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

I bought the Ultimate Dreams latex mattress for my son 6 months ago, been very happy with it. We are going to order ourselves the same in a king size, but have come to a grinding halt with the foundation.

I asked Chuck about this one, made by his company, and he said it would work fine. BUT my concern is, it doesn’t appear to meet the criteria you’ve outlined many times in this forum… it appears to have huge spacing between the metal, and only a few wide pieces actually touch the mattress, which to me would seem like it would almost force the mattress to ooze down to meet the lower (thinner) support bars.

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Dreams-Full-Simple-Foundation/dp/B00GOZSLQ0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388514361&sr=8-2&keywords=ultimate+dreams+foundation

it’s so hard to tell from pictures - do you have any experience with this foundation? I like that it folds and is easy to maneuver.

we want a foundation (as opposed to simple Bunkie slats) because we need to raise the mattress within our bed (upholstered bed all the way around, with the simple metal frame holding it together. three metal cross bars.)

thanks in advance - and happy new year!!

Hi nativefinn,

You can see my general thoughts about the metal grid type of foundations in post #10 here.

With a mattress with a polyfoam base layer like the Ultimate Dreams it wouldn’t be a significant issue because polyfoam is stiffer and less flexible and elastic than latex and it would provide adequate support but with a mattress that has a latex base layer I would tend to go with a rigid slatted foundation with spacing no more than 3" apart because of possibility that the latex will sink into the gaps over longer periods of time.

Phoenix

thank you! do you think there’s any performance difference between one king KD foundation or two twin XL foundations?

Hi nativefinn,

No … if the slats and the distance between them were the same then they would both provide the same firm non flexing support under the mattress although a twin XL would have the equivalent of two center supports (the two edges beside each other) so it may provide a little bit stronger support in the center of the mattress but this isn’t something that you would feel or that would affect the durability of the foundation.

Phoenix

I’m looking to buy a new queen mattress and base. Considering the Charles Rogers Powercore or the Plushbeds Botanical Bliss…both seem to have the bases covered in terms of quality

Anyone have experience with either one? Thanks

Hi COUSINROSE,

I switched your post to a new thread of your own to keep the topic separate from the foundation thread.

The first place I would start your research is the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices.

Outside of testing a mattress for suitability in terms of PPP … a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality of the materials and components inside it. If you can find out the specific details of all the layers and components of the Charles P Rogers Powercore mattress you are considering (or link to a page that includes them) I’d be happy to make some comments about them. Without this information there is no way to assess the quality of their mattresses or identify any weak links they may have.

Plushbeds makes some high quality latex and latex hybrid mattresses and are transparent about the materials they use but I would make sure you compare them to some of the other online latex options you have available to you that use the same quality materials and are sold by some of the members of this site (they are listed in post #21 here which is also linked in the tutorial post) so you can decide which is the best “match” for your personal value equation.

There may also be some good options available to you locally that you can test in person and if you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know of any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.

Phoenix

Came across this bed today –

http://thebedworksofmaine.com/Beds/The_Zen_with_Headboard.htm

Talked to the guys over at Bedworks of maine and the slats are about 2.5 inches apart and the beds are made of Ash. Craftsmanship looks great from what I can tell (they use metal attachments/connectors on the corners and the headboard) and it has a foot in the middle. the entire unit is rated up to 600 pounds so I believe it should be fine for myself (300lbs) and my CozyPure PLUS or Perfection (haven’t decided yet) Latex Mattress (155lbs – called them to get the weight) – and no additional sleepers.

I found the bed through a retailer in the color (black) and size I want (Queen) for around 775.00 at DavisWorld:

http://www.davisworld.com/platform-beds/made-in-maine/bedworks-of-maine-zen-with-headboard

Looks like shipping is free so no more costs over that.

Price is a little high for a platform from what I’ve seen, but I think it should get the job done and be more durable than other beds made with cheaper materials. Do you think I’m pretty safe here? Anyone have experience with these beds and latex Mattresses?

Hi Supermariohhh,

I don’t have any personal experience with it but it certainly uses good quality materials and the gaps between the slats would make it a suitable choice for any foam mattress (latex or memory foam).

I’ve always liked its design as well but of course that’s a personal preference.

Phoenix

Hi!
Today my spouse and I went to the original mattress factory and tried out their serenity models. We both seem to be veering towards memory foam though I have concerns about heat, adequate support, and the box springs being a firm enough underlying support. Would you have any concerns about the vox spring support and how the mattress would age vs. Other memory foam mattresses with firmer supports such as platform ones? Thank you!

Hi mncurtis,

The materials in the Serenity are all high quality so there are no weak links in the mattress.

It’s unusual for a memory foam mattress to be sold with a box spring because they usually use a firm non flexing foundation but if your testing indicates that the mattress / boxspring combination is a good match for you in terms of PPP then I wouldn’t have any concerns about it’s durability. You could also ask to test it on one of their adjustable beds (if they are willing to do this) to see if it works better for you on a box spring or a firm base.

There are many factors that in combination with each other can affect sleeping temperature (see post #2 here) but memory foam tends to sleep warmer than other types of foam so if your experience indicates that sleeping hot is an issue then at the least you may want to make sure that you have covered all the other factors that can affect sleeping temperature and if your experience or history indicates that it’s a more significant issue for you then you may wish to avoid memory foam comfort layers. It may also be worthwhile taking a nap on the floor model for about 30 minutes of so to see if there is any indication that you would tend to sleep warm on it.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,

Thank you so much for all your suggestions, Im new member in the forum. Can you tell me what you think about this foundation?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Modern-Sleep-Instant-Foundation-Multiple-Sizes/21287291

Do you think that its slats are less than 3"? Do you have any experience with this foundation?

Again thank you,

paycee

Hi paycee,

It looks like it would be a reasonable option for a memory foam mattress or a mattress with a polyfoam base layer but I think the gaps would be further apart than I would use for a latex mattress (they look like they are 4 or more inches apart based on the number of slats). If the slats are 2.5" wide and there are 10 of them plus the top and bottom frame supports then that would be about 2.5" x 12 = 30" of surface area out of a total length of 80". This would leave 50" of total space which means that the 11 spaces between the slats would be about 50" / 11 = about 4.5" apart.

Phoenix

Thank you for your response Phoenix. More power to you and Mattress underground! :cheer:

H Phoenix,

How about this mattress foundation? Do you think its less than 3"? And is this a good foundation for a latex mattress?

  http://www.kdbedding.com/

paycee

Hi paycee,

I don’t know so you would probably need to call and ask them. If I had to guess I would say it would probably be a little over 3" similar to some of the other KD foundations listed in the foundation post.

Phoenix

hello all, i just bought a dream foam supreme memory foam mattress on amazon, i’m excited. my existing platform foundation has slats that are 3.5" apart. i see that 3" is the max for latex, does this apply to foam as well? do you think the existing platform will be sufficient?

it is identical to the following:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HomCom-79-8-Leg-Queen-Size-Wood-Slat-Metal-Sleeping-Platform-Bed-Mattress-Frame-/141121225656

thanks again for everyone’s assistance

Hi skyserfin,

The polyfoam in your support layer is “stiffer” and less flexible than latex so normally a platform foundation with solid non flexing slats with 3.5" gaps would be fine (assuming it is strong enough for your mattress and the people sleeping on it and also has good center support to the floor).

Based on the picture though … your frame appears to be the same as the Handy Living bedframe/foundation. A forum search on “Handy Living” (you can just click this) will bring up more posts about it (including the first half of post #11 here) but overall it wouldn’t be my first choice because it doesn’t appear to be the strongest choice and the flexible slats are a little further apart than I would be completely comfortable with.

Phoenix

First, I want to say that I didn’t think that shopping for a new mattress was involved as it is. I am thrilled that I stumbled upon this website for so much help. I feel I would be getting so much better quality bed from the manufacturers listed on this website compared to your normal bedding places.
I am thinking about getting the Natural latex mattress from Brooklyn Bedding. I currently have a platform bed with a split regular box spring. How do you feel about putting plywood over the current boxspring with a bed rug. I need the additional height from the box spring. The latex mattress does not give the height of other mattresses. I hate sleeping low to the ground. I would already be spending more than I wanted to with the latex and I feel this would be a way to cut corners.

Hi lciccar222,

I haven’t tried the combination together but if it’s stable (doesn’t sway or shift when you sleep on it) then it would think it would be OK.

Phoenix

FYI the Metal Slatted Foundation at US Box Spring has been discontinued. :frowning: