Native bee hive and enclosure

mhelou

🖼️

The project:

Being off work with an injury I needed something to do with all the extra time. I built this native bee hive and enclosure as I needed to protect the hive from the harsh summer sun !

- Materials:

42x19 pre oiled merbau

42x42 pre oiled merbau

90x35 untreated pine

99x35 Victorian Ash

100x100mm treated pine post

19mm plywood

50mm gal timber acres

75mm gal timber screws

30mm stainless decking screws

Treasure chest hinges

Ball bearing latch

Small cabinet hinges

Selleys outdoor no more gaps

Selleys timber floors no more gaps

Bondal outdoor bitumen paint

- Tools:

Makita mitre saw

Makita impact drill

Makita screw drill

Makita jigsaw

Makita orbital sander

Makita circular saw

Ozito planer

Amazon router

PH2 Phillips bit

Drill bits ranging from 3mm - 13mm

13mm forstener bit

Sikkens varnish

Driver for decking screws comes with screws

Ultra grain clear

Round-over router bit

Paint brushes

Turpentine

- Step 1:

I found plans for a OATH standard dimension beehive and followed that. The hive itself is made from Victorian Ashwood. It has a Perspex separator and splitting bars. Plenty of instructional videos and plans to follow for the hives. Super simple. Just remember unless your splitting/educating from another established hive you won't need to build your own box . Most bees come with hives .

After cutting the timber for the bee hive I moved onto the enclosure .

- Step 2:

I drew a rough plan of how much space I wanted around the hive and worked off that .

I started with the base which was using the 90x35mm untreated pine . I used untreated as that's what I had around but I'd probably recommend using the outdoor treated version.

Cut all the needed timber ( 90x35 and 19mm ply ) the only is for the floor inside the frame . Pre drill with the correct size drill bit before every screw . I chose to also use a countersink bit . Proceed to screw it all together with the 50mm gal screws except for the floor plywood

- Step 3:

Cut your 42x42mm merbau at whatever length you'd like to suit your hive. Screw them on the inside of the frame you made and then measure and cut your plywood to suit . This goes between your posts

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @mhelou. Many thanks for sharing your native bee hive project with us.

This is a fantastic build that provides some much-needed protection for your native bees while still allowing easy access to the hive. It's great to see you making the most of your time by creating something that's both practical and beneficial for local wildlife.

Thanks again for sharing your project, and I hope you're back on your feet soon.

Mitchell