Will, I’ve used 2” Celotex offcuts, sandwiched between two layers of recycled
half inch pine, painted with good outdoor gloss on my last three home-made
hives. 3” Celotex in the apex roofs. I tried to post pics of them last year but
I think the files were too big. But I now have pdf versions if you’re
interested.
Cheers,
Chris Pym
From: Will H
Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2018 3:26 PM
To: oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [oxnatbees] insulation materials and methods
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:
a.. Wood as board or ply
b.. Wood as WBC style lifts
c.. Cork as floor tiles
d.. Celotex expanded foam sheet
e.. Bee Cosy style synthetic material and/or Gore-Tex
f.. 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 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
