Mattress Forum

I forget the exact name of our current mattress, definitely Sealy, one of the posturpedic with thick Euro pillowtop... they went under many different names and had minor variations of labeling and pillowtop construction at the various retailers.  A piece of junk.  I think the springs are totally shot, not to mention the pillowtop.  When we both lie in the bed, there is a good 6" hump between us.  No joke.  For one of us to roll to the center of the mattress takes a major effort, and then we're likely to just roll back down one side or the other!  We're not 300+ lbs either (see above).  Not small mind you, but not huge.

Good advice on the cover.  I guess I should wait until I know how many layers we settle on.  We have a quilted wool mattress cover with deep pocket elastic band now, and that would probably work fine until we settle on something.

Mattress surgery huh?  I've seen that mentioned, but I can't imagine why I'd want to keep anything from our current mattress when the latex pieces ordered will be full size, and I'd rather have latex top to bottom, side to side instead of a conventional foam racetrack, or a conventional foam base.  Besides, those are probably shot too!

Anyone have any other source options?  I ran across Mattress.net today (I think that was the name).  Offer Dunlop and Talalay, prices seem pretty good (better than FBM in many cases), with more options for base/core.  Any experiences with them?  Shady or reputable?

I came across this forum about four years ago.  I couldn't convince my wife to go Latex then, so we bought an expensive S-brand spring mattress and have been miserable for the last two years.  Now that she's laid on a latex mattress and likes the feel, I've been trying to get back up to speed.  I think I've convinced myself and her to go the DIY route so that if we don't like the feel of the mattress initially, we can change layers until we are happy.  I refuse to pour thousands of dollars into a mattress (or mattress components) again that is inflexible and short lived.

Questions:

1. I'm not keen on anything that will have a shortish life, so nothing but latex for the base/core.  Is foam by mail the best (least expensive) option for a 6" or more firm base (E King)?  I understand that all their latex is talalay... I think we'd even be happy with Dunlop for the base since we both want a pretty firm finished mattress.  Other options/suggestions?

I am building my own mattress and have done a lot of research on latex sources. Though ultimately I chose not use all latex due to cost concerns, I was very close to using (bottom to top) a 5.5" Dunlop or a 6" Talalay core plus 2" or 4" of 32 ILD Latex International blended Talalay latex (called Talatech) and a 2" 24 ILD Talatech. This would have made a 10" or 12" mattress. (As it is, I will still have 6" of latex — three 2" layers — at the top of my DIY mattress.)

Anyway, the cheapest latex cores I have found are the 5.5" Tri-Zoned Dunlop at Arizona Premium Mattress Company (get two of the Twin XL cores to make a King) or the 6" Talalay King at The Foam Factory (either of these two links... mattressbymail.com or foambymail.com).

2. I'm certain that I'll order ~1" of extra soft Talatech from sleeplikeabear for the comfort layer on top.  Is this enough to give that "pillowtop" feel without transforming a fairly firm bed into a soft one?  We like a firm bed, but also like the luxurious feel of a Euro style pillowtop... so something that spans the two is the idea.  Do you suggest more than 1"?  Something else entirely?

Since I'm just building my first latex mattress, I can't answer that yet. I will be getting my latex next week (everything else has arrived). My 11" mattress will have (bottom to top) 5" 50 ILD PU foam, 4" (2" x 2) 32 ILD latex and 2" 24 ILD latex. Since you're looking at something pretty similar to what we will have, if you can wait another 10 days or so I can let you know what my wife and I think of having 2" of 24 ILD on top.

3. Other top layers... I know it's a guessing game up front, but I'll have to do my best (with your guidance).  I'm ~215lb and my wife is ~140lb.  Between the ~6" base and top comfort layer, I'm trying to decide what and how much to put in between.  At the moment I'm thinking either 3" medium from FBM, or 2" medium and 1" soft from FBM.  The latter is more flexible I suppose. 

If for some reason 4" (2" x 2) 32 ILD latex plus 2" 24 ILD latex is too soft for us (doubtful), I can always try just 2" of the 32 ILD under the 24 ILD. In fact, I may try that first and leave one of the two 32 ILD layers unopened for an extra couple days. If we really like it with just one 32 ILD layer between the base and the top layer, this would make it much easier for me to return the unopened layer to SleepEZ. Or perhaps sell it to someone (you?) here on the forum, which may be wiser than returning it since there may be a restocking fee. (SleepEZ's web site lists two contradictory return policies regarding latex layers, so I don't know whether there is a fee or not. Hopefully I won't have to find out.)

I'll report to you how it feels after two or three nights, and whether we end up adding the second 32 ILD layer. Do you know what ILD you'd like your 6" base to be?

4. Memory foam... we're undecided on this.  We sort of like the ones we've laid on, but it's "too much."  A 1" layer might work... but not on top.  We want the talatech soft comfort right next to us.  Has anyone ever tried memory foam UNDER a latex layer?  I know the heat sensitive part might be thrown off a bit, but to be honest viscoelastic material responds pretty well to pressure only.  Thoughts?

Don't know about this. We tried several Tempurpedics at a local mattress store (we both loved the TP Cloud), and originally I was going to build a Cloud clone. But the more I read on this forum about memory foam vs latex, the more I decided I wanted latex. As jimsocal said, some people like memory foam and some don't. I have read of others using it successfully under latex or PU foam.

5. Case/cover... I think the 8" FBM terry cover will be too tight, especially if we add anything down the road.  I see a variety of sizes at sleeplikeabear (out of stock?) and sleepEZ, any other places to look?  I think we want to try bare terry first, and if it is too hot against the latex I'll look at just adding a loose wool layer between talatech and cover.  For now, terry only?

See this thread for a few ideas. I'm trying an 11" Luna mattress encasement with 3-sided zipper.

Any other things that come to mind that a newbie should look out for, please feel free to share!  I've been browsing the forum and reading old threads for several days trying to catch up on what has worked and not worked for others.  Hopefully this works out... can't be worse than our current mattress. :)

That's what I'm hoping, too... that it won't be worse than our current mattress! Keep on reading and posting more questions if needed. When are you thinking of pulling the trigger?

There's also this cover on eBay...
 

We want a firm base, either the firmest talalay or a Dunlop.  We're moving now, and I will pull the trigger once we're settled in... in another week or two.  Please do update this thread with how your mattress feels, since I probably won't order until then.  

Will do! I hope your move goes well.

By the way, I made a little Excel spreadsheet to calculate and compare the cost of different options for my DIY mattress. I took a few minutes to modify it for you (I put in four hypothetical all-latex mattresses, a 10" and a 12" using the FBM Talalay core and a 9½" and an 11½" inch using the APMC Dunlop core). If you would like it, PM me with your email address and I'll send it to you.

Didn't notice your question earlier... it's actually mattresses.net that I believe you're referring to. Mattresses.net and latexmattresscompany.com are the same outfit... Arizona Premium Mattress Company.

Whoa! I just checked mattresses.net to make sure I was giving you right info and discovered that they majorly upgraded their web site within the past two or three days. It's always been really basic and outdated looking. I'm positive I was on it briefly just a few days ago and it was as it always had been. Not any more! (I've always preferred the latexmattresscompany.com site because, at least until now, it was more appealing and easier to navigate.)

I will say that I've read somewhere on this site or maybe from a Google search that APMC has an "F" rating with the BBB. Upon further research I found that that rating came as a result of just one unresolved complaint over many years of doing business, so I really wouldn't worry too much about that. I can also say that I called them to ask a question about their latex and they called me back promptly. That was the only interaction I had with them, though, since I ended up not purchasing their tri-zoned Dunlop core, so I can't really personally vouch for them.

Finally, you should know that APMC does charge shipping on their orders, so factor that into your cost analysis. You can check the shipping charge... just place the item(s) you're interested in in your cart, start checkout, type in just your zip code (no need for name, address, etc.) and click "Apply".

Hope all this helps.