Hi All

SBB or Open Mesh Floors as we call them in UK have been known about,
experimented with and discussed for more than a century... I am of the
opinion that they were first thought of around 1890 in New York State in
USA.

I personally have been using them for 21 years, and I have used various
methods of construction... The design as patented sounds the same as
versions that are commonly used in UK and have been for many years.

The American practice of using a screen on top of a solid floor or bottom
board seems to me a waste of time and materials. If you wish to store a
solid board while a mesh one is in place do it in a stack that just contains
them. I think that anyone that actually bothers to experiment with them will
find that they never want to return to the solid variety, particularly those
that live in cold areas.

However they will not work well with any secondary entrance (no matter how
small) at the top of the hive.

Best Regards & 73s... Dave Cushman, G8MZY
Beekeeping & Bee Breeding Website...
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman