Poor Foundation Quality?

My current mattress is less than 4 years old and has developed significant sag, to the point that I am waking up stiff and sore every day (note I am of average height and weight- approx 130 lbs.) I have been looking at purchasing a new mattress and was hoping to use my existing foundation, which I bought with the bed from United Holland. I took a good look at the foundation today, and the wood (actually particle board) slats are about 8 inches apart, with a solid cardboard cover on top. After reading some of the other posts, it sounds like the slats are way too far apart to support most mattresses. Is it possible that this poor quality foundation is what caused the bed to sag in such a short period of time?

CCTexas:

Whenever you’re attempting to diagnose the reason for a sag in a mattress, start your analysis from the bottom up.

You didn’t mention the size of you mattress, but a full, queen or king size needs a reinforced center support in the frame network that you’re using.

Next, you can take a look at your foundation. Make sure that it is flat and firm, with no give or sag. Ideally, I’d like there to be closer slat spacing and no cardboard decking on top of the item to help facilitate air flow. Foundations made with cardboard decking and wider slat spacing tend to be a bit more promotional in nature, but that isn’t always the case.

Finally, take a look at the mattress itself. If the product was using lower density comfort materials, then a 4-year comfort life may be all that you could expect to get out of that item. You can also attempt to place the mattress directly on the floor and see if that helps mitigate the sagging issue.

Hopefully that helps you make an educated analysis of your situation.

Thank you for the information, Jeff. I am going to go ahead and replace the foundation. It wasn’t sold to me as being “promotional” but it’s certainly possible that’s what I got. Thanks again!

CCTexas:

Promotional level items are often represented as “just as good” or “the same as” better quality items by retailers. They rarely point out the shortcomings of the product.

The best course of action is objectively analyzing the componentry, as you’ve done, to make an educated choice about what to do. At the very least, you’ve eliminated a weak link within your sleep set.

Good luck!