Thank you! Will try your suggestions. There is so much good information on this site. Glad to have found it. I have much reading to do!
First off, thank you thank you thank you.
This site has helped me so much. I am getting married in a few months and am looking to buy our new bed. We went to about 5 different major retailers and flopped on every bed they had, but all we got out of that was more questions and the feeling that we were getting sold a mattress rather than us buying one. So when I went home and started researching (again) and found this site I was so thankful. Finally I feel like I am making an informed decision.
I did have one question about foundations. We are getting a 13" latex mattress and are thinking about offsetting the height a bit by getting a 5" foundation rather than a 9" one. Is there any difference beside the height? For instance, will one (more often than not) last longer? Does it make a difference for support? Are there any other considerations I am missing with regards to a 5" vs 9" profile foundation?
Sorry if this was already brought up in this topic. I looked for it but might have missed it.
sike64
Hi siket4,
No … the height of a foundation is strictly preference and depends on how high above the floor (or below the headboard or footboard) you want the surface of the mattress to be. If you are comparing the same type of foundation with the same slat or wire grid design, then the height makes absolutely no difference in terms of support or durability.
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix,
I just wanted to let you and your readers know that for me, 2" of N1 ended up being the best solution over the 3" of N2, over 6" of 37 ILD. I had no idea that I was such a delicate flower 
but with this combination, I wake up with no pain or stiffness anywhere, which is just awesome! I think that without a cover, 1" of N1 would have been fine but I was surprised how much the bamboo/cotton stretch cover changed the feel of the latex. I realize that I likely have a few unnecessary inches in the mix but this is just how it all worked out in the end. I can’t thank you enough for your help while I was trying to figure this all out!
~Debbie
Hi Debbielc21,
Thanks for bringing us up to date.
It’s great to hear that you found your ideal combination
Phoenix
Hello,
First off, many thanks for all the excellent information on your site. I’m pretty much buying a mattress in a vacuum (southeastern Michigan, with almost no shopping options except furniture stores and major manufacturers), so your site has been invaluable.
I’m still a little confused about foundations, however. I’ve read your recommendations post, but still have a few questions:
1 - What do you mean when you say “flexible” and “tension adjustable” slats? I think flexible are the slightly curved ones, but am not sure if that’s the same as tension adjustable.
2 - When you say the slats should be 3" apart for latex mattresses, do you mean 3" of space between them, or 3" on centers?
3 - You recommend flat slats rather than a box spring or curved slats, but when I tried latex mattresses at Ikea, they had the same mattress (their Sultan Edsele) on both a box spring and on slats, and it felt very different on each. The one on the slats was very hard. Do you think that would be the case with a layered mattress like the ISleep EZ 10000 as well?
Again, many many thanks.
Hi eek,
Flexible slats means they bend under pressure rather than being rigid. Tension adjustable means that there is a mechanism (usually a slider) which can make certain slats either firmer or softer (more or less “giving” in different areas).
I’ts 3" of space between the slats (as a maximum and preferably less) to prevent the very elastic latex from sinking into the gaps over time. This applies to mattresses that have latex in the bottom layer. A latex hybrid which has a polyfoam base and latex in the upper layers only can use a foundation with wider gaps because polyfoam is much stiffer and less flexible than latex.
Yes … in most cases a latex mattress does best on a firm non flexible foundation but in the case of thinner latex mattresses (such as Ikea) then flexible slats underneath the mattress (or even a flexible box spring) can make a significant difference in the feel and performance of the mattress and is used as part of the design of the design of the “sleeping system”. This is a popular construction in Europe (thinner latex mattresses with flexible slats underneath them).
How a mattress/base combination (with or without flex in the base) feels and performs has more to do with the specifics of the latex (type and firmness) than just whether it has a flexible or non flexible foundation but with thinner mattresses they work together to create the feel and performance of the mattress. The best “rule” to follow is to use what works best in your testing based on which feels and performs better for you. If you test a mattress on one type of base or foundation and then use a different type at home then the “sleeping system” you tested will be different from the one you sleep on and may not work as well.
With thicker latex mattresses … the effect of flexible slats are diminished and once you go beyond about 6" - 8" or so then the benefits of a flexible foundation are reduced and in some cases can’t be felt at all depending on the firmness of the latex layers and on the body type and sleeping style of the person. SleepEz mattresses would generally do best with a firm non flexing foundation because the “feel and performance” is designed into the layer choices and doesn’t require any additional flex under a single layer mattress to work to its best potential.
Phoenix
Thanks, Phoenix, that’s so helpful. One last question - do you think that having separate slats on each side would transfer motion any less than having slats that go all the way across?
Thank you again,
Hi eek,
There should be separate slats on each side with a firmly supported center beam if it’s a queen or king size anyway. It would help with motion transfer compared to slats all the way across yes (if these were even available) because the flexing of one side won’t affect the other.
Phoenix
Hi Pheonix!
This is a great site. I just wanted to confirm/ get your opinion.
I bought a icomfort genius firm in a king size and bought a malm frame as well as a slatted sultan lade from Ikea.
The space between the slats are 3 inches apart. Will it be alright to put the genius on top of it? Or I’m thinking of getting a low profile king split box spring to put on top of the slats and then the foam mattress? Please help!!!
Hi Suejin00,
[quote]I bought a icomfort genius firm in a king size and bought a malm frame as well as a slatted sultan lade from Ikea.
The space between the slats are 3 inches apart. Will it be alright to put the genius on top of it? Or I’m thinking of getting a low profile king split box spring to put on top of the slats and then the foam mattress? Please help!!! [/quote]
Your mattress is designed to be used on a firm non flexing foundation like the Sultan Lade so as long as the height is OK then it would be fine.
Your mattress is not designed to be used on a box spring that flexes (which will also change how it feels and performs) so if you wanted to add extra height then it would be best to use a low profile foundation (also with no flex in it) not a box spring (that flexes) but it’s not necessary for any other reason except a preference for extra height.
Phoenix.
I tried to look through all of these posts, but didn’t see my question addressed. Forgive me if I missed it. I just purchased a Brooklyn Bedding Bamboo Bella mattress and I’m looking for a foundation for it. I would like to purchase the Malm bed from Ikea and just use one of the slatted bed bases that they offer. My concern is whether or not these will hold up to my weight. I’m on the larger side at about 350 lbs. Does anyone know if these bases, the Sultan Lade, Sultan Luroy, and Sultan Laxeby, will be sufficient ? It looks like the Luroy and Laxeby are more durable, but they also seem to be flexible and adjust to weight, whereas the Lade is a firm base, but made out of pine. Does anybody have any suggestions on which, if any of those, would be best suited for my needs?
Thanks for your help!
Hi tsakana,
I don’t know the weight limit rating for the Malm bed or even if they have one although there is no real wood in it so it would make me wonder if it would hold up to your weight. If you call them they may have a weight rating for it which would be helpful.
I would also tend to avoid a flexible slat base and lean towards a strong non flexing slat system like the Lade unless your personal experience (on the Lade) indicated that you could benefit from more “give” under the mattress … but I would definitely start with the Lade (and Brooklyn Bedding here also suggests firm non flexing foundations including the Lade).
The first post in this foundation thread also has more foundation and some platform bed options.
Phoenix
Phoenix,
I recently purchased a 9" king-size memory foam mattress (I purchased the 4" 5lb memory foam + 5" LUX -HQ base) from The Foam Factory (I did not see this post until after I had already purchased the mattress).
My wife purchased a bed frame which will require a box spring. Given your initial post on this thread, would you recommend this knock down foundation from mattresses.net?
Although it seems ideal that the distance between slats is less than 3", I have to admit that cost is also one of the more enticing aspects of this foundation - given that the mattress itself cost about $515, I cannot really stomach spending much more than $300 for a foundation (absent a compelling reason).
Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you!
Hi JOL,
[quote]My wife purchased a bed frame which will require a box spring. Given your initial post on this thread, would you recommend this knock down foundation from mattresses.net?
Although it seems ideal that the distance between slats is less than 3", I have to admit that cost is also one of the more enticing aspects of this foundation - given that the mattress itself cost about $515, I cannot really stomach spending much more than $300 for a foundation (absent a compelling reason).[/quote]
The 3" or less guideline applies more to an all latex mattress than other types because latex is much more elastic and can sink into gaps more easily than other foam types. For your mattress almost any “standard” foundation that can be used under a good quality memory foam mattress would work well whether it was purchased locally (where some phone research can often find low cost foundations available for sale) or online. Of course smaller gaps still provide a more even support surface area for any mattress no matter what type but with more rigid foams the smaller gaps are not as important and I would not make an issue of 3". Any of the foundations mentioned in the foundation post would be fine.
Phoenix
Thanks for your input, Phoenix. Since mattresses.net is a member of this forum, I was able to get an additional 5% off my order for the foundation. Decided to just go with the knockdown foundation with the <3" gaps for our memory foam bed. Hoping for the best!
HI JOL,
I somehow managed to include an extraneous quote from another thread in my reply to you. It wasn’t connected to this thread in case you were wondering
The mattresses.net foundation will certainly be everything you need and more to provide good support for your mattress.
Phoenix
Just an FYI.
This was the email reply back from Cindy, one of the co-owners, of Forever Foundations to my email asking if their foundations were suitable for latex mattresses.
“Included with the foundation is a very strong non-woven fabric deck. When installed correctly this deck assists the all metal slats to hold a distributed weight of 2000 lbs. We had another customer ask the same question regarding her foam mattress. Our suggestion was to attached the deck per instructions, and if she was still not confident, purchase a 1/8” sheet of plywood and lay it on top of the deck. Proceed to cover it with a bed skirt and then the mattress. She wrote back and informed us that the deck appeared to be sufficient, but she decided to add the wood and is very satisfied with the results. In August we will be introducing a new model the Store More Max, which has more slats. I hope I have been able to help answer your question."
I’m curious to see what the spacing between the slats will be on their new Store More Max model. As I mentioned in my first post Post #1, an Amazon reviewer stated that the space between the slats on their Forever Store More foundation is 9.25" and that he had to add a piece of plywood to the foundation to keep his 10" latex mattress from falling through.
Hi BobP,
I have no doubt that these types of foundation are strong enough to hold a latex mattress but my concern would be more for its long term effect on any latex in the bottom layers of the mattress and in the case of 9.5" gaps the short term as well … with or without a fabric cover. My concerns have come from talking with manufacturers who have many years of experience with latex mattresses and have seen the effects of larger gaps in a support system on latex mattresses… even with wire grid foundations that have smaller gaps or spaces and a more evenly supportive surface area. I wonder if they have tested their foundation with an all latex mattress over a period of 5 - 10 years and evaluated how it performs in real life over the longer term.
You can see more of my thoughts in post #10 here (and some possible solutions) but I would personally tend to avoid these just because it makes sense to me that the risk would be much higher than other types of foundations and in this case with the larger gaps even higher than other types of wire grid or metal foundations.
I’ll also be interested in seeing the design of their new model and it seems to me that just the fact that they are introducing may be an implicit recognition of the very issue we are discussing.
Phoenix
Good morning,
I plan on ordering a Queen Size 12" Bamboo Bliss this week with “Cushion Firm (level 5)”, and then increasing the firmness if that is too soft…
Does anyone have a good base or foundation to suggest for this bed?
My budget is fairly flexible. Aesthetics aren’t a huge concern. I just want something I can sleep on without blinding pain.
Thanks. This website is wonderful!