I am buying a 5.6 LB Density 6 inch Thickness Talalay Latex (Firm - 36 ILD) mattress. I am 225lbs and a side sleeper, I would like a mattress that is firm but not to firm. I would like to add another 2 to 4 inch layer of HR , not sure if the layer should go on the bottom or top?
I definitely do not want the type of firm like laying on the floor, I want a little softness but firm. please be specific on the HR thickness and density and if it should go on top or bottom. Thank you in advance…
I tried the 6 inch talalay only in the show room that I am going to buy and it is was good but the thicker mattress with the added HR foam felt better, I was told the HR foam was on the bottom but I don’t know what type it was. I was also told depending on what firmness of HR you have on the bottom determines the feeling of more softness or hardness of the 6 inch Talalay 36ild.
Firmness and softness are very subjective and depends on each person’s body type, sleeping positions, and individual perceptions so your own reference points from your actual testing would be the most accurate way to know what you consider to be firm or soft.
As far as adding foam layers either on top of a mattress or underneath it that would depend on the design goals of the mattress and on your experience on just the 6" layer by itself and the reasons you are considering adding a foam layer to the latex. Post #2 here includes some links to some of the pages on the site that have more information about the theory behind layering and mattress design but this type of information is only generic and designed to help understand the concepts involved and not specific to any particular person.
All the layers of a mattress and their firmness, thickness, and position affect all the other layers to different degrees. Without knowing all the specifics of every layer and components of a mattress (including the cover) then it would not be possible to duplicate it except through personal side by side testing or with trial and error.
Not only will the firmness of the HR polyfoam affect the feel of the latex … the thickness of the layers will have an effect as well.
There is more about duplicating or approximating another mattress in post #9 here and the posts it links to and more about designing and building your own mattress layer by layer vs an actual finished or component mattress purchase in post #15 here.
That would be a good “average” choice and if you have tested this combination then it would be better yet. If this works out for you then all you would need to do is decide on the cover that would best “finish” your design.
Thanks Phoenix for your advice and the information you provided here, it’s been very informative. You provide allot of good information and also answer allot of tough questions on a tricky subject, because everyone truly is different and have different needs. So what I have learned is if your gonna build your own mattress it 's going to be tough to duplicate something you liked in a store. I will report back on my experience hopefully it will be good.
I am going with a 6 inch Queen 60" x 80" Talalay Latex (Firm - 36 ILD) $587.00 as base.
and a 3 inch Talalay Latex (Medium - 32 ILD) $273.00 Topper.
BAMBOO WOOL QUILTED COVER FOR 10" LATEX MEMORY FOAM MATTRESS ALL AROUND ZIPPERED $78.00 from Ebay.
Going to build my own base the size of my old box spring.
That comes to $938.00 with tax and shipping.
Thanks for the help, I hope the website work out for you, and you get lots of advertisers in the future… I’ve seen a few forums go from no advertisers to many.
You’ve started with a relatively firm base layer and then added a medium 3" comfort layer which should be “in the range” for what you need based on “average”.
The only thing I may have done a little differently is tried the latex combination first just in case you needed to do some tweaking and I would have purchased the cover after you were confident you had the layering and thickness you wanted (beause if you can’t exchange the top layer then you can still add some softness with an additional softer layer). I would also have purchased a little higher quality cover as well. The one you have is mostly polyester blended with bamboo and the quilting is probably mostly polyester fibers with only a small percentage of wool and I would have leaned towards a cover that was either cotton or bamboo that had only wool in the quilting although it would have been more costly. The cover can be an important part of the feel and performance of a mattress and it’s often neglected as just something to cover the inside materials and components.
Regardless though … you’ve done well in terms of the latex and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how your design works out for you.
Phoenix
You got me thinking about the cheap cover I selected, then I realized my old queen sized mattress that is now worn out was a very high quality mattress and the covering is as well, So I am going to gut that puppy like a pig and use the nice quilted covering. The covering on it would probable run me a couple hundred at least, and it is new condition since we always had a mattress protector since we bought it.
Thanks again, you saved me money and the quality of my mattress just went up.
The “purist” in me and the part that understands the importance of a good cover in a mattress design is always a little sad to see a great quality material like latex covered in a lower quality tick (cover)
