Advice on latex or hybrid DIY build

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Longtime lurker, first time poster. Please excuse the long story.

Husband and I are middle-aged, he’s 5’7" 150 lbs sleeps stomach/side and I’m 5’3" 145 lbs side/back, sleep very hot. I loved our Beautyrest Black memory foam bed for about 4 years then started waking every morning with my butt sunk in a dip, and low back spasms that could last all day. Had stopped side sleeping as much due to shoulder/elbow problems.

We went mattress shopping extensively. Difficult to tell how mattress will feel at home by lying on display model for 5 min in the store. We liked Casper Wave Hybrid in store but ended up returning as he didn’t think was firm enough, I thought was just OK. Got a Costco Stearns and Foster Lakeridge which he loves and I found painfully firm. I couldn’t sleep unless with various memory foam or latex toppers, which he didn’t like. That’s now in the guest room. I kept finding that whatever was firm enough for back support while back sleeping, also caused either tailbone pain while back sleeping, or hip/shoulder pain while side sleeping.

I then tried SleepEZ Dunlop latex 3" firm under 3"med for him, 3" med under 3" soft for me, with a Sleep on Latex Dunlop 2" med over the whole thing. He doesn’t like latex. I got pretty good results with SleepEZ Dunlop 3" firm under 3" med under folded 2" (so 4") SOL Dunlop med, this stack is still on floor and I lie on it when I wake with back pain. I really like the SOL medium.

We then decided to upgrade to king size so we could each have our own twin XL. He has Helix Dawn Luxe (firm option for stomach/back sleeper) and I have Helix Midnight Luxe (med for side sleeper). It’s been about a year and a half and I’m finding this doesn’t have enough lumbar support to sleep flat on my back. Still have same shoulder/elbow issues where I can’t sleep on my side for long, and a right side/low back strain that has never gone away since we started experimenting with mattresses. Been doing physical therapy exercises for a year. It’s better if I sleep on my back with wedge pillow elevating my knees, but often wake around 4 AM and can’t get comfortable.

Now I’m considering DIY on my side, all latex or coils + latex. Trying to approx match the 13.5" of my husband’s side. Thought maybe 1" HD foam, 8" L&P zoned coils, 2" SOL medium dunlop and 2" med talalay? Have not tried talalay yet. I’m a bit concerned about comments I’ve read about coils being too small to fill the entire bed area, is that typical? Not really sure if I need coils, but 13.5" of all latex seems unnecessary in terms of weight and cost. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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Hi Apples.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum. :slight_smile:

I think a DIY on your side is a great idea, especially given the fact that it seems to have been working really well for you when you tried it the first time around.

I agree that coils are going to give you both the height and firmness you’re looking for.

Talalay tends to be springier - think angel food cake, where Dunlop is more often compared to pound cake. You could give it a go and buy a topper that has a great exchange policy and switch to Dunlop if it is not successful/not your favorite.

That’s interesting. I hadn’t heard that - where did you see/read/hear that? I’d be interested to investigate it a little more.

Do you already know who you’re going to source your DIY parts through? If not, I have a few recommendations ready to go! Just let me know.
NikkiTMU

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Hi Nikki, thanks for your response!

I’ve read a few different posts on Reddit about coils not filling the surface area of the bed. Thought there were some on Mattress Underground too, but perhaps I was mistaken as can’t find them now. Here are a couple examples, but I’m glad you don’t think this is a common problem:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mattress/comments/nw54ku/diy_pocketed_coils_too_small/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mattress/comments/11jl8bw/what_are_the_actual_dimensions_of_your_coils/

Last night I swapped my mattress out for my half-queen sized stack of latex pieces: Sleep EZ 3" firm, 3" medium, 3" medium and folded/doubled Sleep on Latex 2" medium. I forgot I had two 3" mediums in there so it comes to 13" which is not too different in height from my husband’s side. It is a little weird as these were meant for a queen bed and it’s on a king platform, but not bad. At least I felt the level of soreness was attributable to me, not the mattress. It’s a little firm but perhaps that’s what I need. Would love to have your recommendations for where to get Talalay if I decide to try switching out the top layer.