Telescoping Cover

[LazyBkpr]

Tele covers would seem pretty straight forward, but I ran into an issue with them I wanted to point out...
  IF.. you scrounge wood whenever you can, you will eventually run into BOARDS that are thicker than 3/4"  In old houses and barns I have often hit boards that were ACTUALLY 1" thick..  they work great for boxes so long as you keep the inside dimensions the same.. but this means your Tele covers wont slide down over them...   So when i make my Tele covers I make them 1/4 of an inch wider, and 1/4"  longer. They still work fine on standard boxes, and will still fit the thicker boxes..

[Perry]

I've actually had the same thing happen with store bought telescoping covers. They were so tight that I had to take a circular saw and remove a blades thickness from the front and back to get them to fit.
I now build my own, and like you, make them a bit too big. I especially like doing that so I can slide my cover forward to open the upper vent/entrance, or slide it back to close it off.

[LazyBkpr]

Agreed.. It also makes getting them on over felt paper easier

[G3farms]

Same here, I make mine a 1/2" larger. I have a couple of supers that the boards have cupped over time and make them extra wide or long.

[riverbee]

i don't make my own tele covers anymore, well i have on occasion.  i inherited a bunch of equipment over the years, purchased and made some of my own, but my biggest head scratcher is the tele covers and to some degree the bottom boards made now. when some of mine (tele covers)  go south, and i mean they really have to go south to replace them, the ones i have ordered in the past 5 years don't fit properly,very tight like perry said, and a stinker to get on and off, barely fits, and the inner cover comes off with it cuz the bees glued everything together?.......this didn't used to be this way with purchased outer covers, now it seems that it is, and seems to be the standard.  what's up with that?

btw, you guys would probably laugh if you saw some of my covers.......but then again.....maybe not....... :lol:

[Crofter]

Some of my hives are made from rough sawn that is a full inch thick, so like you guys, I have found they are too tight. Add to the extra thickness the fact that a few are a bit off square makes me sure the next ones off the line will be larger. It is not like we were building a boat or church pews!

[Hawk]

I make my own covers - as often as I can find free wood.  I do have a question, though... I've been painting the top of the telescoping cover (plywood) with exterior paint.  I see that some folks use metal flashing over the wood.  I know there is galvanized flashing and aluminum flashing... which is preferred?  Cost is ALWAYS a factor...

[Crofter]

The aluminum can be scored with a carpet knife and snapped to size. Bends easier if too if you dont have a brake of some sort. The galvanized is probably cheaper.

[G3farms]

I paint the tops of my tele covers to try and fill in the cracks, keeps the ant from getting a foot hold.
Then use the aluminum flashing from home depot or lowes. Cuts and bends easy.  Not sure of the cost difference.

[LazyBkpr]

a 50' roll of flashing is... 60 bucks??  been a while since I bought it...  but 50 ' will make you something like 26 or 27 covers.. thats less than 3 dollars each.. HOWEVER, you need to be MAKING that many to make it worthwhile.. buying a 50 foot roll to make 6 covers isnt cost effective...
   I have used the alumanized flashing and the galvy..  Alumanized IS easier as Crofter said...  some of my hives have it, the later ones dont..  I have been putting three coats of good paint on the wood.. the tele cover doesnt often get pried on, so it doesnt take the abuse the box corners do, and they seem to hold up decently with just the paint..  you can see some hives have it, some dont.. it depends on if I can scrounge it from local roofing jobs or not...



  A sheet of 1/2 plywood ( i use half inch ply for everything (so I dont have to buy three different sizes) it runs around 22 dollars a sheet, and will make 8 covers. thats 2.75 per cover.. the boards for the sides I usually scrounge scrap 1x.. but lets say you buy 1 x 8 x 12's at 9 dollars each...  theres a lot of extra wood in that, even making 8 covers, but for the sake of argument we will pretend it ONLY makes the covers...  your still only looking at $3.88 for the cover, plus paint..  They are very easy to make, and replace if they begin to rot or warp..
   Making the bottom boards, boxes, inner covers, and tele covers.. even the FRAMES myself I can take the casual stance toward them all..   They are expendable... (OK, I make the frames pretty rugged, ignore the frames part.)   I DO paint them well, and try to make them to last, but I also try to build them quickly and cheaply, without compromising functionality.  
   Three to four years they get repainted.. three to four more they will get repainted or replaced as necessary when the time comes..
   I have NO ARGUMENT with anyone making fancy joints or corners etc...  if you have the time to do that..  I think its fantastic.. but being Lazy I prefer to spend my time running bank lines!!!  unless its winter, then I spend the time sitting and staring out the window at my hives....  with a rum and coke.... wondering if I should just... peek???

[tbonekel]

I do have a question, though... I've been painting the top of the telescoping cover (plywood) with exterior paint.

I decided to make my own covers for a couple of hives. I painted them with white barn paint. It's cheap and lasts like it. That paint really flakes off and some of my covers have leaked a little. I'm hoping to cover them with something else that is better. By the way Hawk, glad to see another Texan on the board!

[G3farms]

I paint the entire outside and then the inside to cover all of the joints. To me this helps to keep the ants at bay, they can't get into the cracks as easily.

All get covered with aluminum flashing from one of the big box stores.

[robo]

Ditto on the aluminum flashing.  It is much easier to work with, but it is not as strong as the galvanized.   Under normal use that is not an issue,  however if you drop one out of the truck going down the road it won't fair as well ( At least I think  )

[blueblood]

Making them bigger works well with my vent shims, gives more room for air flow.  I also like the way Jpthebeeman makes his, migratory lids.  Fast and easy to make.

[Perry]

I make my own covers - as often as I can find free wood.  I do have a question, though... I've been painting the top of the telescoping cover (plywood) with exterior paint.  I see that some folks use metal flashing over the wood.  I know there is galvanized flashing and aluminum flashing... which is preferred?  Cost is ALWAYS a factor... <!-- s;) --><!-- s;) -->

Aluminum is lighter, but costs more.
I use galvanized now. The new stuff doesn't even have that mottled appearance like it used to, and the weight of it means I don't need to use as big a rock on the lid as I use to. 

[blueblood]

That metal is just so hard to work.  We can buy a roll of 20" x 10' aluminum flashing up here anywhere from $13-15.  So, not so bad.