Bottom Board help!!!

[derrick1p1]

Hello All:
I recently purchased my first 2 hives.  I most likely will receive my bees with in the next week.  The bottom boards I have are not screened and my foundations are plastic.  I would like to convert my bb's to screened, but am unable to find any instructions online.  Are there any suggestions for converting? or should I not attmept this and just purchase new boards?

Should I stay with the plastic foundation and try this, or should I remove them and covert to was foundation.  If so, which is the easiest way to do this?

I really appreciate any advice/direction anyone might be able to give. 

Thank you,
Derrick

[thegolfpsycho]

I have taken approximately half my bottom boards and just cut out a section approximately 10 inches wide and 12 inches long.  Then staple hardware cloth over the hole.  Then stapled some small square stock with a saw kerf in it to accept a slide in plastic sheet so I could shut them down.  The ventilation helped with bearding.  I also left some open over winter to see how they did.  The colonys with the open bottoms are well behind the colonys with solid bottoms this spring, so I will probably not do that again.  I haven't noticed any benefit as far as mites being controlled by the open bottoms.  And the ventilation issue I think can be as well addressed by shifting the supers 3/8's of an inch and propping the tops up.  This has the added benefit of adding entrances above the brood nest and relieves to a small extent some crowding and traffic in that area.  If I was making comb or chunk honey, I would certainly utilize upper entrances to reduce some travel stains on the new wax.

[bluegrass]

I wouldn't worry about changing them over. New ones are easy to build....see http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209573

[Jerrymac]

Here are some plans;
http://www.beesource.com/plans/ipmbottom.htm

[Brian D. Bray]

If you want to convert to top entrance just turn the solid bottom boards over and put them on top of the instead of the bottom.  Then put a screen bottom board on the bottom.  The air flow will cure many problems including bearding.

[Michael Bush]

Or turn the solid ones into feeders:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm