Hi shortsheet,
I switched your post to a new topic so that information about Murmaid would be easier for others to find instead of being “buried” in a different topic.
Just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choice … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
The most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase is PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) so I would make sure that your daughter and her fiance do some careful and objective testing on any mattress they will be sleeping on.
Outside of PPP … the most important part of a mattress purchase is to make sure that you know the specifics of all the materials in a mattress (see this article) regardless of which manufacturer makes it so that you can make sure there are no weak links in the mattress (see post #4 here) and can make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses.
Onc you have tested for the suitability of a mattress and you know the quality of the materials … the other parts of your personal value equation (including the price of course) would also be important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase.
As you know … Murmaid is a local manufacturer and they fit the profile of the type of manufacturer that I would normally prefer to deal with that make better quality/value mattresses than their mainstream competitors. They have also been transparent about the materials in their mattresses and have told me that they will gladly provide the specific information you need so that you aren’t making a “blind” purchase since every manufacturer makes mattresses that use lower and higher quality materials in different budget ranges. Having said that … there are some recent indications that they may no longer be as transparent as they once were (see post #8 here) so I would always make sure that you are able to find out the specifics of all the materials in any mattress you are considering here.
A forum search on Murmaid (you can just click this) will bring up more posts that mention them. Some of the other options or possibilities in the Chattanooga area I’m aware of are also listed in post #2 here but I would certainly include Murmaid as a priority in your research.
Phoenix