I am trying to build a mattress on a budget.  I've read over a bunch of threads here, and one I saw that caught my eye pointed to a seller on Ebay that sells "factory seconds" latex:

http://myworld.ebay.com/mattresses247/

I emailed her to find out who manufactures this latex and what the ILD is, she said:

"I purchase only two types of latex...dunlop natural and talalay blended. They come from the top two manufacturers Radium Foam (#1 in the world) and LI (#1 in the U.S.). ILD is printed on label from LI. Radium Foam marks the lot with the ILD not individually. I make no distinction between these two companies once the product enters my inventory. Orders are filled from the top of the stack in the requested ILD.

ILD's are soft 22-24, med 30-32, firm 38-40, extra firm 44!"

So, my current plan is to get:

3" of Lux Foam - High Quality (50 ILD) from foambymail

then on top of that, either (from the ebay seller):
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-INCH-QUEEN-MATTRESS-Talalay-Latex-not-memory-foam-/270701926836

3" of firm talalay latex (ILD 40)
3" of medium talalay latex (ILD 32)

OR

3" of medium talalay latex (ILD 32)
3" of soft talalay latex (ILD 24)

So, my main question is, what is the better setup for a bed?  Is 9" with 50ILD LUX-HQ/Firm talalay/Medium talalay too hard?

Also, I was thinking about getting a 1" memory foam topper for the whole thing.  My girlfriend said she likes memory foam, personally I am not a huge fan, but I figured a 1" topper would be a good compromise.  Is 1" of memory foam OK on top of this?

Finally, what is a good cover to put all of this into?  I want something that fits snugly (i.e. so it looks like a "finished" mattress, not a DIY mattress).

 

Thanks!!

It would help if you would include your height and weights for consideration of comfort layers.  Also include your preference of sleep such as on your side, stomach or back.  Side sleeping generally requires a softer top layer or layers than back or stomach sleepers. 

Keep in mind that our idea of the best combinations are only based on our preferences, everyone is a little different in what works for them and is comfortable. 

It would help you in your personal decision if you could do a search in your area and demo these ILD combos, (or similar), at a local mattress company before you order.  DIY is not easy to get right the first time, it's often a trial and error process.  The memory foam topper is not my fave either, but many are not bothered by it and prefer it.  You could always do a split of memory foam on one side and a plush latex on the other side if needed.

Good Luck

I would say that the 50 Lux + 40 latex + 32 latex would be pretty firm.  You don't really describe you height, weight, sleepings style, so hard to say it that would work.  I would say that would tend to be good for someone on the heavier side and/or back or stomach sleeper looking for a pretty firm surface.  The one inch of memory foam would help, but it might not be enough if it is way too firm. 

36-40 on the bottom layer is usually firm enough for most people.  I think 40/32/24 would fit a wider variety of people, especially if you like to side sleep.

It is okay to err on the side of firmness, if you are willing to add a couple more inches on top to make it more comfortable.

I have not bought any zippered mattress covers, but I know sleepez and sleeplikeabear sell some.  You may have to do some searching,  and also decide if you want wool on the top.  Usually that is a good idea to have some wool in the mattress cover or mattress pad to help regulate temperature.  Costco sells some wool filled mattress pads at a reasonable price.   With that, a cheaper cotton cover might be fine.   You might not want to buy the cover until you you know how many total inches of foam you will be using.   Of course, you can always put a topper on top of the cover, but nice to have it all fit in one thing.

I bought a FLOBEDS for their return policy.  I wanted to do what you propose but did not have enough information to engineer it myself.  My final choice is much as you suggest, but I am 300 lbs.  My bed is 50/36/32/plus topper.  The topper is said to be made of 24 ILD in convoluted form which makes it feel like 12 ILD.  Closing in on a year and it is perfect.  I must warn you; we made five layer changes to get our two sides right.  This is what made FLOBEDS a good decision.

Also should add, Talalay topper is much preferred to a memory foam topper if you are sensitive to retained body heat.   My topper from FLOBEDS is 2" Talalay.  Can't help you on the cover topic.  Good luck.

Ah, sorry I didn't include more information, I am pretty light, 5'9", 145.  I am a side sleeper, gf is a back sleeper.  I ended up doing 4" Lux-HQ, 3" medium talalay, 2" 5.3 memory foam from foamorder.com.  I figure I can add the 3" of firm or soft latex under/over the 3" medium talalay if I feel like I need something else.  I'll let people know how I like it when I get it put all together.

Re: memory foam, the gf's mattress is memory foam, and I'm ok with it, so I think 2" of memory foam on top should be fine.

 

One issue I really had in terms of assembling the bed was the mattress cover.  I felt constrained by the 8" terrycloth cover on foambymail, but I really couldn't find any other zip-up covers that seemed like it would contain the all of the mattress layers well.