We do ship to Georgia. The Original Mattress Factory could also be worth a visit, especially if it’s only about 10 miles from you. We are not affiliated with them, but they make quality products and most people report good experiences with them.
We agree that mattresses are tough. Firmness is very subjective. We can have one customer love a mattress, another say it’s too soft, and another say it’s too firm and the challenge is they are all correct. Past experiences, height, weight, sleep position, body shape, and other factors all impact how a mattress feels.
I know you shared your weight and sleep position, but height is important too. We can usually narrow things down quite a bit by knowing height, weight, and sleep position. Even more helpful is knowing the brand and model of your current mattress and what you like or dislike about it. It’s also helpful if you’ve owned or trialed any other mattresses in the past 5–7 years.
As a bigger guy, we can’t stress enough how important it is to have a well-built box spring (also called a foundation). Unfortunately, most of the options on the market today are not built well enough for our mattress or really for most mattresses especially for bigger guys like us.
We would not recommend that easy-assembly box spring for any mattress. Looking at the photos, the spacing between the bars appears to be too wide. Also, while it is metal, many of these use inexpensive tubular bars that can deform over time.
One tip: don’t rely too heavily on the listed weight rating. We’ve seen products advertised for 2,000 pounds that simply don’t hold up in the long run and can cause the mattress to feel less supportive or sag over time. Those ratings are also usually for weight distributed across the entire surface and don’t account for more centralized weight.
With a frame like the Terra, you could probably stand on it and it wouldn’t flex or break. We haven’t seen that level of durability with the metal ones. The metal often bends or deforms over time. In many cases they’re more like “fast fashion” furniture—made with inexpensive wire or thin tubular metal. The reviews tend to be great right out of the box but don’t always reflect long-term durability.
If you need something less expensive than the Terra, it might be worth considering this option: Knock down slatted foundation without legs – Ironwood Bed Frames For bigger folks, we would not recommend the foundation with legs from them. You’ll want something sturdier, so placing the foundation inside a solid bed frame really matters.
It’s not as heavy-duty as the Terra, but it’s much better than most of the mass-produced, low-quality options out there.
Keep in mind that the bed frame below the foundation or box spring is just as important. It should have a center brace and multiple legs touching the floor in the middle for proper support.
Just our two cents: spend a little less on the mattress and invest in quality support underneath it.
In general, for our mattress or any mattress if you want to support it properly. The foundation should be solid wood, not composite. The slats should be spaced no more than 3 inches apart, but it’s also important that the slats are real wood. Many slats on the market are made from composite materials and tend to be very flexible. We usually recommend slats that are at least 3/4" thick and about 2.5" wide. Under the slats in the middle there should also be a center support brace.
The Ironwood model is listed at 1/2" slats. We’ve seen these in person and they are generally okay, though we might not recommend them for everyone depending on the situation especially for heavier people.
We are a small, family-owned and operated mattress factory in Western New York. Feel free to give us a call Monday through Friday from 8am–4pm. We’re not a call center, so our office manager may need to take a message or you might get voicemail. We might be helping a customer or making a mattress. As a small family business, we wear a lot of hats.
If you leave a message, we will call you back. You can also schedule a time here for us to call you, email us, or continue the discussion here.
