As far as Balsa, I think it would be wonderful for boxes. It’s just not very available in larger pieces here in the US. As far as masonite, I would not use it. I definitely wouldn’t use it anywhere it is exposed to the weather. It does not weather well and even as an inner cover it tends to absorb moisture and warp. I prefer luan plywood for anything that masonite would work for. If it doesn’t need to be thin, I tend to use thicker plywood like 1/2" CDX or 3/4" CDX. Not sure what those are in metric. They aren’t even what they say in imperial measurments. 1/2" is 15/32" and 3/4 is 23/32"…
Yes Balsa would be great to try as a box but I doubt it would handle a a load of full frames.
I’m trying to stay away from plywood because it contains glue and you never know what that glue contains. 
I’m really surprised our main hardware supplier here in Australia doesn’t stock pine thinner than 18mm
@Peter48 any ideas?
18mm is near enough to be 3/4" and is available in hoop pine from Mitre10 and Bunnings. It is the same thickness as commercially made bee hive boxes and hive box kits.
I wouldn’t even consider making a box out of Balsa as it is too soft, it is fine for bee comb starter strips but a fail for any other use in a bee hive. Ply would I wouldn’t consider as even the manufacturers will not say what the glue is and having made a few base boards early in my bee keeping it de-laminates very quickly exposed to the weather. Masonite is like blotting paper, it will soak up moisture and swell then crumble.
There is no disadvantages in using hoop pine for a box, pre-drill the screw holes and glue with exterior grade Aquadhere PVA glue. Paint the outside and the top and bottom edges with 2 or 3 coats of paint and it will last years of use. I have boxes that have been in constant use for over 10 years.
Cheers
I had a few styrofaom hives a few years back and the density was identical to balsa wood. Good insulation. Light weight. Unfortunately the styrofoam didn’t breath at all and there was a lot of condensation. I would try making hives out of balsa if it was cheap and readily available. I might decide I hate it, but I suspect I would like it.
Apologies @Peter48, I don’t think I explained myself properly.
I meant which board that’s at least 355mm wide that’s suitable to use?
I found this but it’s laminated and unsure what glues they use…
Each to his own way of bee keeping Michael but I wouldn’t consider Balsa as a timber to make a bee box from as it wouldn’t stand up to the weight of brood frames on it. It is a timber that is very easy to crush. Hoop pin is cheaper and has been used for many years as suitable for making bee boxes from but wonder why you don’t like it?
Cheers
Bunnings wouldn’t know what glue is used either. They are just sellers and not manufacturers of anything. Why not make the boxes out of hoop pine that has been used for that purpose for a great many years successfully? As I have already said it is available without laminating so I’m wondering why you aren’t using it.
Cheers
Most commercial boxes, Alliance, for example are 21mm in width.
http://www.beehives.co.nz/hives.htm
3/4” has been “standardised” in Australia and sold as 19mm.
You are exactly right Adam, 3/4 inch has been the standard at least in Australia for the past 40+ years so I see Rani as having two options. Use the 18mm(3/4 inch) hoop pine that is available and make boxes that are interchangeable with the standard here in Australia or to pay the extra for the New Zealand ‘standard’ that would be of no benefit for the Sydney Climate. Hoop pine is my preferred timber over radiator pine as it is plantation grown and cheaper as well as ticking all the boxes for making bee hives.
Cheers
Hi Rani, you’re welcome. I’m not a fan of sreened bottoms, nor crown boards or telescoping lids. I like a solid floor, which could be made with 19mm pine, if you like. You could also use 19mm pine for the lid. I use & prefer migratory lids in conjunction with hive mats.
The masonite is fine to use, most of the bottom boards & lids sold in flat packs are supplied with masonite.
All of my lids & bottom boards are made from unwanted pine furniture or stuff from building site skips.
I have no issue with applying several coats of paint inside a hive. That would cover any glue you might suspect as toxic.
Good luck with your build, cheers
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All good, @Peter48 I have already build and completed my boxes using radiata pine. Again, my question was what to use that was wide enough to be the cover and base. So I ended up cutting 2 boards and gluing them together to make 355mm… Worked great
Here’s what I’ve built so far, got carried away and decided to build 3 extra boxes and gift them to my neighbor who will be accommodating my hive since my wife said “it’s either me or the hive in this house” She’s scared sh**less of bees 
Please excuse the mess
@JeffH I don’t know what you call what I’ve built but it’s the lid in the photo
Tomorrow I’ll be building an inner cover so bees don’t draw comb on the lid and I have to decide on one of the following bottom boards to build
Either
Or
Thoughts guys?
Any bee keeping supply shop will sell you a galvanized cover that fits over the migratory lid you have made. That protects the roof from weather and helps protect the hive from heat. They can also supply solid base boards that I prefer over ventilated mesh bottom boards. I have some hives with the mesh ventilated bottom boards but I am not using them any more up here.
Using a hive mat over the top frames leaving a gap of about 20mm all around it eliminates the need for a crown board.
Sorry to hear that you got hit with that ultimatum. Cheers
Thanks Peter,
Can you tell me us why you stopped using the ventilated bottom boards?
Can you also explain or link me to what a hive mat looks like? Google isn’t being helpful
@JeffH just saw your post here, what do you use as a hive mat? Hive mat on top of flow frames?
For my hives I thought there may be a benefit in my sub-tropical climate by adding ventilation. After buying and making a couple I really didn’t see it as worthwhile so I have now gone back to solid bottom boards as I can make them faster and cheaper. My aim is to increase my hive numbers as I have a ready demand for my honey, I need to manage my hive time efficiently and that also applies to the time I have available for making my own bee gear. I’m not saying that in some climates and situations a ventilated bottom board is not a benefit, but they don’t show a benefit to me.
A hive mat can be a piece of lino for example that is cut to give a gap about 20mm on each side and it is placed on the top of the top super under the lid. Carpet and lino shops often have end pieces that you can make many hive mats from that otherwise might go to a trash skip bin. It seems to be a sort of barrier and the bees don’t tend to use the roof space to build comb nearly as much. If I lift a roof and see much comb above the hive mat I take that as a sign that the hive maybe becoming honey bound and extraction needed. I first say this idea on a visit to JeffH and I am happy to try new ideas, a hive mat is now a part of every hive I have.
I’m certainly not against trying new ideas and if I see a benefit for me or my bees I have adapted those that work. But I also have several boxes of ‘bee junk’ as well. I even experimented with a solar powered exhaust fan that I fitted to a lid that was thermostatically controlled for exhausting the hot air, it stopped bearding and bees needing to fan force ventilation with their wings at the entrance but I only made the one as component cost were too high. But it was fun and interesting making it and trying it out.
Cheers
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Hi Rani, I like a solid floor because my favorite bee video “city of bees” shows beautifully how bees work as a team to, as they quote “air condition the hive”, or words to that effect. I view a screened floor as an impediment to that end, as well as any other opening other than the entrance. This is in relation to a one brood / one honey super configuration.
My hive mat is as @Peter48 describes. With a crown board, the bees propolize it to the super. Therefore you need to tie the roof down to avoid it blowing off. With a migratory lid, the bees propolize it down, negating the need to be tied down. I use the space in the lid as a guide as to how the population is going. A buildup of bees in the lid is a guide for me to think about swarm prevention measures. With a bee mat, which has no hole in the middle, the bees fill all the frames below it before moving above it. This also works with a brood box. It’s a good guide as to when the bees are getting close to needing a honey super.
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I agree. I think giving them too much ventilation just makes more work for them.
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Thanks guys for the great responses. Definitely going with hive mat, as for the ventilation. I’ve already made the holes in the lid, however I can plug them back in (drilled with holesaw)
Now can someone please tell me which flyscreen I can get from bunnings that is big enough to let small hive beetles through but small enough for the bees? This will be for the tray of course
You can plastic vents that are 1" in diameter to fit the holes in the roof, I have fitted them here with a vent at each end to help reduce the amount of heat in the roof in the Summer. You could also use Aquadhere to glue a piece of flyscreen on the inside of the roof. The vent plug I’m talking about was fitted in every kitchen cupboard some years ago but Bunnings and Mitre10 still have them.
I recall some time ago that someone had to buy the right sized wire from NZ but they wanted it in stainless steel wire and couldn’t get it here.
Cheers.
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You need mesh with 3mm spacing of the wires.
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Thanks guys, yeah I’m aware it’s 3mm but wondering if someone knows where I can get it.
I’ve read that flow hive ships with 3.6mm? Is that easier to find? (I’m in Sydney)
Could anything else work?