The timing for the hive stand set up will be following whatever site prep you are planning (concrete slabs, etc.) and prior to your receiving your bees. If you will be getting your bees in the middle of April, we should endeavor to put up the stands a week or two prior. The length of the stands should be 8 feet long for the 3-hive stand and 6 feet long for the 2-hive stand. If you will be putting a concrete slab in the area of the stand, we will not be able to construct the stands with vertical posts driven into the ground (typical design in grass areas). The options are to bolt stands to the concrete slab, or use masonry blocks as supports with the horizontal rails on top of the blocks. The first photo is more in line with the type we install in the ground. We do not dig the vertical posts into the ground but rather drive pointed treated 2X4’s into the ground. The next two photos show different ways to us masonry blocks, and the last one is a way to use a wooden frame on top of the ground. All of these designs will work, but remember that having toe space beneath the hive is important when you are working close into the hives. We recommend that you limit the use of treated lumber to the ground contact members. We do not use treated lumber for the horizontal part of the frame that the hives will rest on because there are chemicals in the treated wood that are not good for the bees to be in contact with.