"working" Observation hive thoughts or feedback

[HomeBru]

Newbee doing TONS of research in preparation of my son (12 years old) getting started in bees. We're planning on building our own woodenware just because and through the advice of a few local beeks am leaning towards starting two hives so we'll have something to compare against.

We have a 3-season enclosed porch on the south side of the house that has old louvered-glass windows. As I sat in the porch reading "The Hive and the Honeybee" it suddenly occurred to me that one of those windows would make a pretty cool observation hive! Wood exterior, plexi or glass interior framed to fit whatever frame standard we finalize upon. What I'm thinking is building out the bottom section as a 5 frame deep so we can support a "normal" sized colony with plexi ends to be able to watch what's going on. The top frame sections would likely be mostly honey?

Thoughts, ideas?

Thx,

Jay

[buzzbee]

You'll want to avoid direct sunlight through the glass(Melted comb and overheated bees).And yes,do two hives if possible. Have a great time learning with your son,my son and I learned toether and I will always remember this!!

[HomeBru]

You'll want to avoid direct sunlight through the glass(Melted comb and overheated bees).

Yep, I didn't think twice about wood on the outside. I'll have to be careful to have any other "clear" stuff out of direct light.

J-

[mtman1849]

Hey Homebru and welcome to the forum this is a really great place to learn and make a few friends along the way.
It is really great that you and you son are getting into beekeeping together I am sure it will bring you many years of enjoyment
You can also introduce youself to the forum at http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/board,29.0.html doesn't have to be a book lol

[Moonshae]

You'll also need to be able to work on the hive, which means bees flying around. If you can only open it from the inside, you're going to have trouble. Outside access might work well, though. Be sure to pay close attention to bee space, though, or your project will become a hassle to work.