analysis paralysis-help appreciated

[phoenix]

Hi ljc.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum! You’ve jotted down quite a few astute and perceptive observations!

I’d like to go the DIY route because I like the idea of customization and feel that I can choose better quality components than what’s available off the shelf without spending a fortune. My spouse is against this after a recent fiasco where I ordered a memory foam topper to try to make our current mattress more comfortable

If you want to forge ahead with a DIY and you have time and patience to do it, you may end up with a superior less costly product. I would recommend working closely with a manufacturer who will be able to give good advice about all the different components over using your own knowledge and separate sources to build your mattress.
Sorry for your memory foam topper fiasco! The good part about getting the “wrong topper size” was more of a blessing in disguise and a good reason to return it before finding out that you can’t really fix a sagging and broken down foam mattress by adding a topper that won’t fix the support and alignment issues.

Our current mattress is a Serta Trump mattress that’s ~10 years old. We initially liked the comfortable pillow top combined with the support provided by the coils. I think the coils are still supportive but the comfort layer is shot and has body impressions, so it’s worsening my hip pain and causing my spouse shoulder pain.

Thanks for providing your stats and history with previous and test mattresses you had a chance to try. Unfortunately, you are not alone amongst those that own a mattress with thick layers of lower quality foams in the upper layers such as in a pillowtop … which initially were inside the “range” that was acceptable for you in terms of spinal alignment … and over time with the softening and breaking down of foams it put you “over the line” and the mattress is no longer be suitable for you.

We have tried mattresses in local stores but there wasn’t anything I loved. My spouse was ready to drop over $5k on a Tempurpedic LuxeAdapt Soft with an adjustable base. I think this will sleep too hot and I didn’t feel supported enough (felt a gap between my shoulder and hip when lying on my side). While the Luxebreeze initially felt cooler, that feeling dissipated quickly and I don’t think it’s worth the extra cost.

Testing mattresses made by major manufacturers can end up doing more to confuse than to help because no matter how they feel in a showroom … you are making a blind purchase and since you can’t feel quality or durability all that happens is that you waste a lot of time testing mattresses that aren’t worth buying but also can’t be used as a reference point or compared to other mattresses. This is the reason for the first guideline in this article which suggests avoiding them completely (and the chain stores that sell them) The only exception I would consider is if I knew the quality of all the materials and layers and they were good quality materials and value which unfortunately you aren’t likely to find.

I am glad you decided against a memory foam mattress for the reasons you stated which include the durability concerns where you could not find the density and layer thickness. Either way, you certainly hit the nail on the head with your observations about the memory foam beds you tried as typically memory foam tends to change with pressure, trapped heat, and humidity from your body, and tend to soften over the course of the night thus making it difficult to control how far you sink into the layer. What started out as correct spinal alignment could turn into a “hammock” position and a backache by morning. Additionally, the deeper in a mattress someone sleeps, the more likely someone is to have issues with “sleeping hot”. This of course is a quality of all foams where you “sink in” to some degree but it is compounded by the makeup of memory foams in general which allow a greater degree of sinking in and are typically less breathable (allow for less evaporation) than other foams. Even the newer generation memory foams which are more breathable (and usually a little “quicker”) tend to be less so than other foams that are readily available.

I feel that the best mattress for us would be a hybrid with coils and latex (and perhaps a separate memory foam topper) or a 100% latex mattress (again possibly with a separate memory foam topper to provide additional pressure relief). I think all memory foam will be too hot. I’d like to stay under $4500 for a king size, but would consider spending more for the right mattress.

I tend to agree that a hybrid coils/latex construction can work well both for you and your husband. As we age, we all need some extra cushioning for comfort and the conforming qualities of the coils and the unusual combination of surface softness and the deeper support of latex seem to meet all your criteria. At your higher BMI of 32.3 kg/m[sup]2[/sup] you’d also need to make sure that anything you chose for the 4-6 inches of comfort/transition layer(s) meet the mattress durability guidelines here. Also Post #3 here has more information and suggestions about heavier weights that is worth reading.

While I don’t expect anyone to be able to resolve the conflict between my spouse and me, if any of the experts on this site have suggestions for a commercially available mattress that would suit our needs, I’d appreciate the input. I’m also interested in hearing suggested DIY configurations in case I can convince my spouse to go that route. Partly because I hate the thought of the whole thing ending up in a landfill, I’d like to try deconstructing it, saving the coils and adding new comfort layers and a new cover, but would consider purchasing a new coil unit as well…

We have quite a few experts that are Trusted members of our site that would be glad to answer any questions you may have. Latex Mattress Factory is specializing in mattresses for higher weight ranges. Whether you chose to go the finished mattress or DIY route they have both options available. LMF are not the only ones that provide multiple solutions so you may wish to peruse the Trusted member directory linked above for other options.

Your thoughts of preventing the “whole thing ending up in a landfill” are surely commendable and the “deconstructing, saving the coils and adding new comfort layers and a new cover” can have a good chance of success if you are ready to take the time and some of the risks that come with building your own DIY. You can certainly salvage the coils, which most likely are still in good condition after 10 years. I am not sure what coils your current Serta mattress uses but generally, coils are rarely the weak link in a mattress) Whether you’re considering an all-foam product or one using an innerspring unit, I would still start your DIY research by reading option 3 in post #15 here and the posts it links to (and option #1 and #2 as well) so that you know what is involved make sure that you are comfortable with the learning curve, uncertainty, trial, and error, or in some cases the higher costs that may be involved in the DIY process.
As I said, if you want to forge ahead and you have some time and patience to do it, you may end up with a superior product. I would recommend working closely with a manufacturer who will be able to give good advice about all the different components over using your own knowledge and separate sources to build your mattress

Phoenix