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The beekeeper’s house is intended not only for recreation. The owners of the apiary, consisting of more than 100 beehives, erect large buildings. The room is divided into useful compartments. Each room is equipped for a specific activity, for example, pumping out honey, storing combs, beehives, inventory.
In what cases is it necessary to build an apiary house
There are 2 main reasons that push the beekeeper to build a bee house:
- The apiary consists of more than 50 hives. It takes a lot of time to serve a large number of bee colonies. The beekeeper practically lives in the apiary, if the number of hives exceeds a hundred. Maintenance requires inventory, tools, equipment. The bees are fed and treated. It is more convenient to store all the property in a bee house. This is where the honey is pumped out.
- The apiary is taken out in the spring to the field, and taken home in the fall. In the field, it is good to have a beekeeper’s nomadic house, where they store property, relax, pump honey. It is more profitable for a beekeeper to immediately acquire a bee box on wheels. The trailer takes out the beehive, and then it serves as a barn for household needs.
The design of the beekeeper’s house is chosen taking into account the remoteness of the apiary and the intended functionality. If the site is located near honey plants, it makes no sense to take the hive to another place. The bee house is erected stationary on the foundation. The best option is considered to be a combination with omshanik under one roof. An apiary trailer on wheels for an exit apiary is made according to the size, taking into account the number of hives.
Types of buildings
Owners of small apiaries usually do not erect special buildings. Under the house of the beekeeper, they adapt the barn, basement, shed available on the site. In the absence of a free building, it is necessary to build an apiary house. The size of the stationary structure depends on the number of hives. If the site has just been purchased and there are no sheds on it, it is more profitable to build one multifunctional building. For example, when it is supposed to start up to 150 bee colonies, an area of u170buXNUMXbabout XNUMX m is allocated for construction2. The interior is divided into the following sections:
- beekeeper’s room – up to 20 m2;
- room for pumping honey, melting wax, waxing frames – up to 25 m2;
- frame storage – up to 30 m2;
- pantry for inventory – 10 m2;
- shed for storing empty hives, spare parts – up to 20 m2;
- ramp for loading and unloading – 25 m2;
- garage – 25 m2;
- summer canopy – 25 m2.
In the beekeeper’s room itself, honeycombs can be stored in summer, and filled frames can be heated in autumn before honey is pumped out.
A nomadic bee house is usually made on wheels. Under it, beekeepers adapt old car trailers. For a small number of hives, a single-axis model will suffice. A full-fledged beekeeper’s booth with 4 wheels, which is installed on a large platform. The frame is taken from a large trailer for agricultural equipment. The house of the nomadic booth itself consists of a metal frame. The walls are sewn up with plywood, for the roof they use tin, roofing material, corrugated board. The side walls of the booth are equipped with opening windows, and a door is placed at the end.
A kind of nomadic booth is considered a collapsible beekeeper’s house. The design consists of detachable frame elements. The walls, roof and floor are ready-made shields. They are bolted to the frame. In a disassembled state, the bee house is transported from above on the hives. Shields temporarily play the role of a roof that protects the transported apiary from rain.
The canopy similarly belongs to the category of apiary houses. It’s all about its design. Compared to the traditional building, the bee shed has walls. They are made of 4 shields. The front front wall can be removed in summer or made low so that the bees have free flight. The roof of the apiary canopy is laid from corrugated board or slate.
How to make a barn for a beekeeper with your own hands
It is necessary to build a bee house with your own hands in the form of a barn thoughtfully. If the site already has a omshanik for wintering, then a small booth is enough for inventory. Usually the frame is knocked down from the beam or metal is welded. The sheathing of the beekeeper’s barn is carried out with a board, plywood, corrugated board.
If there is no omshanik, it is more profitable for a beekeeper to build a stationary pavilion for a non-nomadic apiary. The building will play the role of a barn, bee house, omshanik. The hives will stand all year round in a stationary pavilion. They do not need to be taken out and brought in. An optimal microclimate is constantly maintained inside the pavilion.
The size of a beekeeper’s barn likewise depends on its purpose. The beekeeper chooses the dimensions of the premises for household needs at his own discretion. If preference is given to a stationary pavilion, then a free area of u1buXNUMXbXNUMX m is calculated2/1 lounger with 32 frames. For other models of hives, the area is determined individually.
Drawings, tools, materials
The first drawing is for a large apiary. Under one roof there is a barn, a omshanik, a beekeeper’s house, a room for pumping honey, a shed.
The next drawing of a stationary pavilion. Hives are placed inside, rooms are allocated for the beekeeper, honey pumping, pantry, barn and other needs.
Of the materials you will need timber, boards, plywood, thermal insulation. A woodworking tool is needed: a saw, a planer, a drill, a screwdriver, a hammer, a chisel.
Assembly process
The beekeeper’s barn is usually built of wood. For easy construction, a complex strip foundation is not needed. The barn is placed on a columnar base or piles. The first option is the most common due to lower costs. A feature of the shed for the beekeeper is that it can be installed on the second floor on any outbuilding, the main thing is that it be durable. If the beekeeper’s barn will play the role of a pavilion where the hives will stand, it will be moved as far as possible from the neighbors and the roadway.
The assembly of the beekeeper’s barn begins with the frame. First, assemble the lower frame. Racks are placed vertically to it in the corners, in the places where window and door openings are formed, along the perimeter in increments of 60 cm. Another frame acts as the upper trim, similar in size to the lower structure. All elements of the frame of the bee shed are made of timber.
Logs are attached to the lower frame in 60 cm increments. A board with a section of 100×50 mm is suitable. On the logs lay the floor of the board with a thickness of 25 mm. Ceiling beams of the apiary barn from a similar board are attached to the upper frame.
The roof is more profitable to make a gable. The beekeeper can additionally use the attic space for storing beekeeping equipment. However, due to the complexity of the design, the apiary shed is more often erected with a pitched roof. The roofing material is lightweight sheets. Suitable corrugated board, roofing material, ondulin.
The walls are sheathed with board, plywood or OSB boards. Outside, beekeepers advise the tree to be additionally covered with sheet iron if there are beehives in the barn. The metal will serve as a shield from electromagnetic radiation. Under such protection, the bees behave calmer.
An important step is the insulation of all elements of the bee shed. On the floor under the logs, a board is stuffed, forming a rough flooring. The cells are filled with mineral wool, covered with a vapor barrier. A finishing floor board is laid on top of the beams. According to a similar system, the ceiling is insulated. On the walls after the outer skin, the cells remain from the inside of the barn. They are filled with mineral wool and covered with plywood or fiberboard inner lining.
The windows of the apiary barn are made opening for ventilation. Ventilation ducts are provided. If the barn is made under the pavilion, windows are cut in the walls opposite the entrances of the installed hives for the bees to fly out.
Do-it-yourself collapsible house for apiary
When the budget does not allow to acquire a trailer on wheels for a nomadic apiary, the way out of the situation is to make a collapsible beekeeper’s house. The structure is made light so that it can be transported in a trailer with beehives. In order to quickly assemble and disassemble the collapsible beekeeper’s house, the frame is made of a thin-walled profile or pipe. The connection is used only by bolting, welding for a collapsible structure is not suitable.
Drawings, tools, materials
Usually, a beekeeping collapsible house is made in the form of a large box. A complex drawing is not needed. The diagram marks the location of the frame elements, indicates the dimensions, points of the bolted connection.
Of the materials you will need a pipe or profile, ready-made shields for walls and roofs, M-8 bolts. You can use shalevka or fiberboard. An electric drill, a grinder, a jigsaw, a set of keys for assembling an apiary house are taken from the tool.
Assembly process
A collapsible bee house is not an insulated summer structure. You don’t need to build a big booth. The structure will be wobbly. The optimal dimensions of a collapsible apiary house are 2,5×1,7 m. The height of the walls is 1,8-2 m. The front wall is made 20 cm higher to form a roof slope.
First, blanks for the frame are cut from the pipe or profile of the desired size. An electric drill drills holes for a bolted connection. All blanks are combined into a single frame.
Shields are assembled from a shalevka according to the size of the frame. On the floor, it is desirable to knock down a shield from a board with a minimum thickness of 20 mm. Holes are cut in the wall panels for windows. The door is cut out plywood or a sheet of corrugated board is enclosed in a metal frame. Shields with a frame are similarly connected with bolts. After installing the beekeeper’s house in the apiary, the roof is covered with roofing material.
Beekeeper’s trailer on wheels
It is reasonable for the owner of a nomadic apiary to acquire a mobile beekeeper’s house in the form of a trailer on wheels. There are specialized factory-made models, but they are expensive. Beekeepers often convert a car trailer into a bee wagon.
The advantages of using
With a trailer, you can move through the fields, transporting the apiary closer to the seasonal flowering honey plants. Due to such a journey, bribes increase, the beekeeper gets the opportunity to collect different varieties of honey. If the bee trailer stands on a large platform, the hives are not unloaded at the place of arrival. They remain on the platform.
How to Make Your Own Hands
For the manufacture of an apiary wagon, you will need a trailer, preferably a two-axle one from agricultural equipment. It is possible to convert a single axle car trailer by lengthening the frame and adding a second pair of wheels. The frame of the beekeeper’s trailer is optimally welded from a profile or pipe. The wooden structure will loosen with frequent moves.
Drawings, tools, materials
Initially, you will need to develop or find a finished drawing. Dimensions are calculated individually. Depending on the dimensions of the platform and the carrying capacity, the apiary wagon can transport beehives installed in one or more tiers. The beekeeper’s room, the compartment for the honey extractor and the unpacking table are provided in front near the trailer to reduce the load on the rear axle.
Of the materials you will need pipes, a profile, a corner, boards. The set of tools is standard: a grinder, an electric drill, a screwdriver, a wood saw, a hammer. To assemble the frame and increase the frame, you need a welding machine.
Assembly process
The assembly of the apiary trailer begins with the frame. The trailer is released from the sides. What remains is the frame with the wheels. If necessary, it is extended by welding a profile or pipe. The next step is to weld the frame. The racks are fixed to the frame, connected by an upper trim that forms the base of the roof.
The bottom of the trailer is sewn up with a board or sheet metal. From the inside, the installation sites of the hives are drawn. On a standard platform, they usually fit 20 pieces in one row. If it is planned to transport a lot of hives, they are installed in tiers, and a stand from a corner is welded under each.
When the apiary trailer is equipped inside, the roof is made of sheet metal. The walls are sheathed with boards. If the hives are not taken out of the trailer, holes are cut out in the walls opposite the entrances. Windows are made with opening windows. The construction of the trailer is completed by painting.
Conclusion
The beekeeper’s house is usually made by beekeepers according to an individual layout. The owner himself knows better what and where it is more convenient for him to place.
