I have been cleaning in anticipation of our new mattress. I looked under my bed and was surprised to discover that there are only three slats and a center beam. Given the weight of our new mattress I am thinking this is not enough. How many slats should I add? I am thinking seven more for a total of ten so that they will be three inches or so apart. I also think I should add a center foot. One of the salesman I talked to while choosing a mattress said that even a stack of books would work for a center foot. I am thinking more along the lines of a chunk of four by four. Does that seem good?
I should have added that it is a four poster queen sized bed with 1x6’s for slats.
Hi Wavycat,
An all latex mattress will generally do best with a slatted foundation or base where the gaps between the slats are 3" or preferably less. If you use 1 x 3 slats then I would add enough of them so that there are no gaps wider than 3" to prevent the latex (which is very flexible) from sinking through the gaps over time (keeping in mind that 1 x 3 slats end up being 3/4" x 21/2").
The center foot should also be supported to the floor (with books or a 4x4 legs such as these) and two would be even better than one to prevent sagging in the middle of your bedframe.
Phoenix