frames. The Warre Hive is a low maintenance, and requires about half to a quarter the work time as a Lang. Who knows, you might have time for bees after all!
Thanks!
sohbet – Your Welcome!
Great layout Nick, takes lots of work. I’ll be retrofitting some Langs this spring, so visually, this was a huge help. Thanks for sharing.
Margie – Glad to share, Margie! Have fun reworking your Langstroth hives. Let me know how it goes for you!
Hi Nick,
Thanks for your great plans, I will be building one of these for sure. One question though, without a brood chamber and queen separator how does the Warre Hive keep the grub cells separate form the honey cells?
Nick – I like your name.
Your comment prompted me to answer your question with this blog post. Thanks for the great question!
I just finished assembling the hive boxes and am in the process of painting them.
We had a windstorm the other night and I got to thinking about how to keep the hive from tipping over. Any good suggestions on how to anchor the hive down so that it does not blow over?
I plan to set the hive on a small table that I constructed that will sit about 2 feet of the ground.
Thanks,
Benjamin
Newberg, Oregon
Benjamin – Hello neighbor! I live about 25 minutes from you. We sure did have a wind storm, didn’t we? My Warre hives are still standing just fine.
If you want to anchor your hives, I would recommend some 1″ by 6′ ratchet straps from a hardware store. (such as the straps here: http://www.americanratchetspecialties.com) They have metal hooks on one end of the strap and also on the ratchet. Just pass this soft web strap over the top of the roof, and ratchet your beehives to your hive stand. Voila! Your beehives are now anchored.
Benjamin -
As per your question regarding wind and the chance of a hive blowing over, here’s my solution:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8459197@N07/
Happy beekeeping!
Nick, nice job! Seeing this laid out so clearly now I am starting to understand how the warre system works. I’m eager to have a warre this spring and take the next step beyond langs and horizontal top bars. I’m liking everything I read about the warres.
warmly, Jacqueline
Jacqueline – Thanks so much for your comment!
Nick,
New to the bee keeping but want to know more. I’ve been doing some reading and was wondering the difference in this method as opposed to the other. Also are there different plans available for making this bee hive? I dont’ follow these plans. Thanks for you time.
Craig
Craig – The major differences between Langstroth beekeeping and Warre beekeeping…that is a weighty topic! The biggest differences is the hands-off method of Warre. You do a lot more observing and working with the bees, and a lot less opening and inspecting the hive. The Warre hive is designed to mimic the natural cavities that bees seem to like best in nature. The major difference is that it allows the bees to create natural comb cell size to their own specifications, instead of us forcing them into a pre-pressed man-made foundation size.
hi nick i have nearly finished building the hive my question is where to place the wax in the begining is there any pictures to show how and where to place the wax on the bars. my other question is what is the point of the quilt? and when is the best time to introduce the bees. best regards from the uk
abb – Great! Glad to hear that you are getting along nicely. Just rub some soft beeswax on the bottom of the top bars before using them. To answer your quilt question see this comment: http://thebeespace.net/2008/08/25/the-quilt-warre-hive-construction-guide/#comment-954
Have just completed a TBH. Will be building Warre TBH next. Must congratulate you on the time and effort put into your very informative set of instructions that any basic diy person should be able to follow with ease. WELL DONE and THANK YOU!
Hi..
Nice site–thanks for the info.
Quick question though. I am in the south. Do you think I need the quilt for the entire year? I was thinking leave it without insulation to increase air flow and then add the insulation in the fall. Thoughts on this?
Hi Nick, thank you very much for your very educative construction guides of warre hive. I stumbled on your blog while searching on the net for a way of supering my top bar hives to prevent swarming. I have since read Beekeeping for All by Abbe Warre. I have started constructing my first warre hive I am convinced that warre hive is the best hive type, in fact, soon I will convert all my hives to warre hives. I have about forty top bar hives in Ota area of Ogun state of Nigeria. Thank you for a job well done.
Brilliant description. Thank you for all the information. What about attaching the wax strip on the underside of the top bars. How is that done? What about converting my standard hives (unused) to Warré type hives. My husband built them and could do the woodwork involved. Is it possible do you think. I really think this is the way to go. I am thinking of building a hTBH later this year but wanted to convert my present bees quickly to the Warré method.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.
Wow Nick!
This site blows my mind! I’ll be building my first Warre hives this winter thanks to your helpful construction guide.
Thanks so much,
Matthew
Nick, great job on the Warre Hive! I have 4 Langstroth Hives, 2 New Top
Bar hives. My question is why do you Nail the top bars to the frame & how do you remove it to harvest the honey ?
Thanks for a great site, the Warre hive will be in my Apiary this spring.
George Hay
Thanks George, I use small short nails to keep them pinned in place. Nothing so deep that you can’t pop the bars up with a hive tool. It’s optional though, you can just lay the bars down without nails. Space the bars evenly and you’ll be in good shape.
Hi Nick,
How are you installing your bee initially? Are you prying off a few nailed bars and then dumping the new bees in, or some other technique?
Thanks,
Chris.
Hi Nick
The construction is simple but has anyone modified the floor to take a mesh to help combat varroa or will this design be too hot for the mite to survive? I too would also like to know how you install the bees.
cheers
Stew
Hi Stewart, it wouldn’t be too hard to make a screened bottom board. Have a look at the pictures of this one : screened bottom board.
Not sure how this is correct with attachment of the top bars. The top bars are supposed to be removeable, yet these instructions show them nailed to the hive frame.
Hi Mark, I use the nails as pins to hold the top bars in place, I can still lift the top bars off. The pins just allow me to put them back in the same place.
Hello Nick,
Thank you for what must have been a time consuming task.
To keep me occupied, even in my 92 nd. year,.I am constantly looking for new interests
Your superb instructions, and the brains of Abbe Warre, I think I shall soon be busy,
Cheers,
Sidney
Thanks a bunch. I had a swarm in my back yard and in 12 hours I built the Warre Beehive and placed the bees in the hive.
Thank you for a wonderful guide. I plan to build a Warre hive soon. This is a banner year in S.E. Indiana for swarms. I have collected 16 large swarms since April 1st. All the beeks in our area have plenty of bees now. Is there anything magic about the precise dimensions of the hive boxes? It seems that we could eliminate much cutting in the build process with tiny adjustments to dimensions. With the exception of the 3/8″ bee space requirement. Thanks again. Please keep up the good work.
Hi Boogity, if the dimensions don’t deviate too far from original I don’t think there would be a problem. Keep in mind creating too much or too little space in the hive box could cause the bees to have a hard time with temperature control, brood management, etc…