Groves, I wish I could play around with top bar hives. My hives are within the city limits and they have to be Langstroth type. I was actually going to just doing something else but I have a neighbor (well, a guy who lives a mile down the road) who calls the city anytime he thinks there's a violation. So I've been inspected for the bees, chickens, veggie garden, fence height, grass height, etc. EVERYTHING. Glad I went by the book!
Let us know how the top bar hives go - I've heard good things!