Product Description
BS National Beehive, Real Anatolian Cedar wood, Full Set, Flat packed, SECOND GRADE (but nearly as good as grade 1)
Dedication, nurturing, quality; the very ideals that inspired our love of beekeeping is now drive our business success. Please read the story of the wood you are about to buy below:
We are the only one selling Anatolian cedar beehives in the UK. This type of cedar wood is usually used in home furniture, ship building, luxurious decoration, saunas and instrument making as it is very durable and looks beautiful. These trees can live very long. Those on the slopes of Mt Lebanon are around 2,500 years old. Oldest cedar tree in the UK is thought to be in Highgate Wood- London (300 years old). Cedar is the most mentioned tree in the Bible – always as a symbol of fruitfulness and strength.
When buying a whole set (flat-packed) in the box you will receive:
- Brood Box x 1
- Super Box x 2
- Metal frame runners for brood and super boxes
- Crown board with 2 cut-outs- wooden bound with bee-space on one side
- 4” roof with galvanised metal cover
- Varroa Floor (including top quality aluminium mesh) with slide out inspection tray
- Entrance block with summer and winter holes
- Wire Queen excluder – wooden bound with bee-space on one side (not the cheap metal or plastic ones like seen in the market).
- Landing board (attach it to the floor like you see in the pictures. Make sure to cover the winter hole in there)
- Complete set of assembly instructions for brood and super chambers
NOTE: In this order you will not receive glue, nails, bees or frames.
Free postage anywhere in mainland UK. All items posted the next working day. In or around London same day delivery is possible (please message us for details).
Scottish Highlands require additional postage fees as only two carriers (Menzies and Parcelforce) go there with heavy parcels like a 20kg beehive. Both carriers charge us so much extra. For smaller items we don’t ask for additional postage fees as other carriers also take them there. It’s really frustrating for us as sellers to tell this to our wonderful customers in the beautiful highlands.
National Beehives are the most popular beehive in the UK. Cedar beehives are a number one choice for beekeeper in the UK as well.
STORY BEHIND THIS BEEHIVE:
These beehives are made from 100% natural cedar wood without any edge joining or gluing. We bought the timber from off-cut of a palace decoration. Timber was specially sun dried for 3/4 years to get the traditional outcome. You can sense the wonderfully soft aromatic smell from distance. Our beehives have a lot of personality and the natural knots provide a more rustic look and define the visual character of each of them. Each and every hive is different. You can name them differently as well. Basically you are not just buying a beehive. You are buying a valuable asset with a fantastic story for your household. The knots in the wood are intact, sound and tight (if there is any issue please let us know). All wood is checked prior to packaging but if you see any capillary cracks please don’t worry as they won’t get any bigger. It’s normal with this wood. As said we did not use any glue or chemicals to fill them in. A brush of teak oil or linseed oil can solve the issue if it occurs in many parts.
We are environmentally friendly people. We will not buy any timber if we don’t know the source of it. Any wood we buy comes from sustainable forests.
No chemicals were used while making these beehives. These beehives are produced by local carpenters who use traditional methods as well as modern machinery (cedar dried naturally first and then sometimes oven dried as well). Each piece is made from a single timber as we did not use machine pressing (edge joining) that involves chemicals and strong glues. Rarely we used wood filler as we avoided edge joining and wood pressing to secure the knots and capillary cracks. Our timber was produced from sustainable forests in Southern Turkey- from the legendary Taurus Mountains (where Santa Claus comes from).
You can leave these hives as it is or use linseed or teak oil to give them a fine finish. In home furniture they use these two types of oils. If you have a lot of free time you can do it for fun. Cedar is pitch free and perfectly suited to take virtually any stain, finish (or even bleaching) product, giving the beekeeper or builder myriad choices on the final look.
What is so special about cedar wood?
Cedar wood is widely known for its wonderful aroma and insect-repelling quality. The natural oil inside the wood emits an earthy, woodsy and slightly sweet scent that has made it a favourite choice for wooden water crafts, beehives, interior home furniture, hot tubs, saunas, and even within the sensory palette of your favourite colognes. Cedar wood is solid, durable and by far the best wood for the UK weather for beekeepers. There can be some natural capillary cracks but they will not get any bigger. They will last many years.
