Hi jostarr,
The most important part of a foundation is that it provides suitable support for the mattress and “suitable” will vary depending on the mattress and the recommendations of the manufacturer.
For a mattress with a latex base … the gaps between the slats should generally be no more than 3". The number of slats that this will translate into will depend on the size of the slats and whether they are counting the outside frame or whether they are counting only the inner slats.
For a mattress with a polyfoam base layer (Such as the Ultimate Dreams) … then wider gaps will generally be OK because the polyfoam is stiffer than latex.
Many of the KD type foundations made by CPS have about a 4" gap which means they would be fine for a memory foam or polyfom/latex hybrid but I personally wouldn’t use them for a mattress that has a solid latex core.
[quote]What are the pros and cons of the usboxspring metal foundation vs the lower costs of the all wood KD one at MichiganDiscountMattress.com all or the VesiFlex on Amazon ?
The VersiFlex on Amazon looks like the same as the KD or a knock off of it. It is the cheapest of all 3 but got mixed reviews at 189.00.[/quote]
See post #4 here for the benefits of the USboxspring. This would be suitable for any mattress including all latex.
The Versiflex box springs have 11 slats and gaps that are about 4". Versiflex was a tradename for Dock1 which is now bankrupt but they are the same as other KD type boxsprings manufactured by CPS Wood Products such as Easyfit. These would be suitable for any foam mattress that didn’t use a latex core (or suitable for a latex core mattress where the manufacturer said that 4" gaps would be fine although I would still prefer 3" or less).
The Nature’s sleep foundations used to have 14 slats (with gaps just over 3") but their new models now have 16 slats (including the two on each end) with gaps just under 3". This would be suitable for any mattress including a latex core.
These are just general guidelines and each mattress manufacturer may have different guidelines or minimum requirements about what they consider to be a suitable foundation for their mattress so I would always check with the manufacturer of your mattress.
I would also check with the manufacturer or seller of a foundation to make sure what the gaps are if there is any doubt because the pictures and descriptions don’t always seem to be accurate. Some use slats on each end and include them in their slat count while some have a frame on all sides and only count the slats inside the frame. The slat width could also be different between different models and if the slats are thinner such as 1x2’s then the foundation will need more of them to have a similar gap width. The key is always the size of the gaps, especially for a latex core mattress.
Phoenix