Hi Sean Kelly. I've been building my own hives here in NM, buying the lumber from Home Depot. It cost me about $8 for the lumber for a deep, about a dollar less for mediums. Then the glue, the nails, the paint and lots of work. It takes me probably 1 and a half to 2 hours for sawing, dadoing, gluing, nailing and painting. This doesn't include the time and cost it took of building a dado jig. Still, I think I am breaking even, especially if I don't figure my labor. And even if I don't break even, the satisfaction in looking the hives and knowing that I made them, makes it worth it for me.
Have fun and Good Luck. Joseph M. Nemeth