Recommendations in DFW Area

Any manufacturers/sellers you would be comfortable with in the DFW area in addition to The Mattress Factory?

Hi jrc,

Post #4 here should help :slight_smile:

Phoenix

I finally made it to The Mattress Factory. I was a little disappointed by Peter. He seemed annoyed that I asked if his memory foam was CertiPur and did not even know what that was. In fact, he gave us some attitude about it. So I asked about his foam supplier(s) and was told one was Future Foam, but I forgot the other. When I asked about the second supplier again, he became defensive about identifying his suppliers. At least Future Foam is CertiPur.

I was a little confused by his latex mattress. It was two-sided with a 6" 28 ILD core and a 2" 28 ILD top layer on both sides. What is the point of layering the same ILD?

He was helpful, though, by having us try a 2" gel memory foam (appeared liquid mixed and claimed was 7 lb density) on top of the 28 ILD latex mattress. My wife loved it, but was too soft for me. He quoted about $2300 for king size 28 ILD 6" latex core with 2" 7lb gel memory on each side. Does that sound good value to you?

Hi jrc,

I think that many manufacturers may be somehat defensive about identifying their foam suppliers for competitive reasons and it’s certainly not something that most would do as a matter of course or that is necessary.

CertiPur is also relatively new and knowledge about it hasn’t spread throughout the industry … particularly with long term manufacturers that rely more on their experience with materials than on technical specs. For me it would be enough to know the density of their foam and that it was sourced in North America or if it was from Asia then I would want to know it was CertiPur certified.

Latex is only made in a 6" mold so if you want a thicker mattress then you would need to add latex on each side.

I don’t know if this was a mattress only or for the set and I don’t know anything about the cover which would both affect the cost of a mattress but their mattresses in general and from the sound of it this mattress specifically would be in a good value range IMO yes as long as it matches the most important criteria of your own personal value equation.

Phoenix

“This is where I purchased my own mattress which was a queen size two sided custom built talalay latex mattress with quiltable latex and down substitute in the quilting (they now only use Dunlop latex from CoCo latex).”

Curious. What ILDs and thicknesses did you choose?

Hi jrc,

You can see the details in post #4 here.

Phoenix

I also visited City Mattress Factory. The man helping me, probably Mark, revealed lower quality materials than I wanted. He said they only used 4 lb memory foam and 1.5 lb poly. I also could not get latex softer than 28 ILD. Kind of a shame; my wife and I really liked the place.

A follow up on The Mattress Factory …

My wife went back a few days after our first visit. Peter set up a demo mattress with the latex core and 2 sided gel memory for her. She said he was very nice and extremely helpful. He also mentioned recent surgery, which may explain some of his curtness the previous visit.

I also called back today about my softness issues (all latex too firm, with memory foam too soft). He was willing to double the thickness of the latex quilting, and if that didn’t work, order a softer latex layer to replace in the mattress at his cost. He also doubled an online coupon his store promotes, which would exceed the 5% mattress underground discount. As you mentioned, he now works with 100% natural Dunlop latex. He also confirmed he uses 7 lb density gel memory foam with the gel mixed into the foam, not particulates. Much more impressed now.

Hi jrc,

Thanks for the update … and it’s good to hear that your experience was better the second time around.

I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding.

Phoenix

What were your reasons for choosing a “finished” mattress over one with exchangeable layers and a zipper cover?

Hi jrc,

Primarily because there were components in the mattress that I wanted to try and I thought would create the “feel” I was looking for. All the different options I had available were just part of my own “personal value equation” in other words. There were no “better / worse” considerations outside of personal preferences and some of the things that we wanted to include based on our testing (more for my DH than for me).

Phoenix

A little update and two questions.

Peter and I had a bit of a “tussle” that almost ended up in the complete cancellation of our order. He claimed he’ll never be a technical guy and is more of a handshake/relationship guy who buys and builds what he believes is good quality and feels good. I think he felt attacked by my technical questions while I felt bullied by his “somewhat firm” statements that I needed to trust him because he’s been doing this for 35 years. Which brings me to some important questions.

I had my wife’s twin XL mattresses at our house while waiting for mine to be finished. The one in hand is supposed to be a 6" 28 ILD dunlop core with 2" 7 lb gel memory foam on both sides = 10" total. I read that my latex core is likely in the 4 - 5 lb density range per cubic foot. Using 4 lb latex density and 7 lb memory density yields [38in * 80in * 1ft^3/1728in^3 * (6in * 4 lbs/ft^3 + 4in * 7 lbs/ft^3)] ~ 91.5 lbs. I weighed myself on our scale = 168 lbs. I weighed myself holding the mattress off the ground = 221.5 lbs for a mattress weight of 53.5 lbs. I checked the scale by weighing myself again (168 lbs) and my wife (124 lbs) then both standing on the scale together = 293.5 lbs. If anything, my scale is reading a bit high at these higher weights. It’s possible something was not done right when I held the mattress, but the weight appears to not add up.

Am I using a reasonable latex density? Peter believes his suppliers are great and deliver quality products to him. Would you recommend I proceed with the purchase or take Peter’s refund offer?

Hi jrc,

To a large degree he is right. There are many manufacturers around the country that have the experience and knowledge to know quality materials even though they may not know every technical detail about all the materials they offer. In any mattress purchase there is always some element of trust involved that what is in your mattress is the same as is on the law label.

I talked to Peter and the circumstances are a little more involved as well which may also be part of the “feelings” between you including among other things that he paid a visit to your home that I would think was above and beyond the call of duty (for the loose threads which are normal with cotton that has serged edges).

I should also mention that when you purchase a custom mattress then there is usually no return policy (even if a manufacturer usually offers this on their regular mattress) so his offer was as much out of frustration and a reaction to some of the comments you made (which he took as a threat) not because it was a requirement on his part. What is clear to me is that he is also having some difficulty with his relationship with you as well and wants to avoid an ongoing series of issues that he believes aren’t reasonable and may happen over time when he knows/believes that your mattress is good quality and value.

I wasn’t there in person of course so I don’t know every detail of all your interactions and I don’t want to get into “he said she said” but it seems clear to me that neither of you are particularly happy in dealing with each other.

The density of latex is not a “quality” spec but varies with the firmness of the latex so the weight of a latex mattress will vary with the firmness levels and to some degree based on the manufacturer of the Dunlop latex so Dunlop latex density and ILD levels are an approximation.

I would guess that your method of weighing the mattress may not be accurate but if you are in any doubt and feel you need to confirm the weight you could always put the mattress in a mattress box and weigh it on a shipping scale just for your own peace of mind. I do agree that a twin XL mattress with 6" of latex and 4" of 7 lb gel memory foam should weigh more 53.5 lbs.

I think that if you both wanted to continue your relationship that you could also ask him to open up the mattress and show you that there is latex inside (and the law tag should also include the contents of the mattress so you could check that as well but this doesn’t include the specifics and only the percentages by weight and in a custom build the law tag is custom as well) but if the level of trust between a customer and a manufacturer is this low (in both directions apparently) then I can understand why neither of you may want to continue with the purchase.

I hope you are able to work out the specifics of your disagreement because the ideal solution (and the one that I suspect both of you would probably prefer in the end) would be that both of you are happy with your purchase and can re-assure each other that your concerns are unfounded and while I can’t tell you what you “should” do (that’s up to the best judgement of both of you) … it seems clear to me that it would be well worthwhile to talk with each other to find an outcome that both of your concerns are satisfied if you choose to continue with the purchase.

Phoenix

I was shown this foundation by someone. Would it be a good one for latex/memory foam mattresses after adding a good cover?

Hi jrc,

The foundation thread here and the links in the second paragraph have more information about the types of foundations or box springs that are generally used with each type of mattress.

If a manufacturer that makes the mattress suggests a specific foundation then it would normally be fine (they are the ones who would be dealing with any warranty issues so they would make sure that they use a suitable foundation).

The foundation you attached would certainly be strong enough and fine for most mattresses but with an all latex mattress (that has latex in the bottom layer) I would tend to prefer a foundation with gaps that are about 3" or less just out of an “abundance of caution” although you won’t find consensus between manufacturers about this.

Phoenix

Phoenix,

We finally got 2 twin XL mattresses from The Mattress Factory. My wife ended up liking the latex one built for me better than the gel foam on top and wanted the same one. We decided to remain with the two mattesses in case we reacted differently to the mattress and needed different tweaks.

Before I contacted our seller (again), I wanted to get your feedback to hopefully lessen any potential conflicts. One mattress was slightly thicker than the other, about 1/4" to 1/2". Also, the thicker mattress felt significantly softer to both of us. I suspect that the thickness difference is due to an oversight regarding the quiltable latex. I was told my original mattress would get double the quiltable latex on each side to ease my firmness concerns, 3/4" instead of 3/8". When my wife liked my mattress build better, we requested she get the same one. They possibly forgot to double her quiltable latex. However, the thicker mattress feels softer than I would expect if the quilting layer is the only difference. The softness feels like it goes deeper than that. Also, the softer mattress felt like it was developing soft spots or depressions within it after only a few nights. Not so with the firmer one. They were both supposed to be dunlop 28 ILD 6" cores with a talalay 24 ILD 2’ layer on each side, with the quiltable latex in the cover. Is our experience rather normal, or does something else seem to be at play?

Hi jrc,

If I am understanding you correctly this means that you still have two separate mattresses but they are the same design (Dunlop two sided) and your wife doesn’t have the gel foam version?

It would be “normal” that two mattresses that are hand built would have slight height variations in the range of about 1/2" or less. I don’t know if this is just normal variation in your case or because the extra quilting latex is missing from one of them.

Dunlop latex also has some firmness variations in the same density range and doesn’t have an “exact” ILD. This is part of the Dunlop manufacturing process. ILD can also vary from the top of a core to the bottom because the latex settles when Dunlop is produced.

In both cases “normal” would be a matter of the degree of variation and if you have any concerns then it would be a good idea to talk with Peter so he can tell you whether your mattresses are in a “normal” range of variation or not or whether it’s possible that the thicker quilting material is missing from one of them. He is really the only one that can answer that. You may be able to squeeze the cover material between two fingers to see if on seems thicker than the other when they are compressed or squeezed together but these are questions that I really can’t answer specifically because I can’t see your mattresses or feel what you feel.

If your concerns are significant to you then I would certainly bring them up.

Phoenix

New member here and just wanted to thank you for so much wonderful information. The wife and I need a new mattress and will be looking at the recommended locations here in DFW. Thanks so much!