Perfect Phoenix. I should be good then. Our current Englander doesn’t need a foundation or box spring with it, and with the bedding up I did the slats only have maybe 1/2" gaps now. And lots of center supports, double the original number.
Hi Osahar,
That certainly sounds fine to me 
Phoenix
This is such great info for a newbie! Thank you, all!
Hi Mkawanaka,
I’m glad you found us … and that the site could help
Phoenix
Ditto what Mkawanaka said…I’ve spent dozens of hours on here over the past month trying to figure out what to purchase, and now have enough info/insight to purchase a SleepEz latex bed. Thanks Phoenix!
I bought a bed brame with slated base. But it requires a tall mattress to look good. Is there a foundation I can buy that rests above the existing slated base? I browsed thru this forum but did not see anything that rests ABOVE the slats.
I can alternately buy a 13" mattress but I am trying to find out if a cheaper option is possible that works with a 6’ or 9’ latex mattress.
I would like the total height to be about 12 inches above the slated base (which sits 8’ above ground)
I recently bought a memory foam mattress to go with my new IKEA king sizebed. The IKEA bed recommended the following slats that seem to curve in the middle.
Would these be ok with my memory foam mattress (I believe it is about 12 inches thick)? Would the curved slats effect the level of my mattress when sleeping?
Hi bhumatt,
The first post of this thread has some foundation options that can sit on top of the slats. I don’t know of any that are 12" high but there are several that are in the range of 8" - 9".
If you needed more height you could always add a very firm polyfoam layer underneath the foundation (the firmer the better) or even a 2" to 3" bunkie board although two foundations on top of each other may have a tendency to shift with movement on the mattress.
Phoenix
Hi mastermixer,
They would be OK in terms of providing even support for your mattress but flexible slats underneath a mattress may also change the feel of your mattress to some degree because of their additional give (more with thinner mattress than with thicker mattresses). Most memory foam mattresses are designed to do best with firm non flexible slats underneath them. You probably wouldn’t feel this too much with a 12" mattress but some people may be more sensitive and notice it more. Whether the additional give is “better or worse” would depend on which one provided the better PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) for a particular person.
Phoenix
Thanks for the input!
Would plywood be sufficient? I also received split bunkie boards but the king size IKEA bed just has the solid bar through the centre and without slats, I don’t think the bunkie boards will be able to support the load.
Thanks for your super fast response! I have looked at many of the foundations from the post but I am not sure which ones can sit on top of slats. Can you please point me to one such foundation so I understand what type it is that can go on slats? Anything that is 3-9" high would work.
I really appreciate your inputs. Thanks for your time.
Hi mastermixer,
Plywood would be OK under a foundation but I would tend to use caution with plywood or any non breathable surface directly under the mattress unless there were no other good options (see post #10 here).
I would also add some slats under the bunkie board as well for better support such as the Ikea slats here that are designed to be used with their beds. Some bunkie boards are built stronger than others (many are meant for use with bunkbeds and children rather than as a thinner replacement for a foundation) and I would also hesitate to use a bunkie board without any supporting slats underneath to give some strength to the load bearing surfaces of the bed.
Phoenix
I am unsure about the difference between a bed frame and a bed foundation. I currently have a metal frame on which sits a box spring and then a mattress. Can I continue to use my bed frame with a new slatted foundation and latex mattress? The frame I have looks like this one:
Thanks for the help and all of the valuable information on this forum!
Hi cmorris,
A bed frame is part that supports the foundation and holds it up off the floor and can either be a steel frame like you have or a wooden bedframe. Both of them need good support with a midbeam and legs to the floor on each side and in the middle of the frame (preferably two legs in the middle) … especially with larger sizes such as queen and king size to prevent sagging in the middle. Some wooden bedframes are designed to use with a foundation either for even support without gaps that the mattress can sag into under the mattress or for extra height and some like platform beds have more closely spaced slats across the surface so a foundation isn’t necessary for even support and a mattress can go directly on the slats (although you can still use a foundation if you want the extra height).
A box spring is usually used with innerspring mattresses that are designed to use them and have springs inside them. A foundation has no springs inside and is either a slatted or solid rigid surface. There is more about foundations and box springs in the first post of this thread and the posts it links to in the second paragraph.
Your current steel bedframe will probably be alright as long as it is the right size and has good support to the floor under the midbeam. Three legs on each side would be stronger than two and and two or three legs under the midbeam would be stronger than one.
So you need something to raise your entire sleeping system up off the floor (the bedframe), then a foundation or a suitable slatted surface to evenly support the mattress and then the mattress itself goes on top of this.
Phoenix
Phoenix - foundation questions.
You might remember that I’m using the foundation that was under my queen sized waterbed to hold my Dunlop latex mattress. Now I’m starting to wonder if I’m making a mistake doing this. I saw on a thread recently where you’d mentioned adding something between a piece of plywood (which is basically what is the top of the waterbed foundation, plywood with a fabric cover) and the latex mattress, but now can’t seem to find the thread.
Our house is totally climate controlled - no open windows, no humidity problem - too many allergies between us to let pollen, etc., into the house, so either the AC or the heat is always on, and in my room it’s always cool because I can’t sleep in a warm room, to the point where I block off the vent when the heat is running so sometimes I wake up in a room that’s about 60 degrees in the winter. In other words, it’s not humid in the house.
I have seen a reference to using pegboard, but what I remember seeing recently wasn’t pegboard but some other material that would go between the plywood foundation and the mattress itself. Does this ring a bell with you, or do you have any advice/input for me? I sure don’t want to ruin a mattress I love as much as I do this one! (Thanks, as always!)
Clawdia, this might be what you are thinking of. I remember Phoenix mentioning it before.
That’s it - thanks!
I remember seeing that exact thing, because I couldn’t tell if for a queen it was saying you needed to order two pieces, or just one of what they call “queen”. I still can’t figure that out, so if anybody knows, I’d love to hear the answer. Or, if anyone knows of the same thing, basically, for less money - I’d love to know that, too.
Thanks GW208
@ Clawdia,
On the last line of the description it says that the queen is two 30" x 80" pieces. The price would include both pieces.
Phoenix
Thanks, Phoenix - guess I was getting confused because I was surprised it didn’t cost more than it does - the way the world works these days, I just about expected a queen size would cost double the price of a twin size.
Do you think this is something I should give serious consideration to adding to my set-up, rather than letting the mattress rest on the foundation itself? I also wondered if a thin piece of wool between the mattress and the foundation would work (or work better).
I’ve felt of the surface of the foundation, and it’s not absolutely flat - probably a deviance of 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch in places. Husband says he can barely feel anything. I’m never sure if I’m detecting something that might be problematic, or if it is my “princess and the pea” syndrome rearing its ugly head.
Then again, nothing’s absolutely flat - I realized that when I was tucking the fitted sheet under the mattress and tucking the bottom corners of my comforter under the mattress to keep them off the floor - even doing that keeps the mattress from being completely flat because there are layers of fabric tucked under around the edges and corners.
Maybe it’s just that after 60+ years of screwing up, I’m always afraid I’m going to make yet another mistake with something important.
Hi Clawdia,
If I’m not mistaken you have your mattress “in” a hard sided waterbed foundation which would somewhat restrict airflow anyway with the wooden sides so I think that the bed rug would provide better ventilation under your mattress than a layer of wool.
I doubt that this would make any difference but the bed rug would probably help to even it out somewhat as well.
I think you did well this time and with the bed rug and the mattress and other good choices you made I think you will be set for a long time
Phoenix