These guys supply cork sheets which are glued only with the natural resins of
the cork (via steam and pressure). I have used them inside my hives: the bees
love the stuff. Cork has about 3 times the insulation of wood, so 20mm of cork
is like adding 60mm of wood.
https://www.mikewye.co.uk/product/cork-board-insulation/
Gareth
On 26 Aug 2018, at 15:26, Will H <whanrott@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I'd like to try insulating at least one of my hives this winter. I would
appreciate your suggestions about what to use and how to apply it.
My assumption is that I take some sheet material and attach it to the outside
of the hive using straps or similar.
Materials:
Wood as board or ply
Wood as WBC style lifts
Cork as floor tiles
Celotex <https://www.celotex.co.uk/products> expanded foam sheet
Bee Cosy <http://beecosy.com/purchase/> style synthetic material and/or
Gore-Tex
something else
I don't favour wood. Very few woods are durable enough and they tend to be
expensive. The weatherproof ply which I've used didn't last lnog either.
Celotex will work and it's easy enough to get hold of. It probably does give
off chemical vapours but they'll be outside the hive. Cork may also give off
vapour from glue but it's much more sustainable than Celotex. I'm interested
in whether it's possible to make an insulated cover. I'm looking at materials
which follow the design used by the Bee Cosy.
Does anyone know of a good supplier of cork floor tiles? The width needs to
be at least 462mm (18.25") on one side. I've found an interesting supplier
<https://spduk.co.uk/t/cork-sheets> but I don't know whether tiles are
weatherproof.
Has anyone tried or seen a trial of the fabric cover?
Has anyone tried or seen a trial of Celotex?
Any other ideas?
Thanks
Will
