I have read a lot about using polystyrene hive bodies.  Currently I am wintering 3 hives in Northern Minnesota in wooden boxes.  I had some polystyrene left over from a building project and was thinking of trying some polystyrene hives this next year.  The benefits over wood seem worth the effort, and I have a dovetail jig and necessary equipment to make the boxes cheap.  A 4'x8' sheet of polystyrene is only $8.  I won't buy them because the companies that do sell them ask far too much.  Anyway, the poly I have left over is extruded and not expanded.  There are some major differences between extruded and expanded.  Extruded is stiffer, has significantly higher R-value, and does not allow water to penetrate.  Expanded is porous, has lower R-value, and isn't nearly as rigid.  All of the boxes I saw on the market are expanded poly.  Has anyone else explored this issue?  Any comments are appreciated.  Also, does anyone know the thickness of these expanded poly boxes?  I'm planning to
 make them out of 1.5" poly which would really make them rigid and nearly indestructible.



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