I was wondering if it is a bad idea to stack latex toppers together to make my own mattress. I have a 32ild from Brooklyn Bedding which is nice. They recommended a 36 ild underneath. They said toppers are really designed for the top of a mattress. I think this was meant in relationship to the support system below and making it dense enough. Anyway, I folded the 32ild in half and layed on it effectually making it a 6" version - it felt good and supportive enough! This is an attempt to piece together an all latex mattress. I am 6’ 2" and 230lbs. Are there any pitfalls here with wear or will the support layer eventually soften too much?
Hi Stack, others have tried to do similar things and using toppers can be hit or miss. Effectively it’s the same latex used in a layered component mattress but one of the bigger pitfalls can be sizing. This seems to be true of Brooklyn Bedding/Dreamfoam, at least from what others have said. A topper can be undersized, anywhere from an inch or two shorter in width and length than a standard mattress size. (Queen may be 78x58 instead of 80x60). Placing the bare toppers in a zippered mattress ticking (recommended for latex especially) could leave it baggy and not filled out. It’s not a manufacturing defect, for some reason it’s to do with the shape. The tops of pillowtop mattresses are slightly smaller than their standard size as well, even though it’s attached. Something to do with placing a full dimension topper can make it seem like it’s too big.
Can’t really tell you what’s right for you in terms of the firmness, 32 seems to be verging on the lower ild end of things for a support core but it’s not ridiculously soft or anything. No one can tell how it feels to you so long as it keeps you supported. Softer layers I believe will wear more under heavier weights, but I think it’s relative - the softer the material, the heavier the person, the more of an effect it’ll have.
You may want to check out BB’s latex mattresses or one of the vendors like SleepEZ or Arizona Premium Mattress (both have customizable layered mattresses). Or there’s places to source individual components if you’d rather DIY. Hope this helps.
So to confirm, you’re saying that two 3" toppers is equivalent (assuming same ILD and blends) as a 6" core, with the exception that it might be smaller?
I would agree with all of brass’ comments as well.
If you are planning to build a DIY mattress I would also read option #3 in post #15 here just to make sure you have realistic expectations of success and are comfortable with the learning curve and some of the trial and error and additional costs that may be involved with a DIY mattress.
Outside of the external dimensions (which may be smaller than some of the other layers in your mattress or than the cover you choose) … two 3" layers that are the same type and blend of latex and that both have the same ILD as a single 6" layer would be very similar and would be functionally equivalent (see post #2 here).
Hi Brass, that was helpful for sure. folding the 32ild felt good so I am debating another 32 or 36. Maybe there is not much difference. I assume the bamboo covers are not really considered adequate enough to hold the shape?
A good quality tight fitting zip cover that will enclose all your layers is a good idea because it can help prevent the layers from shifting and it can also provide additional protection for the latex and keep it from oxidizing or breaking down prematurely (see post #12 here and the posts it links to).
The type of cover you choose can also have a significant effect on the feel and performance of a mattress and there is also more about quilted vs stretch knit covers in post #12 here and the posts it links to as well.
Hi Stack, just to clarify… when I mentioned the use of a zippered ticking with the toppers and not holding shape, I wasn’t meaning the cover/ticking was needed to hold the shape of the latex. I meant it might leave the zippered cover baggy if the cover was for example 80x60 (standard queen dimensions) and the toppers were slightly smaller (78x58). The bamboo covers on those toppers makes it nicer to look at and protects the raw latex, but latex from what I’ve seen pretty well holds its’ own shape. It’s a solid piece of latex foam and will bend/squish etc and return to its’ shape.
Just didn’t want you to experience the frustration of putting potentially undersized toppers into a full size zippered mattress cover (to protect it and contain the layers) and have it similar to putting an oversized pillow case on a smaller pillow. You’d end up with an inch or two of excess material (even if the topper was an inch shy on the dimensions, it would be an inch shorter or narrower along the top of the cover and the bottom doubling the issue. An inch shy would make for 2" excess material, 2" shy would create 4" of excess etc.)