Hi everyone – thanks in large part to my research on these boards and Phoenix’s enormously helpful posts, I’ve decided to go for a latex mattress and have been looking at two of the more reputable manufacturers on this site, SleepEZ and Brooklyn Bedding. While ultimately the most important consideration should be their mattresses, I’m also curious if there is a difference in their foundation offerings. BB offers a steel foundation whereas SleepEZ offers a wooden foundation. Are both appropriate for latex beds and is there actually a difference?
Hi thecatch,
The foundation post here and the posts it links to has more information about the types of foundations that work best with different types of mattresses. Post #10 here also has more of my thoughts about “wire grid” foundations when they are used with an “all latex” mattress.
While both of them would work well over the short or medium term and would probably work well over the longer term as well … the larger support surface of the wood slats would be my preference because it would probably work better over the longer term in terms of preventing the latex from sinking into the gaps.
Phoenix
I have the KD foundation (SleepEZ) and the individual wood pieces are stapled together (pine). It’s very light and easy to put assemble. Personally, for wood foundations, I feel that the Flobeds wood foundations are constructed better (ex, screws) but of course they are about 2x the cost of a KD Foundation. I’ve had my bed for just over 60 days and I had to re-tighten the screws only once. The KD Foundations are reasonably priced for sure.
Ahh my apologies, I ran a quick search but didn’t find that post. Thanks Phoenix!
Thanks for the input Km. Pardon my ignorance, but If the KD foundation is stapled, why did you need to re-tighten any screws? Or did you mean there are portions of it that are stapled and portions that are screwed, where as the Flobeds are are screwed together?
Phoenix – based on what I’ve read in your post, am I right in thinking that I should not be using the Simple Life foundation from Brooklyn Bedding for an all latex bed?
If you look at the pictures, the steel slats/tubes appear to be spaced much greater than 3" apart, which if I understand your thinking on foundations is a no-no.
I am likely going to go with a SleepEZ mattress (mostly because it is about $300 cheaper than the comparable all-latex mattress at BB), but was attracted to the idea of the Simple Life foundation, which seems to be very easy to pack away and move (I move quite frequently for my job, so this is quite a nice perk). On the other hand, my primary concerns are efficacy, longevity, and comfort, so if it doesn’t work as well as a more traditional wood slat foundation, then the convenience of the foundation doesn’t matter.
I guess I’m just confused why BB would recommend it as their foundation of choice (along with the wire Genius Hi Rise Frame foundation) if it’s not as good for an all-latex mattress as the KD foundation that SleepEZ offers. Any thoughts here?
Hi thecatch,
The pros and cons of each choice are in my earlier reply and the posts I linked. Each of them have their own advantages and disadvantages and different people or even different manufacturers may make different choices or have different opinions than me. With most things that are connected with mattresses there is no definitive “best and worst” and it depends on individual circumstances, budget, and on the criteria that are most important with each purchase. As Km mentioned the Flobeds would probably be stronger yet and uses higher quality wood but is also more costly. My own preferences regarding wire grid foundation may be out of “an abundance of caution” as I mentioned but with mattresses that have latex on the bottom layer I tend to prefer a foundation that has a greater support surface area even though there may be others that would make different choices or have different preferences than me.
Phoenix
In reading your original post on foundations more carefully I can see that you did lay this out earlier…! My apologies, and thanks for your patience in reiterating the main points to me.