We have had our hive outside for about 3 days now. We have had some occasional showers with wind. Rain was not too heavy.
Opened up the hive to see inside of roof wet and crown board starting to get wet.
All my seams are nice and tight no knots or splits.
Its not condensation as I brought it inside and tested the roof by dribbling water on the peak of the hive only to find it makes its way through.
In short its lucky I have not installed my Nuc yet. I am not confident my roof will be weather proof through winter when we can have some persistent rain.
I put plenty of Tung oil on and gave it a few coats.
So now I am thinking of some other coating to completely make it weather proof.
Canāt take the risk.
You could use marine varnish (polyurethane) on the outside. It should adhere fine to the Tung Oil, if it was applied at least 2 weeks ago.
Personally I would just try some good quality silicone caulking/mastic on the inside of all seams first. I also bought a couple of spare lids for my hives, so that I can switch them around if anything leaks.
The issue isnāt with the finish; the tung oil. Itās rain in the cracks and urethane is a bad material for sealing leaks.
Caulk it, silicone or even putty. Also if condensation remains a problem look into āhive quiltsā to help with that issue.
Here in San Francisco we are plenty foggy and I plan on experimenting with quilts. Never need them for our bees up in Sacramento, much dryer climate out in the valley.
Well I am used to doing work on boats and two pack polyurethane would do the trick and it would enhance the look of the wood even further.
But before heading down that track I unscrewed the roof and put Gorilla Glue along all the joints and screwed everything back down. Gorilla glue expands and fill all the gaps and is totally waterproof.
Will leave it out in the rain for a couple of days and see how we go. I have also given another coat of Tung oil.
Gorilla Glue would work. I donāt see 2pac helping with the joint between the roof panels. I donāt use it to replace caulk on our boat, wouldnāt think it would be ideal here, but maybe you have some application trick I donāt? I would love a follow up on the efficacy. I will be making some sort of remedy on my hive, but havenāt decided yet what it should be.
And I gotta say that enhancing the wood is in the eye of the beholder. I kinda dislike the look of urethanes. Tung makes me happier ; -)
Water is never a huge issue with bees, they cope with it very well. Iāve seen many a hive built in the open. This is an example:
This is an 8 day update: In this video we get a beautiful shot of a bee producing wax, a good shot of the queen & a bee chewing itās way out out of a cell.
Yes I agree Sara, itās good to keep a hive dry, particularly in a cold climate or during winter in a warm climate. Iām thinking a sheet of tin or as @Dawn_SD said, a bit of aluminum flashing over the crown board. A waterproof coating over the roof. Thereās so many options. Oh yes, then thereās the quilt.
After this thread, thereās no excuse for anyone getting water into their hives.
Will follow up on the efficacy, hive is outside now and it has been raining.
Most yachties/boaties have sucked their teeth when I mention using 2 pack Polyurethane. Over the years I have used most varnishes. The one that has the most complimentary remarks are my current method of 2 pack. I also have it lasting very well with UV, Seagull *&%t and foul weather.
However I understand its not to everyoneās taste.
Will try to upload a few pics of the Hive good or bad.
