Chalet roof for Langstroth hive

01 · FIT

515 × 445 mm inside: the measurement that decides

ICKO publishes one measurement and it is the one that matters: a 515 × 445 mm internal opening, 60 mm deep inside. That takes 10-frame Langstroth brood boxes and supers (ours measure 51 × 42.2 cm outside) and 10-frame Dadant and Dadant Blatt (50 × 43 cm). The limit is close: our fixed-floor Dadant US body is 51.5 cm long, exactly the roof's internal length, so no play is left and you must measure your own box first. Over 51.5 cm long or 44.5 cm wide and it will not go on; if it carries stacking cleats, measure over the cleats.

02 · BUILD

Folded galvanised sheet over a pine frame

Both slopes are clad in galvanised steel sheet, folded over the ridge and tucked in along the bottom edge; the gable ends and side walls are screwed pine. The sheet takes sun, hail and rain; the timber gives it body and grip. The eaves overhang front and back: water falls clear of the wall instead of running down to the entrance, and in summer they shade the box.

03 · HEAT AND WIND

The insulation is the timber, not a foam

There is no insulation panel here: what damps the midday heat and the dawn frost is the pine and the air trapped under the ridge. It is also all the manufacturer claims about the insulation. The 5 kg of timber and sheet work in your favour: a light roof lifts in the wind. And since it closes the top, ventilate from below: a mesh floor or a ventilated base.

04 · CARE

It arrives as bare timber and needs treating

It leaves the factory unpainted and untreated. The sheet looks after itself, but the pine is outdoors twelve months a year: a coat of oil, preservative or paint before you put it into service, and a refresh every two or three seasons. The manufacturer advises the same to extend its life.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It is the roof only: no crownboard, no cover cloth and no feeder. And mind the 60 mm: that is all the height inside, and both the overlap on the box and the clearance above the frames come out of it. Measure your crownboard or feeder before counting on fitting both.