Good Afternoon!
This site has been invaluable in our ongoing search to find and procure the perfect mattress. I have a few more questions for Phoenix and the forum members, though they do not particularly relate to mattresses.
I am a firm believer that anything worth doing, is worth doing right… and since we are going all the way with our mattress search, my wife has indicated that she has always wanted a bed that you have to step up into. Our bed frame is a king size heavy/large 4-poster bed, but it is a standard height off the floor (and it would be quite difficult to raise the bed itself). Our current mattress/foundation total height is about 22-23 inches (9 inch foundation plus ~ 14 inch mattress), but we will be replacing this mattress very soon. After taking appropriate measurements, my wife would like the bed height to be 6-9 inches higher.
So my questions are as follows:
-
Is it possible/safe/practical to stack 2 foundations to increase the bed height… I’m assuming that you would have to secure the 2 together in some fashion.
-
I suppose that I could attach 2x4’s to the support slats under our current configuration, but that only increases the height by 2 inches. I don’t want to do anything that might inhibit airflow… any other suggestions to raise the bed height?
-
In looking at foundations, the euro-slat foundation at Flobeds looks interesting, but I am getting conflicting information. From what I have read here on the forums, and to my own thinking, it seems that you would lose the benefit from the euro slats with a 12" mattress. However, Dewey at Flobeds , says that the difference is noticeable, can further help with lumbar support, and helps to further eliminate motion transfer.
Anyone have any experience with the euro slats?
Are they worth the heftier price tag as compared to the foundations offered by SleepEZ and US Box Spring ($680-780 vs $380)?
Flobeds only offers the foundation in ~ 5.5 inches. They are willing to custom make an 11" foundation for an extra $400 and double the shipping (~$300)… which makes for an extraordinarily expensive foundation, and is what prompted me to start looking at stacking/building the foundations as I mention above.
Sorry for the long post, and thank you in advance for any and all help!
Cheers!
One suggestion… consider getting a set of bed risers. Hopefully, she will decide hopping down out of bed is a nuisance and will change her mind, and then you’ll only be out a few bucks. Then donate the risers to a freshman college student so that they can raise their dorm bed a bit to create some precious under bed storage.
What is the desired mattress height off the floor?
zzz
This link is similar to what our bed frame looks like, and is the reason that bed risers won’t work. I have the exact measurements for the height she wants at home and will post back later with numbers.
Well, that’s a pretty grand 4-poster.
Options:
o Source an extra deep foundation.
o Stack foundations… perhaps a couple twin xl slatted wood/fabric foundations beneath the existing/new foundation. Width could be critical.
o Build a wood riser beneath the existing/new foundation, ideally in two pieces to keep it manageable. The design would need to respect and transfer loads appropriately. The king-size dimensions can be a challenge to construct and join. 2x material could get heavy. 1x material could be stacked/laminated cleverly, perhaps. Fabric is an effective cover.
o If the rails are good wood and deep enough, the right person might be able to remount the rail ledgers higher up and put extensions on any middle legs to raise the foundation bearing surfaces.
zzz
Hi FLSleepMD,
Besides the great suggestions made by sleeping … I would add the following thoughts (besides my own comment about "what a monster bed :))
If you stack foundations on top of one another I would make sure that each one was well designed and strong enough to evenly bear and support all the weight of everything above it and was well supported and secured to the one below it to prevent any possibility of shifting and that the primary load bearing surfaces were directly on top of each other.
If you stack foundations on top of each other then it will also affect the look of your whole system and the sleeping surface may come up too high on the headboard for your taste. It may also put the foundation system higher than your footboard and the bottom of the mattress higher than the footboard which could then shift over the bottom edge of the bed.
I don’t know what type of platform your bed has but you could also remove bed’s platform or slats and use a “stand alone” foundation that allows you to attach legs under it (such as the bedlegs or other adjustable height legs) of the right height and put it inside the bedframe itself with direct support to the floor. There are also adjustable beds (if that’s an option) that have different leg heights that can be attached (See the Reverie example here) and would fit inside your bedframe.
You could also go to a local woodwork ship and have them build custom extensions under the legs of your bed that matched the thickness, design and stain of your current legs that would allow you to raise the whole bed. This would also increase any storage space under the bed.
I would also first choose the mattress so that you can measure everything and decide on the height you need for the foundation system after that.
I would also make sure that regardless of which option you choose that you have strong support legs which provide good center support to the floor to prevent any sagging (and I would use at least two rather than one in the middle of the center rail of your bed or under the foundation system).
I also think that after a while you may decide that having a bed that high isn’t ideal but of course that’s a preference that is unique to each person.
Phoenix
Thank you for the good information thus far… I think the best option thus far will be to try and talk her out of this… barring that I foresee many headaches in my future.
In looking at foundations, the euro-slat foundation at Flobeds looks interesting, but I am getting conflicting information. From what I have read here on the forums, and to my own thinking, it seems that you would lose the benefit from the euro slats with a 12" mattress. However, Dewey at Flobeds , says that the difference is noticeable, can further help with lumbar support, and helps to further eliminate motion transfer.
Anyone have any thoughts or experience with the euro slats?
I realize there this is somewhat part of a value equation, but are they worth the heftier price tag as compared to the foundations offered by SleepEZ and US Box Spring ($680-780 vs $380)?
Thanks again in advance…
Cheers!
Hi FLSleepMD,
I think “in theory” (which I would take with a grain of salt because of all the variables involved) the effect of the slats would vary with the thickness of the mattress, the firmness of the mattress, the weight and weight distribution of the person, the position and degree of adjustment that was possible, and the hysteresis of the material (how much compression energy it absorbs and how much “passes through” the mattress).
I think whether it was “worth it” would really depend on knowing or being able to somehow predict how much of an effect it would have for you and how much the effect and adjustments could contribute to better alignment if that was necessary. Would it be “noticeable enough” or a “big enough” improvement to justify the extra cost is the real question. Dewey has a great deal of experience so I would certainly take him at his word which is based on the experiences of many customers and it would also depend (at least for me) on how much you could adjust the mattress without it (such as choosing their vZone). In some cases every little bit helps when people have a narrower range that is suitable for them and it would certainly be “worth it” if it resulted in a noticeable improvement but with a 12" mattress the effect would be less than if the mattress was thinner.
In Europe flexible slats are more common but mattresses also tend to be thinner.
It may be worth asking if the flexible slat system can be returned by itself in which case you could always order it and compare it to a firm non flexing surface (even the floor for a while) to see how much difference it makes for you.
Phoenix