I just wanted to revisit this to describe the king-size DIY build I ultimately went with, as I definitely found it helpful when other posters did the same (closing the loop and all). We’ve only had the build completed for a week, but so far so good. Here’s what I did:
- bamboo/wool encasement (APM)
- 1 inch of LUX-HQ foam (Foam Factory)
- 2 Twin XL 8 inch quad coil 15.5 with firm edges (Texas Pocket Coils)
- 1 inch layer of Shepherd’s Dream wool batting
- 2 inch natural talalay (one side firm, one side medium)
- 2 Twin XL vzones (one medium, one soft) (Flobeds)
- Naturepedic cotton mattress protector
With the vzones, I rearranged the sections to try to better reflect a “zoned” build that CST provided for both me and my spouse.
For pillows, I purchased a king size talalay medium pillow (CST) and then purchased a lanoodle (Cozypure) with extra noodles and a wool bolus pillow (Woolroom) with extra wool. Following info from Maverick, I purchased some extra zippered pillow cases and then created two “mixed” pillows with lanoodles and wool bolus compartments. One reflecting a higher loft for me (side sleeper) and one for my stomach sleeping spouse. The talalay pillow is pretty thick and springy, which I liked at first, but it may ultimately be a little too high for me. I’ve been sleeping on my hybrid latex/wool pillow, and that’s been nice.
While my wife definitely thought I was insane for going down the DIY rabbit hole, I think she’s been pleasantly surprised with the results. As a lightweight stomach sleeper, I figured she’d be okay since it’s pretty easy to make sure she had a firm environment, and I’m thankful for CST’s advice to give her a softer zone for her stomach/chest/shoulders. With the soft vzone for my wife’s side, I just swapped the soft hip section for a medium piece at the feet section, so that I made sure her hips would be supported. I think my side is working for me as a side sleeper. I modified by zones shortly after I initially put things together, by swapping the firm latex piece at my stomach with a medium piece at my head.I don’t seem to be rotating as much as I used to with my old innerspring mattress, so that’s good. But I know one week is still a little premature to declare victory! But so far, so good. I appreciate all the information I was able to get from this site (reddit as well), from conversations with APM, CST, Texas Pocket Coils, and Flobeds. Everyone was very happy to field my questions, and I didn’t get the sense that they were offended/bothered that I was buying various components from other stores. Thanks!