That has been my thoughts as well. I just love working with wood and would almost build them for no more than the cost of the materials. (Not a wise idea I suppose)
The TBH's are much simpler to deal with. The bees remain much calmer during hive service/manipulation. To my mind there is the added benefit of letting the ladies set up house the way THEY want it...I'm sure all the rest of us men can appreciate the importance of that. The beekeeper has only to move a single piece of wood to expand the capacity of a hive allowing for more comb bars. There is also built in storage in each hive box for your gear, i.e., smoker, frame tool, gloves veil, etc.
The only drawback I have seen is that the cover can get a bit heavy/bulky depending upon how fancy an individual apiarist decides to be with the look of his boxes. I have a few ides on that topic I want to tinker with...You never know!
