Steel Foundation Frames and Headboards

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Steel Foundation Frames

I never noticed this before but on all, correct me if I’m wrong, the cross bars and center bars on steel frames are lower than the side rails. Would this cause the foundation to sag a bit in the middle or is the difference in height negligible?

There are plenty of frames out there, and you can purchase one at your local mattress store, but for my new latex mattress I wanted a heavy duty steel frame with rollers. I purchased this one from Amazon for $52. shipped using some of my Discover cash back. Milliard Super Heavy Duty Metal Bed Frame With Rug Rollers It got a lot of positive reviews but the one I should have paid close attention to was the one 1 star review that stated, “We had to use a mallet, and despite our best efforts we still couldn’t get it level. Now the edges are 1/4” higher than the center bar, meaning that the center bar isn’t supporting my foundation at all."
This frame is heavy duty, has 1 ¼" wide and 1 ½" high side rails and, in their words, a no tool easy assembly interlock design.
The problem is even if you fully seat the interlocks, I needed a hammer and a piece of wood to do this, the cross rails and center beam are lower than the side rails.
I’ve been out of the mattress loop for awhile. Is this interlock design new or has it been around for a few years? For now, since the frame was cheap, I’m going to keep it and see how it supports my foundation.

Here’s a few pics:
Rear cross beam Interlock fully seated

Four foot level on side rail and rear cross beam. Notice space under level

Four foot level on side rail and front cross beam. Notice space under level

Four foot level on center of side rail and center beam. Almost level

Headboard screwed to frame. If you get a Hillsdale queen size headboard use the second hole from the top, not the top hole as stated in the instructions.

Hillsdale Milwaukee queen headboard and frame

Sealy Reflections queen frame. Crossbeams a bit lower than side rail but so far no probems.

Headboards or Full beds

Whichever you choose, the two brands that you are most likely to come across are Hillsdale and Fashion Bed Group (Legett & Pratt). Internet pictures and your the monitor sometimes don’t show the true colors of items, so I strongly advise you go to mattress stores that carry the brand of headboard you are interested in. It does not have to be the same model, just the same color.
We were lucky and found the queen size Hillsdale Milwaukee headboard in a store just a few miles from our house. Their price, on sale of course, was $399.95 + tax. We purchased it from Wayfair for $139. with free 2 day shipping.

2

Structurally, the side rails and center beam are the bearing surface for the base/foundation. The cross beams just hold them in place and are not located to carry the load. Minor elevation differences in the bearing surfaces should not be a problem. The side rails are primary and will likely be even. If a center beam happens to come out too low to catch any load, you can easily lay in a thin wood filler, if necessary. A center beam too high could be a nuisance worth complaining about, but the design generally should not let that happen.

I would be inclined to add a larger diameter washer to those headboard connections just to shore them up to resist movement and loosening. They are ok as is but a bigger washer could help to stabilize the connection.

zzz

3

sleeping,
Thanks for the advice.
I used the washers, 1 lock and 1 flat washer for each bolt, that came with the headboard, but also thought about using a larger diameter flat washer.

Bob

Edit: I sent an email this morning to Amazon’s customer service pointing out the possible flaws of the frame. I was not asking for a refund, an exchange, or a credit. They offered to replace it or give me a 35% refund on the item. Since my mattress is due in next week and I need a frame, I took the refund.

4

Hi sleeping,

I would just say “ditto” to Sleeping’s comments.

You can see a few frame manufacturers here and all of them generally have a center beam and/or side rails over the cross beams which are just there for structural integrity as Sleeping mentioned.

Phoenix