I’m a first-year beekeeper—or, rather, I will be later this year when my bees arrive. Right now I’m getting things ready for my first hive, and I’ve got the hives set up and ready. But as today’s conditions evidence, things can get rainy and muddy this time of year around these parts, and water stands for a while on my flat farmland. So I’m building a bee hive stand to get my hives off the ground to keep things nice and dry for my bees.
I’ll be using a mixture of recycled and new lumber for this project. Here’s the breakdown of my supplies:
- 2 treated 2×4 boards
- 1 treated 2x6x8 board
- 4×6 posts
Read more: Ready to start beekeeping? Here’s how to purchase bees for a new or expanding hive.
Cutting Lumber
The first step in this build is to cut four legs for the stand. The plans I found call for 4×4 posts, but I have some 4×6 posts on hand, so that’s what I’m using.
I’m building a stand big enough for my two bee boxes. So while my plans call for a stand 8 feet wide, I’m halving that to fit my needs. So I’m cutting my single 2x6x8-foot piece of lumber into two 4-foot pieces.
Next, I’m cutting the leg supports. Again, I’m deviating from the plans here, which call for two 25-inch leg supports. I’m doubling that with four leg supports, which will keep things more secure over time.
Bee Box Assembly
This stand doesn’t require much in the way of construction. Essentially, you’re just building a very basic table that your bee boxes can sit on, protected from ground-level moisture.
I’m not using glue or anything for this construction, but rather I’ll attach everything with some long, all-weather screws. You don’t need any advanced joinery techniques here—just screw everything together using butt joints to build a sturdy box-type table.
Check out the video to see how everything is constructed, as well as my tips for installing the bee stand on your land.
