Hi, brand new here. (to this forum). Wife and I are both heavy and bot in our mid 70s. Not ready for the old folks home. We get around but things ached. I’m retired but not really as I drive a school bus morning and evening. It’s not physically strenuous and I love the kids.
We’re looking to replace a 12 yr old king mattress. Innerspring with pillow top… Back pain affects us both of us. The king has two twin XL foundations… Some questions:
- Am I being cheap to think I can reuse the existing foundations under the kind mattress?
- Should I consider a flipable3 mattresses for long life and negate “sinking in”?
- Is “firmer” a good hedge against back pain?
Anny other suggestions
Thanks
Hi jimbear.
Welcome to our Mattress Forum. 
It sounds like you’re living a pretty active life despite your retirement.
Is the back pain worsened when sleeping on your current mattress? You may find this thread interesting as it gives a breakdown of the most common reasons for back pain and offers some solutions when it comes to mattresses.
If the foundation is in good shape (no bending, etc) and is adequate for the mattress you buy, then it’s smart!
Depends on what the cause of the back pain is. If it’s a lack of adequate support for your sleeping position, it may not necessarily be that you need a firmer mattress, rather adequately thick comfort layers (in the right firmness, whatever that may be for you). You can find the recommendations we make based on sleeping position here.
Flippable mattresses are fine, but any mattress made with adequately durable materials is going to have a long lifespan. Some latex mattresses ‘live’ up to twenty years!
Are there any mattresses you’re looking at in particular?
NikkiTMU