Advice for DIY mattress

[phoenix]

Hi IWannaMeetSandman,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

This website in amazing. I was about to order a mattress from a bed-in-a-box company last week until I read a lot of material here. Thanks a lot for all the information !

You’re very welcome. I’m happy the information presented here has been helpful to you.

was wondering if a HR 2.5lbs polyfoam is significantly less durable than latex. I would like to use my mattress at least 5 or six years. I know latex is the most durable material, but as a support layer, would there big a big difference between HR foam and latex ?

A latex support core is more durable, more resilient, more elastic, more adaptable to different weights and shapes and sleeping positions, more supportive (it has a higher compression modulus so it gets firmer faster with compression), more “natural”, and has a different more “springy” and responsive feel than polyfoam. It is a higher performance material. Of course it is also more expensive than a polyfoam core and for some people, a latex hybrid which has the benefits and “feel” of latex in the upper layers (the top 3" - 6" which are the most subject to wear and tear and contribute more to the overall “feel” of a mattress) is worth the cost tradeoff. While not as durable as latex, a true high-resilience polyfoam core will exhibit some of the responsiveness traits of latex and will certainly be durable enough to last 5-6 years.

Now, as a foundation, I am not sure what to get. I read the recent thread about this subject. I would like to get a kickerbocker metal bed frame (this one : www.thebay.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet...0045-kb2007g-lpg--24 ) because I like that it’s a “buy it for life” purchase (It can do twin, full, queen and king). However, I can’t seem to find a good set of wooden slats online.

While a good quality product, this is a bed frame designed to be used with a foundation or a KD foundation, and not a slatted network, as about 10" of the slatted network would be unsupported at the foot of the frame. Slatted networks are designed to be used within the perimeter of a platform bed or a bed set. These are described in more detail in post #1 here.

1. Will a support layer of 6" HR polyfoam + a comfort layer of " latex be a good, durable mattress ?

Yes, it certainly should give you the 5-6 year comfort life you are expecting.

2. Would an all-latex mattress be significantly more durable and worth the money ?

While it would be more durable, the “value” of this configuration would be different for every individual. While price is certainly important of course, the “value” of a mattress purchase is what is most important and price is just one of many factors that can affect the “value” of a mattress purchase. There isn’t a “formula” that can be used to assess or “calculate” the value of a mattress because there are so many different variables and criteria involved that can affect the price of a mattress that can each be more or less important to some people and not to others who may have completely different criteria or definitions of “value”. There is more about the 3 most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

3. Do you guys have a better idea for the foundation ?

You’d have to decide if you wanted to use a metal bed frame (like the Knickerbocker), which would necessitate some sort of a foundation, or if you desire to use a platform bed (metal -as you linked - or wood). There are quite a few examples in the post I linked to earlier.

You linked to Memory Foam Comfort for some of your supplies, and they are a member of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. They are extremely knowledgeable about latex and different configurations, and I would not hesitate to recommend them for your consideration or seek their advice for your DIY build. Site member mattresses.net will ship pocketed innerspring units, but I’m not sure if it would be cost effective to ship to Canada.

Phoenix