Mattress Forum

Trying it seemed like a good idea at the time -- they were calling it 14-17 ILD when I bought it; I wanted to support a local independent business; and it was much cheaper than SLAB's products.

Of course, everything I've tried has seemed like a good idea at the time (with the possible exception of the mattress surgery).

"Since it is quilted into the top, you may have to completely remove that as well."

Almost certainly will.

"Another factor is the fact that it is two sided."

Huge factor.  Anything between the springs & solid foundation will affect their performance.  

Yep, decided that this morning, when I woke up with that same lower-back pain. Has to be coming from the quilted top panel, since that's the only thing I added to the setup last night. (Didn't use the fiber-bed, and used only 1" of the 14 ILD latex.)

As for the stuff on the bottom of the mattress, not sure what I can do about that. I don't particularly want to cut open the bottom of this thing, too, or yank everything out of the mattress encasement.

(If I did yank everything out of the encasement, what would I put the spring structure in? And would I need a piece of hard foam on the bottom?)

Is it worth even continuing to work on this thing, given that there's 2" of poly foam on the bottom (under the springs) and I can't tell if the coils are still good? Would it be better to cut my losses and start over with something else? I s'pose I won't know if the coils conform the way they're supposed to unless I detach that Novabond pad; hmmmm.....

This project is driving me nuts, I'm very frustrated and not sure I'm making any progress, and I've got so much else that needs to be done. I think I'd cut my losses right now if I knew what kind of mattress to try next. I even inquired about prices at Baybed.com -- the mattress manufacturer in CA that makes pocket-coil-and-latex mattresses with a zipper cover. (Shipping to NY would be $250.) I'd at least know that the coils are good. (Sorry for whining; I'm tired.)

Regarding memory foam: I called the local foam wholesaler. I could get a 2" 5.5lb "Tempurpedic quality" memory foam topper, but it would cost $285. Yowsa. I can get 2" of 5lb memory foam from FBM for $98.  The local wholesaler doesn't offer anything less than 2" thick on memory foam. I'd prefer to try an inch at a time (and I'm not shelling out nearly $300 for that), but I might pop over there sometime this week just to try the stuff out and see what it feels like.

Well, Jason, you might get to say "I told you so" (or "Fixed It For You" again).

The sinkhole is coming back -- and this is after I rotated the mattress (a couple days ago) and cut off the top quilted panel (yesterday). Measured it this time, this morning, by laying a yardstick across the bed and holding a ruler up at the deepest part of the dip, and there's a 3/8" gap. Not a huge crater, but enough to cause lower back pain.

So, either the coils have crapped out, or the foam on the bottom of the mattress has crapped out. If it's the 2" of PU foam on the bottom (1" of which is quilted into the mattress case), then the springs will have to be extracted.

Extracting the springs raises several questions, like: What do I put this thing in? How do I maintain edge support? And do I need to put a piece of plywood over the entire foundation?

(Ooohh, actually, I have an idea that might let me keep the case in a usable condition... but it'll take a while to do, and I might still lose edge support, though I don't know if that's really all that important.)

Also, I'm wondering if the Novabond fiber mat that's on top of the springs interferes with the springs' ability to conform. If so, then building a mattress with that stuff kinda defeats the purpose of using open offset coils, which are supposed to be fairly conforming, from what I've read.

This is all rather confusing....

If it is the springs, then you are getting to the point of throwing good money after bad.  I assume the new foam you are using is high quality and not the source of the problem, but hard for an outsider to be sure about that.

Yeah, I didn't realize that when I started. I might have opted to just ditch the mattress and start over with a new one if I'd known that operating on a two-sided mattress was going to be more complicated. Guess I'm taking one for the team here. 

I'm still amazed that this thing can be developing sinkholes so quickly, with so little foam, and I'm amazed that relatively small dips can create so much back pain.

I'm trying not to spend much more dough on this -- because of throwing good money after bad -- but I seem still to be in Nothing Left To Lose (Except Time) territory. So I might as well go a little farther and see if I can figure out (a) whether the coils are OK, and (b) whether removing the Novabond fiber mat lets the coils conform to me better. The sheet of dacron might be enough over the coils, or the local foam wholesaler might have something appropriate (& cheap).

What I have in mind is to detach the sides of the case from the springs (and the small piece of foam surrounding the springs on the sides) so that I can lift out the spring structure. Then remove the bottom piece of convoluted foam. With all the quilting in the bottom cover, there's no easy way to get the foam out of it, but I might be able to just flatten it with something (plywood or luon [luan?]) and then put the spring structure back inside the case. That would remove all the PU foam as a variable and still leave me with a usable case (sides & bottom).

The latex from SLAB is in good shape, and the latex from FBM seems decent. The only questionable latex is the 14ILD stuff, but I'm not using more than 1" of it now, and I bottom out on it, so it's probably not much of a factor.

I need to figure out whether the coils are good before I start buying memory foam or more latex. If they're not, I'll need to decide whether to get a latex or high-density PU foam core or buy a one-sided innerspring, knowing that I'll be doing surgery again very soon. In either situation, I can still use the latex I've got.

Adventurous, foolhardy -- tomato, tomah-to...

The spring structure has been freed from the mattress case -- wasn't that hard to do -- but I just put it back in there temporarily because I want to deal with the Novabond mat before going any further.

Have to wonder if people reading this thread think I'm the most fickle person on the planet: This topper is going to work... No, it's not. // Hmmm.... This other topper is going to work.... Darn; nope. // I need something firmer.... No, I need something softer.... No, this is too soft now. // Um, zoning is going to work... Nope, not that either. // I don't wanna do mattress surgery yet.... OK, I'm doing mattress surgery. // Maybe I'll use some memory foam.... Nah, not yet. // I don't wanna take off the fiber mat.... OK, I'm taking off the fiber mat....
 

I'm going to get some dinner and then continue with this madness... I mean... endeavor. (It's anyone's guess what I'll be sleeping on tonight -- could be the couch.)

Not at all! After spending 18 years on one mattress that was basically a board with springs by the time I decided it had to go, I turned into the new version of The "Princess and the Pea" with my mattress purchase. I found that what was suitable for my young body all those years ago just wouldn't do anymore.

I spent over a month trying out a mattress, returning it, buying foams and toppers, configuring and reconfiguring them to try and make it just right. I knew I had it right the morning I got up with zero pain from a back injury and was able to bend down and put my shoes on without a half hour of warming up first.

I hope you find your mattress Nirvana too!

Thanks, Doreen; I appreciate that. I'm feeling rather Princess-and-the-Pea-ish, too, now. And I also used my previous mattress for 18 years.

I've got the convoluted foam off the bottom of the mattress; the mattress back in its case, with a board under the hip area (between the springs & case -- although I think I left the dacron in there); the Novabond fiber mat & dacron off the top of the mattress; an old thin mattress pad spread out over the springs; and the latex & sheets back on the bed.

And I'm whupped. Wrestling with this mattress has been a challenge. And getting the spring structure out of the case turned out to be much easier than putting it back in. (Not surprising, I guess.)

I still don't know how to tell if the springs are good. I don't see any huge dips, but that might not mean anything. Anyone got any hints on that?

The coil count turns out to be 522 (18 across, 29 down) -- so much for the 660 I was told when I bought it. Someone got mixed up. Could have been me, of course, but I'm pretty obsessive & careful about my research -- shocking, I know -- and I took notes in the store. (If I remember correctly, the store's website did not list specs at the time. I do know that their site was completely redesigned sometime after I bought my mattress.)

According to Leggett & Platt, the Lura-Flex coil count options (PDF) for full-size mattresses are 522, 580, and 660. Hmmm....

Glad you finally found something that works for you. I'm afraid I might have cut this mattress up for nothing. The best lesson here might be: If you plan to do mattress surgery someday, do *not* get a double-sided mattress.

I'm not feeling optimistic about this -- my spine still doesn't look straight when I lie on the mattress (with or without latex on it) -- but we'll see how things go.

I'm wondering if I'm expecting too much from the coils. Should the Lura-flex offset coils be flexible and conforming enough to keep my spine aligned, or is that not a realistic expectation for someone with an hourglass figure? Does anyone know?

Going to go fall into bed now (what's left of it)....