Welcome, Bee Culture readers and fans of TJ Carr’s proposal for a standard top bar hive for beekeepers!
Here are the detailed plans by for a standardized and gorgeous TBH by longtime Albuquerque beekeeper and retired engineer, TJ Carr, and John Bradford.
- Free! Design for Standardized Top Bar Hives (PDF)
- Notes to accompany the Standardized TBH design (PDF)
The standardized Top Bar Hive design by TJ Carr and John Bradford
mistress beek 
I no longer use top bar hives. I went back to the Langstroths that I’ve used for over 50 years (yes, at age 67, I’m still using deeps). That said, the 3 top bar hives I used all had 19-1/2″ top bars that could, as shown in this set of plans, fit into a Langstroth hive. Standardization is a big deal for me. Being able to move frames and top bars between disease-free hives is a big advantage of such standardization. I recommend these dimensions to all who want to try top bars hives.