Help With My DIY Mattress Build

Hello! This is my first post here, but I’ve been spending a lot of time on Reddit and TMU researching DIY mattresses. I appreciate that this forum exists and it’s been very helpful!

I’m a 6’5", 190-200 lbs side sleeper but hoping to switch to Zero-G on my back eventually. I’m building a Cal King all-latex mattress.

I tried out several organic Dunlop mattresses and found several of them mostly comfortable, however, it seemed like there was usually a little bit of pain or discomfort. When the mattress was soft enough for my shoulders, it was too soft for my hips and caused lower back pain. When the mattress was firm enough for my hips, it was a little too firm for my shoulders to be cushioned.

I found one mattress that felt heavenly and it didn’t cause any pain in either my shoulders or back. It was the Green Sleep Dolcezza Grande with the following configuration:

3" Firm | 3" Medium | 3" Medium | 2" Super Soft (all organic Dunlop)

Based on the Green Sleep build, I’ve come up with this DIY build using toppers from Sleep on Latex:

3" Firm | 3" Medium | 3" Medium | 2" Soft (all organic Dunlop)

Will the 2" soft be close enough to the Green Sleep 2" super-soft? Would there be a better way to emulate the super-soft such as using Talalay or 3" soft Dunlop instead? Are there any other latex stores online that sell a comparable 2" super-soft?

Any other thoughts or suggestions are much appreciated!

Hi Alex311 and welcome to The Mattress Underground :slight_smile:

Glad you have found the articles and info here useful. You are undertaking the hardest but most rewarding path for a new mattress, a DIY Latex…it can take a bit to dial in the comfort level, but customizing your own latex mattress allows you to customize your comfort, as well as building something that will last many years - And it sounds like you have done a fair bit of research! As you know any mattresses’ comfort level is unique to the sleeper(s) using it based on their Stats (height,BMI, sleeping position(s) and any underlying health concerns) and their PPP ( Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). You have likely already studied the Mattress Shopping Tutorial , as well as the Mattress Specifications You Need To Know and the Mattress Durability Guidelines , which give a great foundation to the DIY build process.

I took a look at the Green Sleep Dolcezza mattress and while it looks solid, since green sleep is using a proprietary Puur certified latex, they do not disclose the density/ILD of their layers, and so it’s difficult to make any judgement on this with you Stats you provided; but since you feel its’ ‘heavenly’, you seem to be zeroing in on the comfort level you want. The 4 layers – 2" plush, 3" medium firm, 3" medium firm and a 3" firm base would provide good support for you…have you considered or tried Talalay Latex to see how it feels? It is considered ‘bouncier’ than Dunlop for the same density Latex and you might want to keep that in mind in case you need additional fine tuning on the DIY build. Again, without density or ILD, there’s no way to gauge whether the 2" ‘super soft’ would be an exact match to the Sleep On Latex soft, but any soft latex layer or topper would be in the same ballpark.

Also, you may want to take a look at the offerings of some of the Trusted Members of the site, many of which carry Latex mattress components for DIY builds. These are made to be stacked in customized configurations, and with some information on your Stats, PPP and mattress history they can guide you through the process of finding the right build to suit you; they also have very generous return and exchange policies as it is common to have a little trial and error while you dial in to the correct comfort level.
DIY Mattress carries both Dunlop and Talalay Latex toppers and components in a range of thicknesses and soft, medium, firm and extra firm comfort levels; Latex Mattress Factory also has both Dunlop and Talalay latex component layers and toppers in soft comfort levels, and Custom Sleep Technology has a number of customizable Latex Mattresses, and uses a Body Profile with their Color Comfort Sleep System to match sleepers with a custom latex build, and allows for one or more ‘satisfaction modifications’ that allow for exchange of layers to fine tune your mattress.

I wish you success on building your new DIY bed, please let us know your experience once you have chosen one and had some time with it.

~ Basilio

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Hi @Basilio, thanks for the response!

I reached out to Green Sleep and one of their retailers about firmness measurements. I’ve only heard back from the retailer so far, and they provided me with these values:

Soft : 18-23 ILD , Density 70kg /cubic meter
Medium : 28-33 ILD , Density 80kg /cubic meter
Firm : 34-40 ILD , Density 90kg / cubic meter
*These numbers are an approximate estimate

This, of course, should be taken with a grain of salt since it didn’t come directly from Green Sleep.

…have you considered or tried Talalay Latex to see how it feels?

Yes! I was finally able to try some Talalay out over the weekend. Unfortunately, all the stores around me that carry latex seem to carry only Dunlop or only Talalay so it’s been difficult to determine how they feel different to me personally. Without a side-by-side comparison, I haven’t been able to differentiate the two aside from that I think I like Dunlop better.

Thanks for all the links to the info and latex retailers. I ended up putting in an order with Sleep on Latex for the first two layers (3" firm and 3" medium) which will arrive in a couple days. I’m looking forward to trying them out and determining where to go from there.