I am trying to find information on the mattress I currently have. It is from 2006 a S & F Garden Park Silver Ed Plush top. I would like to have the specifications on the materials used in it. The top crushed years ago and I am taking off the pillowtop and adding a layer of 2" Talalay (Botanical) Latex. It seems the under layers are comfortable but I wonder what they are and if I should add something between Latex and top (after pillow top and foam is removed).
The pillowtop has the quilted foam cover and a 3" foam, which of course I am discarding. I read the tag and didn’t quite understand the makeup of materials so I’ve attached a photo. Can you give me any guidance?
Thanks in advance.
Jaclyn
I took a quick look but I didn’t see anywhere that I could find even the partial specs of the materials in your mattress that may have been available at the time. If I am looking for this type of historical information the method I generally use is to find a retailer that may have carried them at the time (probably around 2007) and that lists the layers in their Stearns & Foster mattresses and then look through their sites on the wayback machine here to see if you can find a listing for this particular mattress. You won’t find out any information about the firmness level of each layer or the density of the foam because Stearns & Foster doesn’t disclose this information then or now so in the best case all you would be able to find out would be the type of material and the thickness of each layer.
I’m curious though about what you were hoping to find out and how knowing the layers in the mattress would benefit you because even in the best case if you find a historical website that tells you the type and thickness of the layers it won’t be particularly useful in terms of replacing the materials with similar layers.
If you are doing mattress surgery then post #2 here may also be helpful.
Thank you for the link, I could not find any information out there on the components inside the Garden Park S&F.
Yes, I am going to do mattress surgery, that is why I need to know what is underneath the pillowtop layers. I cut into the pillowtop and besides the foam covering there is a 3" polyfoam…which I assume will have wear and tear and should discard.
The support layers under that appear to have some foam or latex on top of the coils, actually when I push down its soft yet supportive. (would love to know what their coil system is)
I’ve purchased a 2" Talalay Latex topper. I will see if that provides the comfort layer that I need but if not, I am looking at putting 2-3" of Lux 1.8 PCF under the latex from the Foam Factory, which would rest on top of the support layer (Attaching photo) then enclosing it in a mattress cover.
This mattress seems to be well made underneath the broke down pillowtop layer. I’m hoping I gets me through a few years.
Thanks and I did read the mattress surgery threads here.
[quote]Thank you for the link, I could not find any information out there on the components inside the Garden Park S&F.
Yes, I am going to do mattress surgery, that is why I need to know what is underneath the pillowtop layers. I cut into the pillowtop and besides the foam covering there is a 3" polyfoam…which I assume will have wear and tear and should discard.
The support layers under that appear to have some foam or latex on top of the coils, actually when I push down its soft yet supportive. (would love to know what their coil system is)[/quote]
Even if you were to find out any specs on the layers it won’t tell you anything that would be more useful than what you can see visually by looking at the layers because they won’t include the density or the ILD of the layers and even if you wanted to duplicate what was in your mattress knowing the ILD would only be useful if you were replacing it with exactly the same type of foam because ILD’s don’t match up well between different types of foam.
The latex layers will have pincores (holes) in them and will have a different look and feel from the polyfoam but if you need any help identifying the materials if you post a picture on the forum I’d be happy to help.
If you lay any of the layers flat on the floor and place a straight edge or a string across them you will be able to tell if they have any visible impressions and you can also check for softening in particular areas either by hand feel or by putting a weighted object on them and seeing if you can see any difference in how far it sinks in on different parts of the foam material.
I would wait before you have your final design before adding the cover just to make sure it’s the right thickness.
I would also read this post and this post and this topic (about their polyfoam and sources) and this post (presumably from a past employee) before buying anything from FBM (The Foam Factory).
Thank you Phoenix for keeping me from making a mistake with the Foam Factory! I read the posts you included. Do you have a safe source or suggestion for the poly foam?
I have removed the pillow top completely…how liberating to get that useless piece off my mattress. On my mattress (understand everyone has a different situation) it was easy and came off with a nice clean edge.
I really like the core and will experiment with comfort layers before I zip it all up.
I will let you know what I end up with. But if I need a decent poly foam under my latex…where will I get it if not online?
The better sources for mattress materials and components that I’m aware of are listed in post #4 here.
This would depend on which materials you are keeping, the types of materials you tend to prefer, and on what other layers you would be combining in the mix on top of the innerspring. There isn’t a “theory” that can predict which combination of materials would work best for you or that you would prefer outside of your own personal experience but I would base any additional choices on a careful assessment of how your mattress feels and performs with what you already have (or are keeping). Both Talalay and Dunlop are high quality materials but they are different from each other in terms of how they feel and perform and the choice between them would be a preference choice. There is more about the differences between them in post #7 here but the best way to know which one you would tend to prefer would be based on your own testing or personal experience.
All of the different types of material that you may prefer will have lower quality and less durable versions and higher quality and more durable versions and regardless of which materials or combination of materials you tend to prefer … I would make sure they were high quality and durable so that they don’t soften and break down prematurely because the weak link of most mattresses is the quality of the materials in the comfort layers.
Just an update Phoenix.
Mattress surgery Successfu! After removing the pillow top and discarding the 3" foam pad that also had body indentation, all i did was put a 2" Talalay latex topper with a cover on the support base (?) that was under all the fluff from the said pillowtop. It is soooo comfortable now.
Saved me $$$$ for now. We plan on a adjustable bed in the future and I can put my latex topper on it.
I realize mattress surgery will not work for every mattress…best on pillowtops that have expired. Those of you that consider it make sure you cut in the proper area…you don’t want to damage what is underneath…fortunately the S & F had a good support base.
