Mann Lake Traditional Complete Bee Hive Kit, 9⅝" Deep Hive Body, Painted

It is getting harder to find painted hive bodies and fully assembled frames -- This is a fascinating hobby, but I am not looking for extra work painting hive bodies or assembling frames. I ordered 4 of the full hive kit and another 4 extra hive bodies with frames. All arrived promptly, neatly painted, sturdily constructed. The wooden frames had plastic foundation inserts. While it was shipped assembled, some of the plastic foundation inserts did fall out in transport, but were super easy to re-insert -- no assembling frames, no clips and was foundation that easily breaks. We will see during the season how the bees react, but my previous experience with fully plastic frames with built in foundation has been good. The only downside is that this came with lots of boxes withing boxes, so unpacking took about 2+ hours. Overall, I am pleased with the construction and with the clean look. Package bees purchased locally get installed in 3 days.

They have survived without warping or splitting unlike other hives for 2+ years, metal covered lid. come primered/ painted. good price for a sturdy hive. honeykeeper brand base separated plys and the corners swelled leaving gaps for SHB

This is my first hive and my first Mann Lake product. I have to say, I'm impressed. The packaging is almost Apple-like, not quite as fancy, but very clean and safe. Everything arrived in perfect shape. They even put a nice plastic sheet to cover the aluminum top. The hive is well-constructed, sturdy, and attractive for a box. While it seems a bit pricey for a what are essentially a few pieces of painted wood, you really can't find the individual components for cheaper than this whole package.

This Hive is the quickest, easiest way to get a hive. This is my first hive and was able to set it up with no effort. Then, all you have to do is get the bees and "install" them. My bees have been in the hive for several months. I was a little worried but have been very excited and happy with the progress of the bees on the plastic foundation. The only think I wish it had was a screened bottom board instead of a solid. Item is accurately described and a great buy. I had to purchase an additional deep hive body fairly quickly because of the fast growth of the colony.

Excellent speed of delivery (free). Product is well made and exactly as advertised. Bees are happy! Price was good. Only reason for not giving it 5 stars is that it only includes a solid bottom board (which was as advertised). We really wanted a screened bottom board option, which was not available. We had to purchase a screened bottom board elsewhere at an added cost of $35.

Save the Bee's! This is an amazing product, as a first time beekeeper I am amazed how well built this hive was... The hardest part I felt like was getting started & this was exactly what I needed to get started. We actually just ordered a 2nd kit today haha. As anything you buy look for discrepancies in the stuff you buy but I have nothing bad to say... But you may want to replace the solid bottom board with a screened bottom board depending on you & your Bee's

These complete bee hive kits by Mann are really very high quality and they come assembled. It's a great kit for a beginner or someone like me, very experienced, but no longer interested in assembling frames with foundation. The wood is very high quality. I wish they had bottoms with screen for warm climates, but I route out most of the bottom and then cut out a piece with a power jigsaw and mount 1/8" hardware cloth on the bottom. We live in Hawaii and this works well to create air flow from below.

I'm too busy to take a bag of nails and half of my day to assemble my own hive. I've been there and done that and IMHO it sucks. This is great because you are ready to set up and get bees in this thing in a matter of minutes.It comes with everything you need. This is so good that in total I own 9 of these. The others are 3 years old and still in great condition. They come pre-painted as well.