The Best Foundations or Base for a Latex or All Foam Mattress

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick question regarding SleepEz’s foundation (orthopedic). I received some conflicting information and so I am looking for anyone that may know the answer to this before I can call them back on Monday.

I was told by SleepEz that their foundation was simply pine with a needle-punched wool cover - no fire retardants - the wool acts as the fire retardant.

However, when looking on SleepEz’s website at the orthopedic foundation (Foundations - Sleep EZ) and viewing the video it shows an organic cotton cover. At the end of the video it lists US Boxspring as the manufacturer of the foundation. After talking to them - they said that the foundation uses cellulose and silica as the fire retardant.

Just trying to figure out what it really is. Does anyone know?

Thanks very much!
Jennifer

Hi jennifer and Josephine,

@jennifer … I switched your post to this topic since both of you had questions about the same foundation.

I called them to find out the answers “from the horse’s mouth” and they confirmed that the cover uses an inherent rayon fire barrier quilted to organic cotton.

They use kiln dried spruce and unlike some other KD manufacturers they go through the lumber to remove any pieces that have knots that would weaken the slats.

Their King size is also two twins because it’s stronger and easier to move than a single king size and they don’t have to throw away slats that may have a knot in a longer span.

Hope this helps both of you :slight_smile:

Phoenix

I bought a queen all-latex mattress from an authorized retailer, and like a newbie I didn’t ask for details on the foundation or frame that came with it. After it started to sink to the middle pretty badly after a couple of weeks, I went looking around and somehow I have:

  1. A foundation (or something) that has 6 (!) ~2 inch slats with ~11 inch gaps between them on top. The fabric between the slats is sunken in and I can feel the impressions (not deep (yet), but tangible) on the bottom of the mattress. That’s obviously bad and a disaster waiting to happen. I have no idea what brand or model it is.

  2. Something that appears to be a http://www.sears.com/mantua-universal-bed-frame/p-08216904000P for a frame. Which would be at least decent if the bottom of the foundation contacted the center support, but the foundation has two head-to-toe beams in the middle (each 1/3 of the way in) and no side-to-side wood, so the head-to-toe center support of the frame has nothing to contact on the foundation except the cloth that it has pulled loose at the middle-head and middle-foot positions.

Under only the weight of the mattress, the wood halfway down the foundation on the bottom appears to be deformed about 1/3 to 1/2 an inch relative to the distance from the floor right next to a head or foot support. It’s much harder to measure the top with weight, but lifting the mattress up, fairly close to the edge the center slat appears to be about 1/4 inch deformed down, and lifting the mattress up more (from one side), and measuring closer to the middle of the bed by pulling a string taut, the center slat appears to be sagging by over half an inch, and that’s only relative to the center-head and center-foot which I’m pretty sure are already sagging on their own… I assume with this level of deformation on the top (when carrying little weight), the foundation is already a lost cause and not something a bunkie board on top could fix (if it could fix it to begin with)?

The frame has also started squeaking whenever I move. Even the Mantua SP50G makes a big deal out of being rated for 500 pounds, but with a super-heavy mattress, plus me, that’s probably pushing 500 already, and with my girlfriend on the bed it’s way over. I can’t imagine the random adjustable frame is even that sturdy.

So what’s the easiest way I can work with the retailer to fix this (they’re being complete dildos so far, not even acknowledging that the foundation-frame geometry is an issue, but I’m still within the chargeback period, so I’m hopeful that they’ll see the light and cooperate)? I found the waterbed-strength frame at http://www.stlbeds.com/parts-accessories/steel-bed-frames/glideaway-q33.html which seems good. I also saw the list of foundations at the beginning of the thread, and I’d just demand one of those, except I didn’t see any competitively-costed ones with 2 supports? Are there any, or is one of the 1-support ones listed known to be particularly sturdy/good for a large person on a heavy mattress?

Thanks.

Hi TimDorsey,

I’m not sure which frame you have but the Mantua SP50G (The Sealy Posturepedic queen bedframe) is rated for 1000 lbs not 500 (see post #6 here) so it would likely be fine. If you have a different frame then if you can identify what it is then Mantua will tell you its weight capacity. If it’s the bedframe that is the cause of your squeaking then making sure it is put together correctly, tightening any loose bolts, or applying some lubricant to any parts that are rubbing together that are the source of your squeak should solve the problem.

Your foundation on the other hand appears to be a bigger issue since it appears that it isn’t a good match for your bedframe as far as the points of contact and the suitable load bearing points and in addition to this the slats appear to be too far apart … especially for a latex mattress. With a foundation like this it would be better to have a bedframe with cross members instead of a center support that runs from head to toe but you would still have the issue of the distance between the slats even if it was well supported. This is the part of your support system that I would probably want to replace.

I’m not sure which retailer you are dealing with and I don’t have any special methods of dealing with them (outside of being polite but firm and insistent about the issues you have) but I would probably ask to speak with the owner or someone that is a little higher up the chain of command and explain to them what the issues are and that you would rather work with them than have to do a chargeback. If there are no other alternatives when you have a reasonable issue and can’t resolve the issue more cooperatively then a chargeback may be the only option available to you.

Most of the KD foundations that have a single center support and a suitable slat distance (less than 3") would hold well over 1000 lbs and would be suitable for higher weights but the strength of a bedframe also depends on the type of wood, the overall design, and the width and strength of the slats so a single center beam wouldn’t be an issue if the frame was designed to hold the weight that you were placing on it. The first post in this topic includes several foundations that have a stronger construction with narrower gaps or wider slats that would certainly be suitable but they are also in a higher price range. There are also some heavy duty foundations that use double center beams, more slats with narrower gaps, or that have more slats in the center of the foundation that would also work well so you could check with your retailer of they carry any of these.

Phoenix