Resurrecting an old thread here.
My bees were beginning to beard a lot in my long lang, and I also worried about moisture in the hive during our humid Georgia winters, so I closed up the bottom entrance. I raised one of the 4 migratory tops laying in a row on top of the hive with two shims to create an end entrance, and after a few days, they really took to it. The brood area is at the entrance, and the bees are building backwards towards the other end, where they are capping honey. It's also easier to work the hive with the entrance at the end. A piece of thick vinyl covers the whole hive. I just pull the vinyl back and then remove one of the 4 tops where I need to inspect.