[quote=“datrumole post=91851”]i dont 100% get it, but i get what your saying (if that makes sense)
there are so many design variables, it makes it really challenging, but also fun to learn about, but also frustrating with limited DIY sourcing options for most folk (especially here on the east coast)
you rely so much on heresy on forums trying to gather enough information to make intelligent choices without having seen/touch/felt anything. and you have people who can literally sleep on anything (my wife) and you’ll read their weight and height, not realizing their build is super soft, but it doesnt bother them vs me who’s got an INSANELY temperamental back (have degenerative disc disease)
it would be a lot easier if there was a show room with all the different talalay and dunlop layers under one roof, and you got to just mix, match, and play a bit. granted you still may not get it right on the first try, but you’d be a lot closer the first time around
after now 3 nights on 34d/34d/24t, my back is SIGNIFICANTLY happier. so i’m confident the 36 layer will add a touch more support, and we might be off and running! which i’m super excited about, so thank you! i would have 100% ordered a 32t which wouldn’t have fixed anything
right now the thing for me that seems to be the biggest design challenge is, my butt/hips are just way heavier than my upper body, so i just dont know how you design around that. thats why i was thinking that the upper most layer has to be soft enough so that all the body parts sink to the same plane else you are already creating a hammock in a way just in the first 3 inches. heck maybe for heavier people, a 3" topper might not be best, perhaps a 2" super soft, and a 2" med-firm. sink through the top and get everything down to the same plane, then start to hit the support
if i had to start over, i’d honestly be eyeing: 6" 36(t or d) / 2" 32t/ 2" 24t[/quote]
Sounds like you have a very similar situation to mine. My wife is only half my size and can sleep on just about anything. A while back I managed to injure myself in bed on an expensive mattress that was only a few months old (likely due to severe hammocking). This makes my hips/lower back super sensitive to misalignment while sitting or sleeping and making it pretty much impossible to get an off the shelf mattress that works for me anymore. I started my DIY journey because 1) the mattress industry quality has been going downhill fast (spent a ton of money and got crap) and 2) the pain and lack of sleep was driving me insane.
You can read all about my build here:
https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/simmons-beautyrest-mattress-rebuild
It’s very clear to me that you were definitely lacking support (hammocking) which was messing with your alignment and causing you pain. So great news you’re getting closer to your goal. The 36T was definitely the right layer to get next and that should be even closer to what you want. To answer your heavier hips question, you need to use zoning to fix that issue. Have a look at the end of my build thread link above and you’ll see what my current layer setup looks like. So if you still feel like you can’t quite get the hip alignment correct (often a hip rotation issue even after the hammocking problem is fixed) and given that you have degenerative disc disease, I would then put a Flobed V-zone in as your 2nd layer (so it would be 34D/36T/VZone/24). I know the V-zone is expensive ($600) but nothing else will give you that level of alignment adjustability if it turns out you need it. Eventually you may want to swap in a 32T as well to give you additional cradling (travel) but that would be a last step. If you were just starting out (knowing what I do so far on your situation) I would have suggested 36T/32T/VZone/22T (all 3" layers). That’s obviously not the case so the key here is to continue to make progress incrementally. You may try something that doesn’t work but that’s fine, realize it’s just part of the DIY process and move on. Don’t get stuck like I did trying to resuse layers that don’t work for you just because you spent money on them. I also spent alot of money learning the differnce between dunlop and talalay too but you quickly realize the end result makes the entire effort worth it.