Hello forum and thank you for sharing your experience and or expertise.
My wife is a side sleeper 5’3" 125 pounds and I am a back sleeper 5’10" 165 pounds.
Based on what I have read here: I am thinking that we need a thicker softer topper (i.e. 3" 19 ILD) with a firm core (i.e. 6" 34 - 44 ILD).
Spindle Mattress offers the 10" Abscond and hopefully would have the inventory to offer these specifications, though synthetic, the price is “right”.
Alternatively, going about the DIY way-- BrooklynBedding has the talalay natural 3" topper with bamboo cover and SleeponLatex has a natural 6" core bare bones.
I would appreciate any additional ideas or directions, especially, how I might construct a professional looking mattress-- quilting, fire retardant layer, etc. if I decide to go about the do-it-myself mattress way.
I would always keep in mind that using specs to try and design a mattress without years of experience and knowledge can lead to some very unexpected results. The guidelines on the site are only generic and meant to help the members here understand the basic concepts behind mattress design but are not specific to any particular person.
There are far too many variables and unknowns to use specs as a way to choose a mattress (at best they can make a good starting point) and as you can see in mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here I would either use your own personal testing or the guidance and experience of a retailer or manufacturer that can help you choose the design they offer that has the highest chance of success based on the “averages” of their customers.
Before you consider designing and building your own mattress out of separate components I would read post #15 here and post #2 here so you have realistic expectations and are comfortable with the higher risk and possibly higher costs involved. It can be a great project if what you learn and the challenge of building your own mattress is just as important to you as the final costs involved.
There are some good sources for individual components and zip covers in post #4 here but If you want a fire retardant barrier then it would need to be included in the cover. I would keep in mind that if the fire regulations are important to you that a mattress is always tested and burned as a single unit and not as individual components and some covers may pass the fire regulations with some designs and materials and not with others. Either way your mattress wouldn’t have been tested as a prototype at all.
I appreciate your urging back to the principles underlying this great knowledge filled site. I admit, I wanted there to be a systematic formula to relieve wife and I from our sore acheing bodies. I am certainly glad I was motivated by the member discount to post something on this forum. Your references have encouraged me through the pain to do my due diligence and get out there to pound the pavement.
That being said, I hope the forum may optimize my time by recommending some local businesses in Tallahassee, FL that sell Latex foam mattresses or have provided some superior product recommendations based on customer preferences.
