I don’t think that you’re worrying too much – it’s actually good that you’re considering the appropriateness of all of the components of your mattress set.
You are correct. You should always first consult with the manufacturer to make sure that at a minimum you are following their guidelines for proper support, as well as meeting their warranty requirements.
If you are concerned about the gap spacing of any foundation you’re using, the coir bed rugs you mentioned are excellent choices, even when used on a foundation with gaps less than 3", just as an extra precaution for pocketed spring units of a small diameter that have no foam base beneath them nor even a non-woven fabric layer helping to hold them in place (besides their usual joining in the center of each spring). Even with a polyfoam base under the innerspring unit, you certainly won’t be doing any damage to the product by adding the extra reinforcement of a bed rug.
I’m trying to figure out if placing Eucaboard (pegboard without the holes) over a bed frame with steel channel slats with 5" spacing would work for a cal king latex mattress? Here’s my bed frame.
I’m not familiar with the bed set in your photo, but the first thing I would want to know would be if those metal slats bow at all in the center when weight is applied to them. That seems like a rather long span to not have any center reinforcement.
If the slats do not bow/deflect and do not need any center reinforcement, I would think you’d want a more substantial piece to go on top of them than the Eucaboard. A thicker piece of plywood or OSB might be more appropriate. And if you are considering going with a solid surface, then I would recommend a coir bed rug be placed upon that solid surface for breathability.
Thanks for your update! Yes, the nominal lumber dimensions make their way even into the mattress industry. I’m glad you were able to get the substitute cover at no upcharge.
I got the foundation from mattresses.net. Overall I’m mostly happy with it, but there are a few things that irked me.
The slats that you place on top of the foundation are held together with strips of fabric and staples…Think along the lines of a rope ladder but with the rope stapled to the ladder rungs. One of the slats tore free from the fabric because to be honest it’s a flimsy design. It’s really the thinness/cheapness of the fabric that does it in.
The cover for the foundation doesn’t zip closed and sort of hangs from the bottom of the foundation. Don’t get me wrong, it goes on really tight, it just isn’t an “airtight” sort of design where it perfectly wraps around the foundation and seals off. The bottom of the foundation is technically exposed.
The wood pieces in general are kind of splintery and should have been smoothed/sanded better.
Photos would help me illustrate what I’m saying but unfortunately I didn’t take any.
Pros:
Easy to put together
Sturdy when assembled
I forget why I chose this foundation exactly… I think it was a combination of the price, the time to ship, and the narrow slat spacing.
Somewhat related, I am using the “emBrace Bed Frame” which met my needs in terms of having a slim, minimalist profile while also being sturdy and stupid easy to put together. Also it has a rounded design with no exposed metal, so there’s nothing to really stub your toes on or get snagged on. Supposedly supports up to 5000lbs. Made in America. “Limited Lifetime Warranty”. Cost me $400 and is probably the most recommended aspect of my bed setup right now tbh.
Thanks for your update on your foundation. For the benefit of others looking to make a purchase of a similar foundation, I’ll add a few comments.
“Slat packs” or “slat rolls” are commonly held together with plastic or fabric strips to help with the spacing. Some use velcro underneath to help hold them in place, or you can permanently secure the slats using wood screws if you desire.
Covers for these types of DIY foundations are usually “coverlets” that do not completely encase the entire foundation. Mattresses.net recommends stapling their cover underneath to keep it in place. Some designs, like Sleeping Organic’s, provide pins to secure the cover underneath.
The more expensive the foundation, the more sanding you will have, but none of these items in this range will be sanded like a finished piece of furniture, as they include the coverlet. Exposed foundation inserts, like this one, will be more finished.
Those would be common reasons for ordering a product like this. It will do the job and is sturdy and also generally considered quite affordable.
Those are very nice and heavy-duty bed frames. You should never have to replace that item.
I greatly appreciated your review. There are few with this level of detail out there. Could you describe the fabric cover/what it’s made of? Does the foundation make noise when you move around on the bed? How secure are the slats? Are they tightly in place or would screwing them in bring much greater benefit? Thanks! (I’m a fellow Embrace owner, too – it would be unfortunate if we paired the quietest and smoothest bed frame ever with a foundation that’s just the opposite!)
It’s made out of a soft, but strong cotton-like material. “Bamboo” is emblazoned upon it so I believe it might be a bamboo fabric.
The slats aren’t crazy secure to be honest, they’re held on with velcro at the four corners of the foundation. That said, I don’t think it matters because once you have the cover over the foundation and the mattress on top, everything will be sandwiched in and those slats aren’t going anywhere. The one slat that broke free (prior to installation), I just used a bit of masking tape to hold it in the right position and I think it will be fine.
The foundation from what I can tell is borderline silent. I can get it to make some very slight wood-on-wood creaking if I aggressively throw my weight (150lbs) onto it, basically flopping my entire body down onto the mattress. I’m pretty sensitive to noise so I wouldn’t have had to go test it right now if it were anything to complain about. But I don’t know, maybe someone heavier or two people together would make more noise. I believe my previous wooden frame + box spring + mattress setup would be notably louder than this, I’m not sure it can get much quieter than it is.
Comes with 12 slats but you can order with 18 slats. It looks nice, but my concern is that there aren’t very many reviews of the company and the few that there are seem mixed… Any input appreciated.
No, I am not personally familiar with the Room Doctor platform beds, but maybe someone here on the forum has purchased one of their items and can provide some commentary. It appears to have been a business grown from building loft beds at Penn State University. They use untreated southern yellow pine. There isn’t any information about the distance between their slats, so make sure that they are 3" or less for an all-latex mattress (I’m guessing that might be the 18 slat system). If you do order one of their products, feel free to comment back here on the forum.
I’m looking for a decent and inexpensive (preferably below $150) foundation/platform bed for a 10" dreamfoam mattress. The catch is it’s Full XL.
I bought literally the only non-boxframe one available on Amazon, and it creaks.
Should I just find a queen one? What is my best option for something fairly solid and no creaking. Thanks.
You’re correct that your options will be widened substantially if you decide to go with a queen over a full XL. While I don’t have a database of all of the platform offerings from the various manufacturers, a quick search showed that Malouf and Mantua offer full xl metal platform beds in your price range on amazon. I’m sure there are others.
I’ve looked at inexpensive meal platform beds at market like the ones you mentioned and I’ve found that there’s going to be some squeaks to be expected from them. Some of this has to do with design, limitations due to price point and also some due to the skill of the person assembling the product. Even some of the heavier-duty items like the forever foundation have the ability to squeak over time, and at the very least you can expect to check the tightness of the nuts every one in a while. I think that for you price range you’ll probably have the best luck with a wood platform bed. Have you looked at the Room Doctor mentioned a few posts ago in this thread by tptp99? They make a basic platform bed in full extra long for a little under $200. And you could make it even more secure upon assembly by screwing the slats to the lip on the side rail. It might be worth a gander.
Hi Jedinat,
I ran into similar issues of creaking with our inexpensive metal frame - what I ended up doing was installing vinyl washers at all the joints. Tedious work, but fairly easy, and helped quite a bit… total cost was like 16$.
Thanks for the help. Unfortunately shipping cost for that wood bed is $80, pretty ridiculous. Otherwise it looked like a great option.
The vinyl washer thing is a neat idea… but I barely got the frame together as it was (came pretty warped). With some of the fasteners being plastic I don’t know that it would survive another take down or two. I could exchange it and start with the washers from the start I suppose, hoping the next one is in better condition (I bought it through amazon warehouse). Not in stock at the moment though, of course.
Do you have access to power tools and are you handy with such? If so, you can build a really solid platform bed for around $100.00, and that would probably be the best way to maximize your budget and have something that would be very solid and quiet.
There is a how-to from one of the site members here, and quite a few other links to DIY options in the slatted bed section of post #1 here.
I actually was kind of considering that. I saw a post on here with a design that only needed a drill if you get a hardware store to cut the wood for you. Just not sure the wood will fit in my Kia, lol.
I might go with that, thanks. Or I might just live with creaks.
