My roof doesn’t leak at all…it’s still in the Bee Shed! I used a normal flat roof after reading about leakage…to give me time to decide how to seal mine…if I need to. Also, it makes it easier to strap down…essential where I live.
2 Likes
Flat roof = sensible.
1 Like
I thought to do the same thing. My wood is warping and actually the wood is splitting on top may splinter off. BUt we had our first big rain and I peeked this morning and no water inside top. So not pretty but worked and I may take picture and show flow first before I seal if I can get a good day as rainy season hits. But one of my girls was dead 
not a drone.
2 Likes
Thanks as I am going to do this. Any reason why you do not put that on inside seams also? I noted my roof has also leaked into the hive. I have already Tung oiled my roof will the silicone stick?
I think it will. Tung Oil is not slippery when it has “set”. It is more of a resin, and is still slightly sticky.
My roof hasn’t leaked yet, but we are expecting big rain in the next few days, so we will see. If it does leak, I will probably staple some aluminum flashing UNDERNEATH the sloping shingles - like a professional roofer might do on your home. It is pretty cheap, and easy to handle. The wood is for decoration, the flashing keeps the water out. 
Yep my roof leaked last winter also. I disassembled and siliconed up between all the joints making sure silicone didn’t get on the outside, reassembled sanded and reapplied a couple more coats of Tung oil, left to dry. The silicone stuck no worries.
It’s still sitting there where I left it… A migratory cover with vent holes is what sits on the cedar box now. Although pretty, the pitched lid would look out of place next to the normal painted hive beside it? 
@Cowgirl, the copper idea sounds good however, being a good conductor, wouldnt the lid get really hot in the sun? Going on my own experience with galvinized tin flashing it cooks in full sun, too hot to touch, and we now paint the tin white to reflect the heat. I would imagine the copper heating up the same, perhaps more so.
1 Like
I have 3 hives with copper covered hive tops. They work well.
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/8-Frame-Garden-Copper-Top/productinfo/254T/
1 Like
The first two I got were from my first hives when I actually cared what they looked like. The third one was won at a beekeeping meeting raffle as a complete hive.
Now I tell my wife just give me a sheet of plywood and a brick lol.
3 Likes
I have to say I think I will be covering. The top in 3 months even with tung oil did take a beating and didnt even get to rainy season. Have to decide how I want to handle. Copper is beautiful and makes for a real feature, but pricey. Doing the underneath as Dawn suggest is another good option. I did seal it with the tub seal and that should keep rain out the look of the wood top is greyed & checked already and sides look great. I like to try keep it nice as it is an expensive hive. But do want another hive so learned a lot with this one.
1 Like
Yeah right chilli, pull the other one, how do you explain your Christmas present then???
I’ll swap you for some plywood and a brick.
1 Like
That was a birthday present and the roof was aluminum. I’m going to make a little sanctuary in the forest and place it on a pedestal and in a couple of years it’ll look like the other cheapo hives lol.
1 Like
I have read through most of this thread and it seems that silicone is the recommended sealant for the leaky roof issue. How about beeswax instead of silicone? I was thinking of smearing beeswax into the roof seams.? Any thoughts on this? Thanks.
You could, but mine have actually warped and split a little. If you used beeswax, I fear that it would split. When I get a chance, I am just going to put flashing under the roof “shingles”, so that the waterproofing is human roof grade, and the wood is just a decorative finish.
3 Likes
Planning & foreseeing are critical in anything you do. As a Boy Scout we were taught, hence the Motto, to “Be Prepared” in life. That & of course Murphy’s Law go hand in hand i.e. “If it can leak, it will leak”. I thought it was possible that the roof could leak if left as is, so I improvised. This isn’t a knock on the design, but an improvement or an upgrade…
I cut a piece of Aluminum sheeting & after careful measuring to ensure an overhang, I added it under the peaked roof. Once I found center, I slowly folded it over the edge of my Workmate top until I obtained the correct angle…
Now, w/my modification, any water that may eventually get through the seams won’t lay under there & cause problems since I added an overhang. The roof was installed as per the instructions right over top of my modification…
Hopefully this will help someone w/a leaking roof issue. Just back the screws out of yours & make your own leakproof inner roof liner like I did!
Remember this: Preparation is key!
Later…Mater
3 Likes
I did a similar thing just using insulating foil inside but found the aluminium surface was condensing too much moisture and dripping in the hive.
I cut 25mm (1") holes in the apex of the triangular back and front roof pieces and that solved that.
I then laid an aluminium sheet right over the top with a 75mm (3") overhang all round.
Your way is much more elegant, but just keep an eye on condensation.
One issue with using beeswax is that bees will likely collect and remove whatever they can access. I dipped my hives in beeswax the vast majority of this is completely absorbed into the timber however at certain spots there were little blobs of wax on the surface the bees immediately set about collecting all that wax and it was gone within a few weeks.
1 Like
Still keep saying a flat metal roof is on most hives for a very good reason.
Cheers
Rob.
P.S. I do like your answer though, just too much fiddling for me.
2 Likes
Well, it’s a bit of fiddling for a good look and some extra space for who knows what.
Love the flow roofs. Talking for my bees, they go up there en masse to show me they need more space. Once they start building big comb in there, I get the message.
Without that message and my subsequent actions, maybe they would have long swarmed.
Happy! Every newbee needs a gabled excess hive space for bee messaging if you ask me.
No big deal to seal it any way. Plenty options.
In the end the bees will seal it from inside, they just need a little assistance in bad weather if they didn’t get a chance yet.
2 Likes
My new Flow Hive Roof in Northern Indiana is leaking too! My Bee package is coming within the week. I will get Silicone Sealant tonight and work on it. I am really disappointed. Thank you, Cowgirl.
For a long term solution I suggest a different route:
Remove the roof panels and get some aluminum flashing- tak or staple that over the A frame and then screw the shingles back on. This will have the added advantage of offering some insulation and protection from radiant heat.
I did this on my hives and retrofitted my mums hive- hers is the cedar one and after just 12 months the roof panels had shrunk- and/or the screws walked out- either way it had become quite rickety with large gaps at all the seams. We went a little further and put a layer of core flute into the roofs for extra insulation. Also I would consider painting the shingles- as the roof cops all the weather and the wood deteriorates much faster than the rest of the hive. I noticed in recent Flow videos they have painted their roofs