Keep up with all the timber buzz for this season. There’s some exciting new information and some candid discussion from the bosses that we’re sure will capture your eye! Read Below.



In 1929, Tunnicliffes was founded by the Tunnicliffe family as a native sawmilling business. Since then, our company has built a history of innovation and has established itself as a flexible business in the timber market. This has been achieved by reacting to what the market wants and modifying our goods accordingly. Rather than reinventing the wheel completely, we kept making little amendments to our timber products.
As we continued to grow from our humble beginnings, there became two clear sides to the business. Timber manufacturing and bee woodware. When Mark and Scott bought the business back in late 2018, they became immediately aware that the two sides had diverse customer bases that were distinct from each other. Since they both needed specialist attention, Honeycliffes was born to specially cater for the bee woodware side.
After establishing our name in the bee woodware industry, we also identified a gap in the market for hobbyist beekeepers. Hobbyist beekeeping is gaining traction in New Zealand, and we found that many small beekeepers are faced with various challenges. This is because the industry has a heavy commercial focus in the products and services offered.
By being flexible and practical in our relationships, Honeycliffes have a wide array of products and services for both hobbyists and commercial operators. Come talk to us today!
Timber moves, especially across the grain (over the width of the boards), due to variations in temperature and moisture. The 3-piece Bee Box Floor is designed with shiplap joints to allow for this movement and we recommend assembling the floors as follows:
As per the diagram below line up the first board with the end of the bearers making sure the bearers are at right angles to the board.
Position the next two boards and allow for a 2mm gap in the shiplap joints. The overall width of Tunnicliffe’s bee boxes is 409mm and you should end up at this width.
We recommend nailing or screwing the boards in the positions shown in the diagram below to avoid splitting of floor boards when they move.
The 75 or 100 x 50mm H4 bearers are 405mm long, shorter than the box is wide to avoid the floors from hooking up with neighbouring hives when stacking them close for transport. The board will therefore overhang on one side by approx. 4mm which is normal. Alternatively, you can start with a 2mm overhang of the first board to locate the bearer evenly under the floorboards.
The ‘back’ riser is cut short to also allow for movement and should have a 2mm gap either side from the side risers.