My setup:

1) The 6 inch LUX foam base (King size), 3 inch medium talalay + another 1 inch (for interchangability), and 1 inch of soft talalay (for interchangability) from FBM.  $722. update: Didn't need the soft layer.

2) Allerzip Protect a Bed mattress cover (King 11 size) for waterproof cover but with breathability.  $87 off ebay

3) Costco Cuddle Bed since everyone loves theirs on this forum. $58 - update: getting rid of it.

4) Bamboo sheets (60% bamboo/40% cotton) off ebay, 2 sets. $95

4) Lumber for king size platform base, going to build two XL twins and put them together.  Total cost will be around $140 for screws, brackets, pine compressed sheets, 4X4 blocks for feet, Dremel sanding bit/drill bits.
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Total cost: $1,100~

Pics will be posted when I'm done. :-)

First night update:

My initial impression after one night of sleep:  great!  I felt like I was "floating" which is the best way I can describe it.  I had very very little back pain when I woke up, with my original bed it was very noticeable.  I barely felt anything this morning and felt well rested.

Initially when I laid down on just the 3 inches of medium talalay over 6 inches of LUX, my back didn't like it.  After adding 1 more inch of medium and another inch of soft, that did the trick.  Back hurt a little initially, then after laying there for a couple of minutes my 185lb's sank in a little and it was amazing - all of a sudden it felt heavenly. Overall I'm very pleased with this setup and I'm still waiting for the cuddlebed which will add even more softness. I think I could go another inch of softer for sleeping on my side (occasionally), but for back sleeping it was perfect.  On my stomach, it felt good too. 

Heat wise, I didn't wake up at all and I sleep a couple degrees hotter than normal people.  I just threw on some cotton sheets and it was fine.

Second night update:

Ok, 2nd nights sleep was not good.  I put the cuddlebed on and it put me too far off the latex top layer and my back didn't feel good when I woke.  Anyone looking for a king cuddlebed? :)  Going to see how tonight works without it.

Last (hopefully) update:

Ok, nights 3-5 update. Basically my wife's back hurt after we took the cuddlebed off so I figured it was still too soft.  I removed 1 inch of soft latex and voila, her pain was gone!  I also slept fine and had been getting very slight back pain with the soft layer (still 1000X better than my old bed though).  After 2 more nights on just the 6 inch LUX and 4 inch of medium talalay I think that's the right combination for us.  No more back pain at all!  Getting great sleep, no tossing and turning. 

I'm still constructing the bed frame in my spare time, I'll create a separate thread with all the pics when I'm done.

Thanks all who have contributed and especially to the do it yourself guys. I learned a ton of information by reading this forum for the past month and couldn't have done it without you guys!  I never would have dreamed I'd get a great night's sleep for a $624 mattress... 

Vaphils wrote:
Yes, that sounds reasonable for an all-foam mattress. I agree that by having an HD base instead of latex, you will have a less springy mattress which for me, would be good.

You MAY need a very low ILD latex for your top layer, again, to avoid the "pushing back" feeling. Some may disagree, ultimately it is your preference, but that's my take on it.

One foam expert I talked to was telling me the importance of having at least 6" in the core base. I always felt that anything over 4-5" was unnecessary, but he seemed to think 6" was the minimum for a base. Just fyi. I am not sure it's true...

That was basically my original plan - a base of HD foam plus latex on top. I was worried I wouldn't like the springiness of the talalay by itself, but I got a chance to lay on a savvy rest all talalay and found I really liked it. But, if my mattress ends up too springy being all latex, I'll definitely be looking to add some HD foam!

wifecat wrote:
Don't rule out a 6" M-Grade firm foam core from overnightmattress.com. Check it out. (No, I am not affiliated with them, I just liked their foam.)

Ok guys, I ordered all the pieces, now just have to wait for it to arrive.

I got:

1) The 6 inch LUX foam base (King size), 3 inch medium talalay + another 1 inch (for interchangability), and 1 inch of soft talalay (for interchangability) from FBM.  $722.

2) Allerzip Protect a Bed mattress cover (King 11 size) for waterproof cover but with breathability.  $87 off ebay

3) Costco Cuddle Bed since everyone loves theirs on this forum. $58

4) Bamboo sheets (60% bamboo/40% cotton) off ebay, 2 sets. $95

4) Lumber for king size platform base, going to build two twins and put them together.  Total cost will be around $140 for screws, brackets, oak compressed sheets, blocks of treated wood, Dremel sanding bit.
-------------------------------

Total cost: $1,100~

I'll create a new thread with pictures when everything arrives, thanks for everyone's suggestions and help!

Ok, so all the materials arrived and I haven't finished building my frame so no pics yet.

My initial impression after one night of sleep:  great!  I felt like I was "floating" which is the best way I can describe it.  I had very very little back pain when I woke up, with my original bed it was very noticeable.  I barely felt anything this morning and felt well rested.

Initially when I laid down on just the 3 inches of medium talalay over 6 inches of LUX, my back didn't like it.  After adding 1 more inch of medium and another inch of soft, that did the trick.  Back hurt a little initially, then after laying there for a couple of minutes my 185lb's sank in a little and it was amazing - all of a sudden it felt heavenly. Overall I'm very pleased with this setup and I'm still waiting for the cuddlebed which will add even more softness. I think I could go another inch of softer for sleeping on my side (occasionally), but for back sleeping it was perfect.  On my stomach, it felt good too. 

Heat wise, I didn't wake up at all and I sleep a couple degrees hotter than normal people.  I just threw on some cotton sheets and it was fine.

All in all, I give FBM a solid two thumbs up.  Everything arrived timely, and my LUX was weighed at 2.66~ lbs/cubic foot density which is a little less than their advertised 2.8 but well within the margin of error.  It was about an inch~ short on length, but they gave me an extra inch on the width so no biggie.  They gave me a couple extra inches on the edges of the talalay so that was a pleasant surprise.  All in all, I couldn't be happier right now.  I'll post back with another writeup after a couple more nights sleep and especially after I put the mattress on the frame. :)

Ok, 2nd nights sleep was not good.  I put the cuddlebed on and it put me too far off the latex top layer and my back didn't feel good when I woke.  Anyone looking for a king cuddlebed? :)  Going to see how tonight works without it.

Ok, nights 3-5 update.

Basically my wife's back hurt after we took the cuddlebed off so I figured it was too soft.  I removed 1 inch of soft latex and voila, her pain was gone!  I also slept fine and had been getting very slight back pain with the soft layer (still 1000X better than my old bed though).  After 2 more nights on just the 6 inch LUX and 4 inch of medium talalay I think that's the right combination for me.  No more back pain at all for either of us.  Getting great sleep, no tossing and turning.

Thanks all who have contributed and especially to the do it yourself guys. I learned a ton of information by reading this forum for the past month and couldn't have done it without you guys!