Cypress Hives

Two Bees · February 22, 2010, 09:23:56 AM

Has anyone else had an issue with a hive body made from cypress wood splitting horizontally?

I have one deep that has a large (i.e. 1/4) split that has grown around three sides. I guess the split originated on one of the long sides and since the hive was assembled with screws and glue, the side crack put pressure on the front and back panels.

Doesn't seem to bother the bees. They just glued the crack with propolis! But I'm not sure whether to buy other cypress hives and supers.

Grid · February 22, 2010, 10:37:15 AM

I had the same thing happen to me with pine. Not sure it has to do with the type of wood, but rather a flaw in the board.

fermentedhiker · February 22, 2010, 11:58:01 AM

was it painted/stained or just natural?

rottybee · February 22, 2010, 04:27:34 PM

If the wood, no matter what kind it was, wasn't cured, that is dried out when it was put together, will stretch or shrink as it does and might crack. Lumber from Home Depot and Lowe's is famous for this. I imagine some of the hive's that are sold are built before the lumber is fully cured. I have built several things and had them crack, warp and such.

hardwood · February 22, 2010, 04:38:19 PM

Cypress has a large tangential movement, much greater than pine. It typically shouldn't be a problem with hive boxes as all four sides SHOULD move in the same ratios together, but if one side is say heartwood and the other three are sapwood there might be enough difference in movement to cause a crack. Usually (in our shop anyway) all four sides are cut from the same board and have roughly the same grain so this isn't an issue, but with large manufacturers you may get sides from four different boards or even trees for that matter.

Scott

Two Bees · February 22, 2010, 06:41:49 PM

The box was not painted or stained. I understand that cypress will last a long time without paint/stain and will weather naturally. I have the hives next to the lot line between me and my neighbor and didn't want to attract attention to them.

fermentedhiker · February 22, 2010, 11:43:57 PM

I hear what your saying about keeping them natural looking and not drawing attention to them, but the problem with not painting them is the rate at which they absorb and release moisture. While it's true that cypress is rot resistant that doesn't mean it's warp or check proof. It doesn't matter if you're talking about cedar/redwood/cypress etc....under the right(or maybe I should say wrong) circumstances they can all suffer warping. The paint/stain isn't actually waterproofing them as much as it makes them slower to absorb or release water. It's the rate of change and the uniformity of it that is key. Raw wood will absorb moisture very rapidly in a rain storm or even high humidity conditions and will attempt to give it up to the atmosphere(if the air is dry) at and equally rapid rate, but a hive body being a box makes the interior release it at a slower rate than the outside surface does. Which means that every time the weather changes you hive bodies have an opportunity to warp. This is aggravated by the fact that we glue&screw the corners(necessary for them to survive rough handling) which creates hard points that resist movement. It's unlikely to lead to a structural failure in most cases though, so if you don't mind and the bees don't mind I guess you can just let it be. You might try rubbing boiled linseed oil or tung oil on them. It won't provide a truly protective finish compared to paint but it will slow the rate of moisture transfer from the surface of the wood which should reduce the likelihood of a warp or split. Plus your hives will still look pretty natural and inconspicuous. I've rambled a bit more than I intended, but I hope it helps.

beee farmer · February 23, 2010, 12:56:24 AM

I have a camp house sided with cypress.... it has split almost anywhere a nail is installed close to the end of a board... Cypress appears to split very easily. I would sugest that you pre drill anyplace you screw or nail it. Otherwise Cypress has very desirable charcteristics for hive construction.

USC Beeman in TN · February 24, 2010, 01:34:53 PM

Puchased around 10 cypress supers last summer. Many of them had splits in them. One of the sides had split in half running along the grain. Seems to be something to do with the wood and possibly curing. Anyway, I just glued the splits and then stapled them heavily with my T-50. Had a couple of cedar super boards do the same thing.

bassman1977 · February 24, 2010, 04:07:37 PM

QuotePuchased around 10 cypress supers last summer. Many of them had splits in them. One of the sides had split in half running along the grain. Seems to be something to do with the wood and possibly curing. Anyway, I just glued the splits and then stapled them heavily with my T-50. Had a couple of cedar super boards do the same thing.

Would you ever buy them again?

USC Beeman in TN · February 24, 2010, 11:21:44 PM

Yea, I think I would. Will take some time to see how long they hold up.

Wynoochee_newbee_guy · February 25, 2010, 02:29:45 AM

Ok a little fyi, On timber the wood that is being used is not second growth nor is it old growth the younger 3rd or fouth generation trees beeing harvested will split warp crack cup twist ect. thats why.

Two Bees · February 25, 2010, 09:01:22 AM

I would probably buy cypress hives and supers again.

The boxes that I put together with glue and screws did split a little at the attachment point probably because the screw was a little larger than the nails that are typically used. I could have drilled them out and countersunk them to help.

One thing that I did notice is that a cypress deep is heavier than a pine deep.

Natalie · February 26, 2010, 07:23:17 PM

I have 7 cypress hives, got them last year and none of them are split anywhere.
I used a solid color stain, looks like paint but it has held up real well and apparently protected the wood very well.
I recommend coating them with something as Adam said.