Just bought a new mattress - need some insight from experts (Phoenix)/Buyers

Hi anchorman,

I donā€™t know if they are side stepping your questions or if they just donā€™t know (although they could call the factory to find out) but I would want to know the quality/density of the 2" layer of polyfoam to make sure that it meets the guidelines here (which in the case of a two sided mattress would be 1.5 lb density or higher). The 21 lb compression spec they provided is a ā€œcomfort specā€ which indicates the firmness/softness of the layer not the density of the layer which is the most important factor in its durability.

While itā€™s fairly likely that it does ā€¦ I personally donā€™t like to ā€œassumeā€ anything when it comes to purchasing a mattress.

I also noticed that their website description here indicates that this mattress has 1" of high resilient foam while the specs they provided you says that it includes 2" of high resilient foam although the 2" would mean that the layers added up to just under the 16" thickness of the mattress which would make more sense when you consider the thickness of the cover and any fire barrier in the mattress would likely make up the missing 1".

Phoenix

I just fired off another email to the seller expressing these concerns.

thanks phoenixā€¦ iā€™ll post here when i get a reply. iā€™ll be sure to donate via paypal to this site when this is all over.

Hi anchorman,

I hope you are able to find out the information you need (either directly from the retailer or from Imperial Bedding) and Iā€™m looking forward to finding out whether your enquiries are successful. It always seems somewhat odd to me when a retailer or a manufacturer isnā€™t willing to provide this type of information to their customers who are educated enough to know to ask ā€¦ especially when it would probably show that they are using higher quality/density materials than much of their competition.

Phoenix

well, i just got a response today. here is the response:

ā€œTop is quilted to 1.5ā€ thick Poly It is 1.5 density foam plus a 3/4 once layer of Rayon to make it fire retardant ea. side
pillow top has 1 layer of 2" that is 2.5 density polyfoam 21lb. Compression ea. side
under the pillow top is 1 layer 1/2" poly foam 21 lb. compression ea.side
On top of the springs is a grey cloth much like the cloth on a box spring ea. side"

any feedback?

Hi anchorman,

The only significant ā€œmissing layerā€ in your previous description was the 2" layer of high resilient foam and the information they provided confirms that it is 2.5 lb density which is a very high quality and durable material that exceeds the guidelines here.

So the layers from top to bottom are ā€¦

1.5". Of 1.5 density foam and a 3/4" rayon fire barrier quilted to a Culp polyster stretch knit cover
2" high resilient 2.5 lb polyfoamfoam 21 Lb compression
1/2" polyfoam 21 lb. compression
Grey gloth
8" pocket coil 1155 coils 15 ga wire
Grey cloth
1/2" polyfoam 21 lb. compression
2" high resilient 2.5 lb polyfoamfoam 21 Lb compression
1.5". Of 1.5 density foam and a 3/4" rayon fire barrier quilted to a Culp polyster stretch knit cover

Overall these are all materials that are suitable for a two sided mattress and there are no weak links in the design so if itā€™s a good match for you in terms of PPP then it would certainly be well worth considering.

Phoenix

Phoenix,

Thank you for your reply. i appreciate your help in this matter. Cant say enough about how informative and helpful you have been, as well as this forum in general.

Also, for anyone in West Virginia: Kent at Delano Furniture went out of his way to help me get the info I was looking for. Iā€™m sure i came off as a pain in the butt customer, but he found out what i asked, and Iā€™m looking forward to having this Imperial mattress in a few weeks.

So, Kent and the team at Delano are high.y recommended. Its hard to find a knowledgable salesman and a quality mattress store in WV (all of thrm just seem to be chain stores with salesmen who dont really understand anything about mattresses aside from what the companies tell them to say), but from my experience so far, Kent/Delano are highly recommended.

Hi anchorman,

It took a little bit of time and effort to get there but itā€™s great to see that Kent at Delano was able to provide you with all the information you needed to make an informed decision and confirm that you were making a good quality and durable choice.

Most importantly ā€¦ congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Iā€™m looking forward to any comments and feedback you have the chance to share once youā€™ve had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.

Phoenix

it will be a week or two before it arrivesā€¦ it had to be ordered from imperial - but once i sleep on it for a few nights, i will be sure to leave feedback on here!

on a different noteā€¦any recommendations for a good material to lay down on my hardwood steps to protect them from scuffs and scratches while moving the mattress up to the bedroom/the old mattress downstairs?

I bought some drop clothā€¦ which seems good for flat surfacesā€¦ but not good for protecting edges of steps and risers.

just figured iā€™d ask if you have any recommendations for a material/product that is a little flexible, but will also be enough to protect the steps.

thanks!

Hi anchorman,

[quote]on a different noteā€¦any recommendations for a good material to lay down on my hardwood steps to protect them from scuffs and scratches while moving the mattress up to the bedroom/the old mattress downstairs?

I bought some drop clothā€¦ which seems good for flat surfacesā€¦ but not good for protecting edges of steps and risers.

just figured iā€™d ask if you have any recommendations for a material/product that is a little flexible, but will also be enough to protect the steps.[/quote]

I donā€™t have any specific suggestions and itā€™s not my area of expertise but a google search on protecting hardwood stairs during a move turned up some good suggestions including here and here and here that may be helpful.

Phoenix

just got the mattress delivered - feels great so far. have a couple of weeks to try it out.

since i have a platform bed, i put the box springs in storage. i am using a piece of pegboard instead beneath the mattress to give the mattress the support it needs. i figured pegboard would be better than a piece of plywood since the little holes in the pegboard will give the mattress some breathe-ability.

Again, many thanks Phoenix. And again, if you live in southeast PA or North Central WV, go to Delanoā€™s in Preston County. Kent is great there - very patient with me, and and worked with the mattress manufacturer to get all the info i needed. Smooth delivery too.

Hi anchorman,

Thanks for taking the time to share an update with your initial feedback ā€¦ I appreciate it :slight_smile:

If the slats in your platform bed are too far apart and you need a more evenly supportive surface then I would agree that pegboard would be a better choice and provide better airflow under the mattress than plywood.

Iā€™m looking forward to any further updates you have the chance to share once youā€™ve had the chance to sleep on your mattress for a few weeks.

Phoenix

i have five slats/thin boards that go across the the bed frame for support. evenly spaced apart. but the delivery people still recommended a piece of plywood or pegboard. they said due to weight/size of mattress, they didnā€™t recommend just the slats.

i talked to one of the Imperial Bedding reps about my platform bed before delivery, and he told the box springs on my platform bed was completely unnecessary.

like i said, though, i still got the box springs - they are low profile, and still in the plastic wrap. put em in the basement - theyā€™ll stay there until i buy a new bed sometime in the future. if its not a platform bed, iā€™ll need the box springs at that point.

Hi anchorman,

A bedframe with only 5 slats would definitely need a foundation or a more solid support surface since they arenā€™t designed to be used directly under a mattress. If your pegboard is relatively thin then I would keep an eye on it to make sure that it doesnā€™t start sagging in between the widely spaced slats over time since it also may not be strong enough to maintain a flat support surface without sagging.

Phoenix

Slats can bow, even with thick plywood on top. An easy fix to make the slats stay flat and firm would be to convert them into T-slats.

If you are going to use pegboard, I agree with Phoenix that you should consider using more slats.

good advice. thank you for that. i will have to watch for that. i might just plan on checking the pegboard every 6 months to see if they need replaced. if that does happen, i might even drag the box springs up and put them on. we shall see.

is it ok to just have the pegboard laying on top of the slats? i notice the pegboard can move around a little underneat h mattress. is it advisable to nail the pegboard to the wooden slat boards?

thanks for the advice. i think i will make two additional slatsā€¦that should help i would think. or is that not enough?

Hi anchorman,

A 5 slat wooden bedframe is the minimum that would reasonably be strong enough to support a suitable foundation which in turn would support the mattress but more slats would certainly be stronger and the gaps between the slats would be less so the risk of sagging into the spaces would also be less. As Jeff mentioned ā€¦ T-Slats would be stronger yet of course. You will also need good center support to the floor in the middle of the bedframe to help prevent it from sagging and to meet the warranty criteria for most mattress manufacturers.

I would be very cautious about using pegboard as a support system since it really isnā€™t strong enough to support a mattress by itself. It would be useful to help even out the support of a slatted support surface (such as a platform bed or foundation that were designed to support a mattress directly) where the slats were ā€œjust a little bitā€ further apart than would normally be suitable for your mattress but I personally wouldnā€™t use it on a bedframe such as yours that was designed for use with a box spring or a foundation and isnā€™t meant to directly support a mattress.

Adding more slats and/or making some or all of them into T-slats would certainly be an improvement. More slats would prevent sagging in between the slats and the T-slats would be stronger and wouldnā€™t sag in the middle of the span.

If the pegboard is cut and sized to be a close fit in the bedframe it wouldnā€™t have much room to shift but screwing it down on the side ledges and in the middle would also make it stronger and help to prevent the pegboard from sagging into the gaps between the slats.

Phoenix

my apologies. i definitely gave some wrong info in my previous posts. Donā€™t know why I didnā€™t notice until now.

Here is my bed setup currently:

  1. It is a platform bed. That is why I opted to put the box springs in the basement since the platform bed was designed (more or less) to work without box springs.

  2. All the slats in my bed are T-slats. When the bed was ordered and delivered, it came with 3 ā€œt-slatsā€, evenly spaced out. However, I opted to build two extra ā€œt-slatsā€ for extra support, so there are currently 5 ā€œt-slatsā€ altogether.

  3. I am looking to add two extra t-slats for added peace of mind/support for my new mattress.

The peg board would then go on top of the all t-slats to provide extra support for the mattress.

If you donā€™t recommend the t-slats, would you recommend just going with a good piece of 1 inch thick plywood instead to prevent sagging in between the t-slats?

Hi anchorman,

The best source of guidance about whether your support system would be suitable for your mattress would be Imperial Bedding. I would also keep in mind that if you are using a rigid support system of any kind instead of their box spring then it will change the feel and performance of the mattress and will have an effect on its durability as well.

In very general terms ā€¦ I would suggest that if you are using a firm non flexing support system instead of a box spring that the gaps between any slats in a support system are less than the diameter of the springs in a mattress (say 2" - 3" depending on the springs) so that all the springs are more evenly supported. If the gaps between the slats are just a little wider than the springs then using something like the pegboard attached securely to the slats and the side ledges would be a suitable way to improve the support but you would still be compromising the feel and performance and the durability of the mattress to some degree compared to using an innerspring that is designed to be part of the 'sleeping system" as the support system under the mattress.

A piece of plywood would be strong enough to prevent any sagging but would also be an additional risk factor in terms of providing ventilation under the mattress and the possibility of developing mold or mildew under the mattress (see post #10 here). I would also keep in mind that while the T-slats themselves wouldnā€™t sag ā€¦ softer comfort layers on top of the mattress could still be sagging into any gaps between the slats and if a material such as pegboard or cardboard ends up sagging into the gaps over time then the mattress will just follow any sagging in the support system underneath it.

If you are looking for a thin, strong, and non flexing support system then a suitable slatted bunkie board (usually about 2" thick") or something like the slat conversion kit here would make a strong, thin, suitable, and relatively inexpensive choice with good airflow that would have no risk of sagging even though they still wouldnā€™t be ideal compared to a box spring in terms of the overall feel and durability of a mattress that is designed to be used on a box spring that has some flex underneath it. Something like the Ikea bed bases here may also be worth considering and would provide some flex under the mattress.

I should also mention that I talked with the owner of Imperial Bedding today just to make sure that my comments are ā€œaccurateā€ and based on decades of experience in manufacturing mattresses he would agree with the comments that Iā€™ve made here as well.

Phoenix

phoenix,

I took your advice - box springs it is. I also added some t slats for extra support for everything. want to make sure the platform bed can candle everything. i am confident everything is sturdy/the way it should be now.

thanks!