DYI finalizing, including googledoc with all recommended Latex vendors with prices

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
5

I contacted Juan Quintero from Select Foam and he confirmed that their toppers are 100% natural talalay from Latex International. I was very specific with my question just to be sure; i asked if their topper was actually “100% natural latex that contained absolutely NO amount of styrene or butadiene” and he confirmed that to be the case. He said that their account representative from LI told them that their N3 topper had an approximate 28 ILD and that is what they put on their site, but he confirmed to me that it’s actually a range of 25-29, and that they probably should update/change their website to indicate that.

I contacted Neal from Spindle Mattress per your suggestion and he was able to help me out. He provided me with the compression set and impact test results for the Mountaintop synthetic dunlop in the 18-22 firmness range:

Impact Test:
ILD Loss @ 25% Compression: 5.60%
Height Loss after 10,000 cycles: 0.57%

Compression Set Test:
Height Loss: 3%

I obviously don’t have the experience to know how this translates to real-world performance, but those specs seem ‘better’ than LI blended latex from what i can tell. LI Talatech had a 6% loss in ILD in the impact test and a 3.3% height loss in the compression set test according to SleepLikeaBear’s FAQ (though they didn’t state what ILD/density this was for, so i can’t really compare the test results between the two). Do you happen to have the impact and compression set test numbers for LI’s talatech in 19 ILD?

Unfortunately though, since Spindle Mattress doesn’t have a layer exchange option for their toppers (and they only carry one ILD range for the full synthetic topper anyways), i don’t think i want to take the risk on this product without feeling it in person first, even though it does seem very comparable to blended talalay.

It’s 80% Cotton and 20% Polyester (there’s a picture of the law tag too). It does seem to pretty decently constructed based on the other photos of it there. Wish i could find someone that has first-hand experience with this cover, search results on these forums (using the terms “VELOUR” or “memoryfoamlatex”) didn’t turn up anything. I’m still not sure if i should gamble on this item, especially given memoryfoamlatex’s history with improperly labeled items and their very poor return policy (buyer pays shipping both ways and 20% restocking fee), though Ebay does seem to honor their money back guarantee with this vendor (so if i did receive an item that wasn’t as described i could get a refund through Ebay).

I definitely don’t want to risk my $1000 worth of latex degrading prematurely because i decide to go with a cheap cover. Might be worth the extra $100 to go with the SleepEZ cover.

Yes, that’s what i’m going to do. I decided to go with vendors that have excellent return policies and comfort/layer exchanges. Luckily, Brooklyn Bedding and Select Foam are outstanding in this department and also happen to have some of the cheapest prices on latex too (Select Foam being the absolute cheapest for 100% natural talalay; BB being the second cheapest for blended, after Mattress247). This way i can start off with a ‘safe’ design and fine-tune things with a layer exchange or two (or three).

So I’m going to start off with what i mentioned earlier:
3" blended talalay, 19 ILD, from Brooklyn Bedding for $324
3" 100% natural talalay, 25-29 ILD (LI N3), from Select Foam for $309
3" blended talalay, 36 ILD, from Brooklyn Bedding for $324
Total: $957 shipped for the latex

With either the Velour cover from Memoryfoamlatex for $54 or the SleepEZ 4-way stretch cover for $155.

If need be i can send the Select Foam layer back for free (they even pay return shipping) and then get another BB layer to replace it. All of the BB layers have a one-time, ‘free’ ($50 return shipping fee), firmness exchange, so i can swap those if needed to fix any problems. Overall, i think this is a pretty ‘safe’ design plan, worst case scenario i lose $150 on layer exchanges but at least get to fix any problems in my original design.

6

Hi SeanD,

I’m glad you confirmed that it was their N3 which is LI’s 100% natural Talalay. Thanks for letting us know.

There are a few numbers for LI Talalay here (click on #4) but the testing protocols may not be “apples to apples” or using the same firmness levels. The differences in any of these numbers are not meaningful or significant enough that I would make durability an issue with any of them. Both Dunlop and Talalay have a long history of lasting decades in real life use … at least in firmer versions (see post #2 here)

Their history of mislisting some of their products is part of the risk of dealing with them. They also mention in the description that the cover you are looking at is yellow so it’s not the same cover as the picture and they have sold other covers in the past that were misdescribed. Some of the other names they have used include Latexusa and happy2EZ and 2ezMemTex and memoryfoamlatex and memoryfoamproducts and memoryfoam4you (you can just click the ones that are linked to see some forum search results) and probably some others as well.

Phoenix

7

For anyone in Southern California or elsewhere looking for the Berkeley Ergonomics product at a great deal, I found it at a store in Irvine called Cantoni. The price was better than anywhere else (I checked three different stores) on this all natural and organic product. The latex is from Europe and has no fillers, the cotton cover is organic. As you may or may not know, wool is the best natural FR (fireproofing) you can buy and has no toxic chemicals in it. The wool in the Berkeley bed is generous and all natural and the coil system, as explained by Cantoni’s highly knowledgeable mattress specialist Richard, is from Sweden and is dual tempered carbide steel - built like a tank. The Berkeley Ergonomics bed comes with a 10 year non-prorated warranty, but I have been told by many customers while doing my research that the mattress has lasted them 14+ years thus far. After a year of my own research, I am sold on this product. I have tested every organic mattress by Savvy Rest, Natura, Naturepedic, Vi-Spring (Cantoni carries this as well - but it’s out of my price range). For price, cleanliness, durability and comfort, the Berkeley Ergonomics product just can’t be beat. I hope my extensive research helps some of you find your next mattress and happy shopping! :slight_smile: Wildon

P.S. I have included a picture that I shot while at Cantoni. The bed on the left is the deluxe with a Euro Topper. If you buy it with the topper, you can turn the topper instead of the entire bed, which is better on the back for sure! As Richard explained to me, he has had many customers just buy a new topper after 10 plus years at a fraction of the cost of a new bed. The bed underneath stays unblemished and the topper takes 90% of the bodies abuse.

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8

So i ran into a small issue: The 2 layers I ordered from Brooklyn Bedding aren’t the size mentioned on their website and not the same size as the layer I ordered from Select Foam. BB specifically states that their product should measure 54x74 and Select Foam gives you the option to choose ‘full’ as the size. The Layers from BB don’t actually measure 54x74 though, they measure 51x73, and the layer from Select Foam is exactly the size it should be at 54x74. So the BB layers are 3" less wide than they ‘should’ be and they don’t properly fill the cover i purchased. I contacted BB about this and i was told that 51" is within specifications as the layers can vary 1-2". However, this doesn’t really make sense because a 3" difference greatly exceeds the 1-2" variance that they said is considered within spec. Did I receive an item that wasn’t as advertised or is this considered to be ‘within spec’ as I was told?

So i’m not entirely sure what i should do at this point. The BB layers being smaller than advertised doesn’t really affect the performance of the mattress at all, but it does make the cover fit improperly and the mattress is much wider in the center (height-wise) than the top and bottom. Should i buy some cheap polyfoam and cut it to fill in the gaps on the sides? Should i just cut the larger Select Foam latex layer and then tailor the cover to fit snugly around the smaller layers? Should i just leave it as it is?

And a note for anyone else building their own mattress: Be sure to ask the vendor for the EXACT dimensions of the layers before you purchase them. I didn’t do this because BB was/is on The Mattress Underground’s membership list so i assumed they would be selling a product as advertised. Don’t make any assumptions, even when dealing with ‘reputable’ and highly-recommended vendors.

9

Hi SeanD,

Latex is very stretchy, compressible, and elastic so it’s not uncommon at all to measure the length or width of a latex layer and have it be one measurement and then pick it up and lay it down again or squish or stretch it slightly inside a cover or even on the floor and have it measure another measurement. I have seen many cases where someone was putting a layer in a latex mattress and it didn’t seem to fit (either too large or too small) and with some “waving”, squishing or stretching (carefully) it fits perfectly. In other words your layer may have been “squished” a bit when you measured it or put it inside the cover.

While a 1" to 2" variance would be normal with a topper from different batches or sources, if it really is more than that and you are measuring it accurately (and being out of spec by 3" would be unlikely but possible) … and you aren’t happy with it I would call them to ask if you can exchange it or return it.

Phoenix

10

Hi SeanD, I’m curious if you ended up using the velour cover you mentioned from ebay. I haven’t seen it myself, others have said it’s pretty thin by most standards. Which can be good for feeling the latex, but might want something thicker for better protection. Even the thinner covers like PLB I believe are more than just a single layer, possibly a double layer of fabric with some thin wool to add protection and body making their ‘thin’ cover a bit more substantial.

From what I understand, latex is hard to cut to close tolerances. Even places that offer custom cuts warn of tolerances just because it’s so springy. It would make sense that there’s some variation between brands/suppliers and most places will mention a size tolerance. Even taking for granted ‘standard’ mattress sizes of traditional innerspring S brands, those will fluctuate some in overall finish size as well by an inch of two. I’m not sure if it’s the talalay or dunlop topper from BB you got, far as I know they come pre-covered and ‘raw’ pieces have had the cover removed. This might explain some of the variation, the covers add a little to the dimensions and the rolled seam/edge would as well. To make a ‘finished’ topper without being oversized to the standard bed sizes, the latex may be cut slightly smaller.

Good info to know though, I was considering the BB toppers as well. Another thing to try might be to re-arrange the latex - ‘flick’ it back out, they make it look easy in videos or with people who have experience doing this. It’s been mentioned that sometimes just due to how soft latex is, it can ‘bunch’ a little. Not enough to create an issue of being wadded up, but might make the latex seem shorter than it really is. Just would advise against gripping and ‘pulling’ to try and stretch it tighter since it’s prone to tearing under that kind of stress.

For the other solution ideas you mentioned, if it were myself - I wouldn’t stuff pieces of foam in random spots to fill the gap. I’d leave it as is for awhile til I was certain I was happy with it (other than the finish), then if it was that bothersome I’d trim the larger latex to ‘even’ it up. Just have a feeling that random pieces of poly foam is going to make a mess of things. Odd feeling spots near the edge, prone to falling away from the body of the real layers (especially with a soft stretchy cover), shifting under any pressure. To give a for instance, my current innerspring has a foam border “edge support” around the spring unit. When new it looked great, now that some of the hogrings attaching that edge support foam to the coil unit have let loose those foam ‘edges’ are falling away (no longer integral to the rest of the mattress) inside the ticking - and it shows. Especially under pressure, the foam ‘falls’ away from the body of the mattress and leans out pushing the ticking out and looks horrible. The very edges of your latex layers aren’t going to be ‘strong’ necessarily (compared to being more on the surface) but they’re tied into the entire layer because it’s all one piece. Odd foam pieces placed around loose won’t be part of the main layers at all and have no structure to maintain the boundary of their shape (basically rolling around loose).

Sounds like some of the headaches I’ve encountered trying to figure my own DIY approach. Proof of the convenience (and extra cost) of a premade mattress since all these minor details are taken care of by someone else for us, such as uniformly matching the layers and a proper fitting cover that provides the fit/finish of a more professional mattress. Maybe others will have suggestions that will help you further with the final fit but glad that the most important part (its feel) is turning out well for you.

11

[quote=“SeanD” post=39370]So i ran into a small issue: The 2 layers I ordered from Brooklyn Bedding aren’t the size mentioned on their website and not the same size as the layer I ordered from Select Foam. BB specifically states that their product should measure 54x74 and Select Foam gives you the option to choose ‘full’ as the size. The Layers from BB don’t actually measure 54x74 though, they measure 51x73, and the layer from Select Foam is exactly the size it should be at 54x74. So the BB layers are 3" less wide than they ‘should’ be and they don’t properly fill the cover i purchased. I contacted BB about this and i was told that 51" is within specifications as the layers can vary 1-2". However, this doesn’t really make sense because a 3" difference greatly exceeds the 1-2" variance that they said is considered within spec. Did I receive an item that wasn’t as advertised or is this considered to be ‘within spec’ as I was told?

So i’m not entirely sure what i should do at this point. The BB layers being smaller than advertised doesn’t really affect the performance of the mattress at all, but it does make the cover fit improperly and the mattress is much wider in the center (height-wise) than the top and bottom. Should i buy some cheap polyfoam and cut it to fill in the gaps on the sides? Should i just cut the larger Select Foam latex layer and then tailor the cover to fit snugly around the smaller layers? Should i just leave it as it is?

And a note for anyone else building their own mattress: Be sure to ask the vendor for the EXACT dimensions of the layers before you purchase them. I didn’t do this because BB was/is on The Mattress Underground’s membership list so i assumed they would be selling a product as advertised. Don’t make any assumptions, even when dealing with ‘reputable’ and highly-recommended vendors.[/quote]

Hi SeanD,

I wouldn’t be surprised if all of the toppers from BB were intentionally cut small. I ordered one awhile back (many months ago) and it too was shorter than I wanted for both the length and width - about 2"-3" short in the length and width. It went back.

I have no idea why they do this since the latex arrives from the manufacturer untrimmed (i.e. 60x80 for a Queen). Personally, I don’t think they’re being upfront about the dimensions being within tolerance. I believe they are intentionally trimming them. Why, I’m not exactly sure. I have some suspicions which I’ll keep to myself.

12

jkozlow3, I don’t believe this is the case. Not saying there aren’t some shady vendors out there (for any merchandise), but BB doesn’t make their toppers. When I asked about the covered vs non covered, they told me that if I wanted the raw latex without a cover they would be happy to do so - and it would involve cutting the cover off. So they’re receiving the toppers as a resale item, pre-cut and pre-covered from the manufacturer. The hard thing with toppers and how the term gets used it can mean different things. Traditionally I’ve found a topper is just that - an additional 1, 2, 3" thickness of material, usually in a cover made to be placed on top of a finished mattress. In the world of latex or foam and diy’ers, ‘topper’ has come to mean a dual purpose item - considered a traditional topper for a finished mattress or as component for placing inside of a zippered cover to build a mattress out of. Many times toppers are cut slightly smaller than standard dimensions so it fits properly on the mattress. Making an 80x60 topper for a queen, sometimes sheets and the like won’t fit properly. Even many pillowtops, the pillowtop itself is slightly smaller than the actual mattress (effectively a sewn on permanent ‘topper’ to a tight top mattress). Standard mattress sizes also vary by an inch or so between manufacturers and models. You might find a Serta perfect sleeper queen that was ‘technically’ 79x61 or a Simmons beautyrest that was 81x60. Since the topper manufacturer doesn’t know the exact dimensions, they have to make a one size fits all approach - and I think this may ensure a proper fit if a finished mattress were 59x79 to make sure there wasn’t a topper edge sticking out (which would look bad, get bumped, snagged, causing unnecessary topper shift). I would think BB’s toppers would make acceptable components for a diy, but they’re not made for that reason. They aren’t raw latex laying around with a factory spec on them waiting to go inside of a cover, they’re a finished product designed primarily to be placed on top. Hope this helps clear up the confusion for people.

13

Either way, why not be upfront about the dimensions then? I’m not saying that BB is necessarily shady, but a Queen sized bun of latex is approximately 60x80. If your toppers are cut smaller for whatever reason, say so. Telling SeanD that they are within tolerances is not an upfront answer. They come out of the mould at 80x60. Anything smaller than about 59.5 x 79.5 is intentional.

I own over a dozen toppers that I procured as part of my DIY build and the only one that was significantly smaller than 60x80 was the BB topper. All others were cut from the 60x80x6 bun of latex and the edges were untrimmed. As a result, BB toppers will not work for a DIY build if they’re going inside a mattress unless they have a way of obtaining untrimmed layers.

14

I can understand your frustration, but I’ve never seen any vendor of a finished mattress or topper claim exact dimensions for each and every piece. If anything, the frustration should be with whoever the vendor is actually making the toppers. They list the sizes the toppers are intended for, they don’t explicitly say what size (on BB’s website anyway) and there’s no mention (as with some websites) about their suitability for building a diy mattress out of. They’re sold and marketed by BB as a finished ready to go product. For diy’ers it may be important to note that these are slightly smaller than full dimensions but in all fairness a lot of our frustration as diy’ers comes from the process - and that often times (regardless the diy project) means dealing with hacking things and repurposing them or using things in a clever way for which it wasn’t designed or intended.

I guess I just see it as part of the process. Maybe diy can save me money or afford me an option in layering I couldn’t find already done for me. In hypothetical terms, taking into account my own consideration for a diy build - I’ll likely be buying a cover from one vendor, some talalay from another vendor and dunlop from yet another vendor. And I may include a thin layer of memory foam. So I’m going around to several vendors, purchasing items from several manufacturers that were never originally designed to be used together…and I’m going to hope they fit ‘decent’ together. I can’t very well go to the various auto parts stores, snatching up a mix of parts for a volkswagen, chevy and mazda, then complain because my franken-car didn’t result in the same professional looking fit and finish of a an escalade. If I wanted the escalade, I should have bought it since gm has invested the time and engineers to ensure all those parts harmonize with one another. It’s not bmw’s fault if their seat doesn’t have enough room in a ford to fit properly or if the bolt holes don’t line up.

And again it boils down to how much money I feel it’s worth it to spend. Latex green makes the latex, not the mattress. It’s not their fault if I bought a premade cover from another source not specifically designed to their product. I have a few options, I can do the best with what’s available to me, I can sew my own cover out of my own fabric or I can outsource it to a professional seamstress and give them the exact dimensions of my latex to ensure it fits like a glove. Which is essentially why the factory seat covers on a car fit their foam perfectly. An aftermarket seat cover from a dept store will ‘fit’…sorta…good enough anyway. Someplace like ktt enterprises on the other hand or slab, sleepez - they specialize in diy segments and they carry raw factory materials. I’ve seen a lot of various toppers sold from kohls or macys that fell short by an inch or two, but they aren’t stocking mass quantities of raw material they’re selling individual complete resale/retail packages meant for the end user. Which is essentially what BB is doing. They have an online etail site set up like bed bath and beyond or a macys with finished bedding products and offer the public beds, bedding, bed frames, toppers - it’s not fair to hold them accountable because our ingenuity and creativity is leading us to, as diy’ers, turn their resale product into something else.

Unfortunately, bedding is hard to standardize. I’ve also been looking to get a duvet for once my own mattress is finalized. Shopping around is a pain in the rear, there’s all different ‘queen’ size duvet inserts/featherbeds - and just as many different sized covers. Rarely do they match up (unless purchased together as a set). I finally find a duvet I like and then can’t find a cover to fit it. They’re either several inches too small or too large. Eventually I’ll find a close enough match though :stuck_out_tongue:

15

Brass,

I completely hear what you are saying and agree with most of it, but I still feel that BB should be upfront about the dimensions. When you reference toppers sold at stores like Kohls or Macys, the topper’s actual dimensions are printed on the box.

Cutting a “Full” size down from a 60x80 Queen size mould can lead to some variance, yes, as latex stretches and the dimensions may not be perfect if great care isn’t taken when cutting the foam (there is some room for error). But when the latex piece starts out as 60x80 and I order a Queen size topper, I expect that it will arrive untrimmed unless told otherwise. That’s all I’m saying.

16

Hi jkozlow3,

I think that both sides of the “discussion” have already been mentioned in the previous comments and I would also add that a topper is often made to different dimensions than a mattress component to accommodate how the sheets and bedding fit. A 1" variance on each side is very common in the industry.

In most cases the different size Talalay latex layers are made from a twin size mold that is cut and fabricated together into the different sizes and while there are actual queen size molds, they are much less common.

Phoenix

17

No, I didn’t. I went with the SleepEZ 4-way stretch cover.

Yes, i think this is the case as well. I measured the two latex toppers i received from Brooklyn Bedding multiple times after repositioning them multiple times and they’re definitely 51"x73" and not ~54"x74". So they’re probably selling a product that is specifically cut smaller. This is a good thing for some applications (like for someone wanting to fit these under their sheets on top of their current mattress) but they’re definitely not ideal for a full DYI mattress.

I definitely agree with you there. They should probably update their website to indicate that these toppers are specifically cut smaller than the typical mattress dimensions (the same dimensions they list as options for this topper size, when in fact the topper is smaller than this). But like i said in my earlier post, this whole ordeal could have been avoided if i had specifically asked them what the exact dimensions were for their topper before i ordered it. I just assumed since BB is so highly recommended here that they would actually have reliable information on their website (which is obviously not the case). I don’t think BB is deliberately being misleading/unreliable here, this is probably just a standard practice that i was unaware of. BUT, i still think they should update their website to also include the real dimensions of the product they’re selling.

And on that note:

Don’t make the same mistake i did, be sure to ask every single vendor what the exact dimensions are for the product they’re selling. Even the so-called ‘reliable’, highly-recommended vendors (like BB) can and do have incorrect (or misleading) information on their websites, so it doesn’t hurt to ask them to verify the information on their website before placing an order.

One thing i should point out though, the BB toppers i did receive are very nice, well-made products and BB’s comfort-exchange option is the best in the business (at least the best that i’ve seen anyways). I would highly recommend BB to anyone looking for a topper to put on top of a pre-made mattress, but as far as DYI’ers go, i think you need to decide if the comfort-exchange BB offers is worth it considering their latex layers are cut smaller than raw layers sold as components by other vendors. For people (like myself) that had no idea what ILDs to pick because they had no way to test other mattresses to determine this, i still think the BB toppers (even being smaller), might be a good choice even for DYIers just so they can swap the layers around.

Unfortunately for me, even though i do feel like the product i received wasn’t necessarily what i expected to get (BB’s website is rather misleading as they specifically list a size that is different than the finished product), paying $150 to return these and then spending an extra $50 to buy raw layers from a different vendor (such as KTT) isn’t worth it to me. I’ll just settle for a mattress that is 3" less wide i guess.

But all that aside, if anyone has any suggestions on what i should do to remedy my current mattress, that would be great:

  • Should i buy some cheap polyfoam and cut it to fill in the gaps on the sides?
  • Should i just cut the larger Select Foam latex layer and then tailor the cover to fit snugly around the smaller layers?
  • Should i just leave it as is?

Thanks everyone for all the responses, it’s very much appreciated.

18

Hi SeanD,

I think this would depend on which option you feel best about or at least “OK” with and on how well everything fits together and how noticeable the smaller sizes are in terms of how they look and perform.

I would probably avoid this because of the risk of the smaller pieces shifting or bunching inside the cover. If you did go in this direction then I would glue the pieces together. It would take some effort to do all of this since you would need to do some careful cutting and gluing but you could also use your experience to add some firmer edge support to the mattress by choosing firmer polyfoam than the latex layers you are gluing them to.

I would probably avoid this option as well since you will end up with a complete mattress that is smaller than a standard size and depending on what you have it on it may not fit as well on a regular foundation or a platform bed and you would have a base that is noticeably wider/longer than the mattress or there may be spaces between the headboard/footboard and the mattress.

This would depend on how you feel about it, the time and effort involved in replacing or modifying your layers, and on how tightly the layers fit inside the cover and how the smaller layers affect the look, feel, or performance of the mattress and what you have underneath it.

If having a finished mattress that is closer to a standard size is important and a smaller size is less appealing for performance or aesthetic reasons then I would consider a fourth option which is returning the layers and replacing them with a layer from a different vendor that is meant as a mattress component rather than as a topper and is the standard size you are looking for.

Phoenix

19

SeanD, you mentioned around $150 to return the BB topper layers. Is that due to weight or size? I only ask because it can be difficult to get layers compressed down to the size they were when originally shipped. Maybe ask BB if they have suggestions on how to pack them smaller? It seems like most foams are folded in half lengthwise, then rolled similar to packing a sleeping bag. Maybe some sort of plastic bag to go around them and use of a vacuum cleaner hose or shop vac to suction air out as it’s being rolled up to get the size down? You don’t seem happy at all with the idea of having a smaller sized bed (understandable) but returning the layers and replacing with something else may work best. Better than regretting your bed and ‘tolerating’ it after putting money and work into it.

As for the SleepEZ cover, I think that’s the one a couple of people have posted photos of here. I think it’s a lot thicker for a ‘thin’ style stretch cover, more substantial and you’ll be happier with it than those velour covers and will protect the latex better.

20

Hi brass,

This works very well and is easy to do (see post #5 here). In many cases single layers can also be folded and put inside a box that fits the shipping size restrictions of a courier without any compression.

Phoenix

21

This is a most interesting thread.

Thanks so much for the information about the size of the toppers, I appreciate knowing this. I don’t understand why manufacturers make toppers smaller, the sheets don’t need help to fit! And it looks odd, it feels wierd when you are near the edge, and makes less of your mattress useful.

As someone who owns the SleepEZ cover, I really love it and I think you will be glad you went with it. It has enough give to adjust to a slightly different sized layer. The cover can really change the feel of a mattress and this one leaves it with a great feel.

I think if it was me, if you are really sure you want to keep the undersized layers, I’d try using some polyfoam at the sides and see what happened and I would not glue them until I was sure they didn’t work as is (it’s pretty easy to unzip the cover and make any changes). If it doesn’t work out, no big loss and you haven’t done anything permanant. If it doesn’t work, and you’re really sure you want to keep your layers, then I’d trim the oversized one as last resort, since you can’t ‘untrim’ them once it’s done. But, yeah, that would bother me if they were undersized, too. Just my 2cents.

22

That is just BB’s return policy. They charge $75 to return a layer (this includes a prepaid return shipping label). The actual cost to ship one of these layers is around $28 (that’s the quote i got anyways) so it seems BB is charging a flat $50 restocking fee (which is reasonable).

I’m surprised that this hasn’t been mentioned before on these forums, or isn’t talked about often. I spent a lot of time reading these forums, especially every topic dealing with DYI, and don’t remember reading that ‘toppers’ are often cut smaller than advertised.

I think it would be incredibly helpful if Phoenix added some info about this to his ‘stock’ post he links to when people are considering DYI. It would definitely save them a lot of frustration down the road. Something as simple as saying: Be sure to inquire about the exact dimensions of each layer you’re considering to use by asking the vendor for the exact information pertaining to the latex layers. Most websites list the size of the bed the topper is designed for and NOT the real dimensions of the latex layers, for example a ‘full size’ topper is made for a full size bed, but is not necessarily the same size as a standard full size mattress, and is often 2-3" shorter on the width and 1" shorter on the length.

23

Hi SeanD,

I think that’s a good idea. It has come up from time to time on the forum but it’s not as big an issue with people who are only ordering toppers but as more people become interested in building their own DIY mattress then it’s likely to become a more common issue. I’ve added this …

… near the top of the mattress component and topper post here.

Thanks for the suggestion :slight_smile:

Phoenix

24

I was seriously thinking about buying toppers from BB for a DIY mattress but based on this thread I may look elsewhere.