The Ultimate List of Beehive Stand Plans: 29 Bee Hive Stand Plans (Free)
We get it. Those commercial beehives are nice. But why spend $300 on a single beehive stand when you can make one practically for free in under 5 minutes. Plus, you don’t even need to have master carpenter-level skills. And fancy tools are optional.
Here are 29 safe bee hive stand plans free for you to build.
Elevated & Safe: 29 Bee Hive Stand Plans
We’ve divided it into three categories: Easy Peasy Stand-Only Designs, More Than Just Your Elevated Hive Stand Plans, and Not Your Usual Stand Plans For Your Hive.
Let’s start with the most beginner-friendly plans:
Easy Peasy Stand-only Designs
With some deck screws, cedar, and other materials, you can finally have your bee colony off the ground, and away from weeds and skunks. Plus, save your back in the process because these honeybee hive stand plans pdf are beginner-friendly.
1. Beginner Friendly Langstroth 10-Frame Beehive Stand
Let’s kick things off with one of the most uncomplicated Langstroth hive stand plans around. You just need six different materials and a drill to build this beehive stand. The extensive use of 4×4 boards already screams sturdy. But the thinner panels that stick out are a subtle way to secure your Langstroth hive.
Click here to access the free plan.
2. Elevated Langstroth Or Warre Plans
Are you a beginner beekeeper? Try out this easy and universal stand from dummies. You can customize this beehive stand according to the supers’ height to make honey collecting more convenient. And, this stand is wide enough to fit almost all hive types plus your everyday beekeeping tools.
Click here to access the free plan.
3. Nickbees’ Double Bee Stand Plan (PDF)
Double bee hive stand plans are great for keeping native bees together – it helps form their bee community (1). You can also use this to prevent bee fights after you split your hive. Make this plan by Nicksbees with handles on both ends to help make transport easy. Looking for folding hive stand plans? This stand has foldable legs.
Click here to access the free plan.
4. Standing Triple
More hives? No problem. Follow this plan to keep three beehives close together. This beehive stand fits 3 National hives perfectly, as long as they have flat roofs. You have to adjust the spacing for wider, angled roofing. Just like the previous item, you can move this stand easily.
Click here to access the free plan.
5. Smart Hive Stand By Beehacker
Keeping a hive off the ground has many benefits for the bees. Plus, a screen bottom board on your hive keeps the bees cool so they can save their energy for foraging. It also keeps hive pests like mites and beetle larva away (2). This hive plan takes all of that into consideration. Plus, this stand is not hard to make.
Click here to access the free plan.
6. Layens Beehive Stand
This beehive stand is not just for the Leyens hive users. It is also the perfect solution for apiarists tired of tripping over the spayed legs of their hives! Build this straight-legged beehive stand with a box. But don’t worry, the entire structure is still stable because of the low-key crossbars support at the bottom.
Click here to access the free plan.
7. Pallet and Post Beehive Stand
You don’t need to go out to the hardware store for your beehive stand. It costs nothing to build this stand design provided that you have big branches and old pallets laying around your yard. The trade-off? You’ll need to bury this structure into the ground.
Click here to access the free plan.
8. Iron Oak Farm Multiple Beehive Stand
This stand is a more structured version of the previous plan. You don’t need power tools to make this stand. But, it’s perfect for beekeepers looking to up their carpentry game since it teaches you cool, manual jigsaw techniques. If you already have more advanced carpentry know-how, then this should be a piece of cake!
Click here to access the free plan.
More Than Just Your Elevated Hive Stand Plans
Building all sorts of beehives is great. But knowing how to put together different types of beehives is even better. Check out these all-in-one hives and stand combos. And learn how to build the other hive components, including the bottom board.
9. Stingless Bees Are Not Homeless Bees
Let’s start with one of the most unusual yet simple designs to make. Follow this super easy plan, and you can have a hive box with a horizontal division and a roof. That’s all you need to keep some local bees down in Australia happy. See these buzzers in their wild hive.
You don’t need to build them supers or a bottom board. Just transfer their old hive in the box, and they go about their business as usual.
Click here to access the free plan.
10. Classic Stephen E. Tilmann Stand with Bee Box
Sometimes you just need to elevate your hive a little off the ground.In that case, you want to make the Stephen E. Tilmann hive stand. It has a broader landing board for all your bees. And while you’re at it, construct the Honey Bee Box to go on top of it. It’s a great basic DIY project for beginner beekeepers.
Click here to access the free plan.
11. Swarm Away Traps
Free bees sound fantastic, but it’s easier to imagine than to do it. Don’t rely on dangerous quick fixes like a cardboard box. Craft your own swarm trap out of wood boards, some screws, wood glue, and a small piece of screen. Putting it together also just takes a few tools. It takes a bit of time, but it’s a safer plan that you can reuse.
Click here to access the free plan.
12. For Emergencies
There’s more than one way to catch a swarm. If you don’t want to transfer bees from a swarm trap, then capture them straight into a hive. Here’s an easy and permanent hive option you can make in a jiffy. Plus, it has some anti-rot features that make it last longer than others.
Click here to access the free plan.
13. House That Special Delivery
Speaking of transferring bees, where do you put a new package of bees? Well, you can just build this plan and move the whole box inside, no problem. The setup has everything your bees need to feel at home, including a feeder.
Click here to access the free plan.
14. Small Stand With A Price To Match
Let’s get to know the more popular beehives by building a basic Warre Hive. This hive is a top bar-type with a vertical orientation. Since it’s smaller than most hives, it’s easier to manage. Plus, it costs about $50 to build and takes only about 3 hours from start to finish!
Click here to access the free plan.
15. Wooden Skid Hive Stand
Here’s a basic plan for anyone who wants to build the ever-popular Langstroth hive. This hive works well and doesn’t bother the bees as much (3).
“Harvesting from a Langstroth hive returns empty comb to the hive, allowing bees to resume use without having to rebuild, so generally beekeepers are able to harvest more honey”
More honey is great, but so is saving money. This beehive stand version uses old skids to save on expenses, but it works to give you just as much honey.
Click here to access the free plan.
16. Langstroth Template
This stand is the more refined version of the previous option. You need brand new materials and a jigsaw to follow this template to the tee. Aside from the detailed machine work, this plan uses a lot of glue and screws.
Click here to access the free plan.
17. Simple Vertical Box Hive
As the name implies, making this beehive is straightforward. But it takes time. Every wooden material is the same thickness. You can just get a couple of huge boards and cut the pieces from that. Glue the pieces together like a 3D puzzle. Finish this design with waterproof paint or linseed oil, and you’ve got yourself a hive.
Click here to access the free plan.
18. Customize It
We’re headed into the more advanced building hive stands. Check out this next beehive that is so customized that you have to make your frames to go with it. But don’t worry too much. It gets easier using just super-strong, outdoor-grade glue and industrial staples to join things together.
Click here to access the free plan.
19. Safe and Ready For All Seasons
Construct this ultra-durable bee tower if you live in areas with extreme temperature changes. Your bees will appreciate the excellent insulation all year round. Safe and healthy bees making quality honey are a good reward for all the welding and carpentry work you put into this hive.
Click here to access the free plan.
20. Pro-level Beehive
Disclaimer: This design is basic but on a professional level. A lot of cutting and piecing together goes into making this 22-part Langstroth hive. You also need a lot of tools and clamps to make everything as precise as can be. If you’re an all-out handyman, you’ll enjoy the challenge of making this hive.
Click here to access the free plan.
Not Your Usual Stand Plans For Your Hive
The best beehive doesn’t have to be a conventional one. Take a look at these ingenious beehive stand plans.
21. 5-minute Beehive Stand
Ah, the classic cinder block beehive stands. It’s not the prettiest stand out there, but it does the job at almost no expense. Building this hive stand is as easy as stacking two cinder blocks on opposite ends and then inserting two posts through the slots to form a bridge. You stack your hive on it, and you are done.
Click here to access the free plan.
22. Bees In A Bucket
If you don’t have an apiary but like having bees pollinate your garden, this plan is perfect for you. It’s a bee house made of PVC pipe as the beehive stand and an upside-down 5-gallon plastic bucket as the main hive. You don’t get the benefits of honey with this hive. But you get to save the bees by giving them a habitable halfway house.
Click here to access the free plan.
23. Pretty Bee Drawer
Done renovating? Turn old drawers into beehives instead of throwing them into the salvage yard. We just need to carve out slots for the entrance and roofing. But you can also go all out and add your spin to it with paint. This plan isn’t a permanent home, just a quaint place for bees that are passing through.
Click here to access the free plan.
24. DIY Beehive In A Jar
Remember when people started using mason jars for everything? Well, you can also make mason jars into honey supers for your hive. You basically just need plywood (cedar or lumber works great too), a circular saw, and about a dozen mason jars. The best part is you can just seal the jars up when they’re ready. No more messy processing!
Click here to access the free plan.
25. Cad Design
Who says you can’t mix high-tech gizmos with beekeeping? The invention of the 3D printer might have just revolutionized backyard beekeeping with this plan. It’s best for the ground type of buzzers like Mason bees. They use mud to make their nests (4). So this flower pot and hive combo work great for them.
Click here to access the free plan.
26. DIY Log Hive For Healthier Bees
Did you ever see Winnie the Pooh get to a honey hive easily? No, he always had to work for it. And, most of the time, he falls off the trees.
Honey bees naturally build hives in trees because it’s safe from animals trying to get their honey. Plus, it’s pest-free up there
Hence the concept for this log-in-a-tree type of hive. It gives the bees as much of a natural environment as possible using a hollowed-out tree trunk.
Click here to access the free plan.
27. 55 Gallon Top Bar Beehive
After you open this hive plan and scroll through the steps, you might think you’re building a Texas smoker, but it’s a hive. It uses a plastic 55-gallon drum for the main hive. As for the beehive stand, you have two choices – straight or frame legs.
Click here to access the free plan.
28. DIY Beehive Cocoon
This plan is a rustic way to insulate your beehive. Building this beehive stand frame usually starts. You weld a few bars and then wrap it up in plastic. Then, you wrap the whole structure with duvets or fiber sheets until it looks like a giant hay bale. Ta-da, you have an insulator ready to pop over your hive.
Click here to access the free plan.
29. Observation Hive
Last but not least, we have the coolest hive on the list. This vertical, glass-paneled hive is a fantastic way to get an inside look into the daily lives of your bees. The entire hive is sandwiched bee-tween two old glass window panels. So, you won’t miss anything!
Click here to access the free plan.
FAQs
A beehive stand should be high enough that predators can’t get to it. But it should also not be too high that you have a hard time maintaining it.
It should be at a comfortable height for you to check on your bees without needing a ladder. Gathering honey from an extra-tall beehive is complicated and dangerous.
The best base for a beehive is stable. Usually, spaying the legs at an angle helps keep the hive from toppling over. A-frame legs also work.
Adding ant-proof features like a moat on the base also helps. And the height of the beehive stand should be proportional to the weight of the hives.
A beehive should be both in the sun and shade during the day. Choose a location that gets sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon. That way, the bees don’t overheat in the afternoon sun. The location of the beehive can either help or drag down the colony’s productivity (5).
References
- Keeping Hives Close Together. Retrieved from: https://www.australiannativebee.com/2016/10/19/keeping-hives-close-together/
- Screen Bottom Boards Vs. Solid Bottom Boards: Which Is Better? Retrieved from: https://www.perfectbee.com/blog/screen-bottom-boards-vs-solid-bottom-boards-better
- Langstroth Vs. Top Bar: Which Hive Is Better? Retrieved from: https://www.hobbyfarms.com/langstroth-vs-top-bar-which-hive-is-better-2/
- Learn 4: How to Raise Spring Mason Bees. Retrieved from: https://crownbees.com/super-pollinators-spring
- 8 Proper Beehive Placement Tips. Retrieved from: https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/8-proper-beehive-placement-tips/
Tana grew up around island farms and pine forests. Her love for nature lead to her degree in Biology and mission to lessen her environmental impact. Now she grows food in her backyard and shares what she learns from Eco Peanut with others.
