# A Honey House



## farmerjohn (Jun 11, 2010)

What does the area where you store and process your honey look like? Is it fancy and cement floors and heated and all fancy or is it just a metal or wood shed building that you use? Any one with pics? I am wanting a "honey House" and am looking for ideas and etc. for one. Would you put it close to the hives or as far away as possible and why? 

Is there any special features in your "honey house" and if so, what or why was the reason for those special features? Is it air conditioned-heated-electricity-running water-an outhouse? (just joking there-but then again I have seen some really fancy 2 seaters that might just make a good shed!) :hrm:Hmmmm.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

We built the honey house when Michigan passed the law requireing a licenced honey house to sell in places other than our door step.
There are all kinds of regulations to get a licence.

small pole barn. 





















We could not afford the whole works at once so it is a work in progress.
We have it all done now except the sealed floor, hot and cold running water.
I needed more light in the uncapping area I discovered last year when we were doing a lot of the extraction in the late evenings and night.


I didn't want to run a curcuit just for one light 50 feet from the panal box. I put in a couple more duplexs then did a loop curcuit light switch. I've did those loop curcuits several times and are good for lighting a room and having the switch by the door but the wireing running from the back of the room. Saturday It just excaped my mind how to do it. I rewired it a couple of times before giving up and resorting to a internet search. I got it finished up Sunday only to find out the light bar I had bought last fall isn't working on one bar. Glad it has a two year warrenty on it.

Any way we are just about finished up with this years extraction.

They just redid the law and we can now sell at farmers markets with a label on the container saying the honey was processed at a unlicenced fucility.

*Things I learned.
do not use this type of sofit.*









*the bees will enter each and every one of those little vees.*
I sealed them up with that expanding foam.

If you go with the big door for unloading make sure it is either sealed really tight as the bees will find their way in when that hot knife slices the capps off and the scent fills the air.

I plan on building a wall inside to keep the extraction area seperate from the unloading area and the super storage area. for now I hang a tarp over the door to keep it closed up and I also rather uncap and extract at night when the girls are sleeping. A rainy day is good too.

Keep things mobvable till you find what works for you.

 Al


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## farmerjohn (Jun 11, 2010)

Looks pretty great! My color for sure! I can imagine all of those bees finding there way into the soffit. How big is this building? Looks to be a pretty big size. How many hives d you have and process?


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

It is 24' x 24' has a cement floor, 2 inches of foam board insulation in the walls. There is 2 inches of bead board insulation over the extracting area. Half the inside walls and ceiling are covered in hard board where the extracting is done. The required 3 bowl sink is in place and the drain plumed although there is no running water as yet. Thinking of running the water there by garden hose that way we don't have to worry about winter freeze up.
No air conditioning, honey flows from the frames, extractor and holding tanks when it is warm, the warmer the better.
No heat except when needed by a mister heater two head heater.
A heavy insulated room to heat the honey in the supers from the hot attic air. Just big enought to hold two stacks supers.

This year we went over 100 colonies. Each colony has at least two honey supers to start in the spring. The supers are a mix match of mediums and shallows.

Shallows are the lightest in weight


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