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Update to this thread: http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/first-post-building-fbm-mattress-latex-memory-foam/25374-0-1.html
I can't believe I've had it this long. Anyways, I received the foam in boxes, and in the boxes were some very tightly wrapped foam. Without getting into too many details, the foam whooshed as I cut the plastic, and it expanded a lot. It smelled bad, but not enough to bother me enough not to sleep on it that night. I went with this setup:
2inch 20ILD latex topper: $180 2inch 32ILD latex midlayer: $190 5inch HD36-R poly base: $120
The 20ILD and the 32ILD latex foam is nearly impossible to tell the difference. I sat there squeezing each one and couldnt tell. I folded them both in half, and squeezed the 4 inches and couldn't tell. I think I found the softer one and put it on top. I really have no idea.
When I first got the mattress, the bottom 5 inch layer didn't fill the bed frame. The top two layers were also wider. After a week or so the bottom layer filled the frame snuggly (queen sized) and the top layers, while still larger, were a closer fit. As for comfort - I found it to be a little firm for me. The first week I had some pains but I knew to let my body get used to the bed, and it did. I don't wake up with any pains, but I didn't before. I am young and have a pretty healthy pain free body. Like I said, it still felt too firm. I slept in a pillowtop posturepedic before I moved, and slept it in again a month or so after I had my foam mattress. The sealy is much softer and I sunk in a lot more. The sinking feeling felt like a little bit too much now that I had the foam bed. I really don't 'sink in' to my foam, but it isn't as firm as it sounds. I just took a picture to see how straight my spine is, and it isn't. I am 39 inches at my widest (hips) and 32 at my smallest (waist) and the difference causes some problems with spine alignment. One thing I do want to note: Holy hell foam mattresses are a pain in the ass to put fitted sheets on. Especially that 3 of my four corners are inaccessable. If there is anything else you guys want to know, ask away.
For now, I am thinking of picking up some lighter density cheap foam to put on top of the 5 inches of hd36. I'm thinking if I put it under the latex, I might get some more depth and correct the spine issues. Any ideas?
Josh |
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Josh I have a similar setup as you and agree with most of what you said. 5 inches of hd36-r foam with 3 inches of 32IDL latex foam. I had an additional inch of 20 ILD but sent it back (it was a pretty beat up piece). I could not tell the difference between the two ILD of latex like you. My PU foam was 2 inches short of what it should of been. However after 5 hours it expanded to the correct size. The setup is fairly firm. Was expecting to sink into the HD36 alot more. Even though it does compress it is really not that soft feeling. Love the price of PU foam but don't think I'll end up being a fan. I will give it some more time though. Only suggestion I can give you is the supersoft foam from FBM. Have not seen anyone really comment on it but I think someone said it did nothing. It compresses too easily. If anyone like the supersoft foam I might be interested in trying it as well. Next mattress is going to start with a latex core. Eitehr the 36 or 29 ILD. I have a email from FBM confirming that the latex toppers are just the cores cut up. That doesn't make much sense how a 36 core can become a 32 topper and a 29 core can become a 20 topper. But it might explain why we could not feel much of a difference. |
| I was wondering if putting a 2 or 3 inch of that super soft foam between the latex and the HD36 will give me some more give in the overall support, but not lose that feeling of latex as the top layers. |
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jjswee wrote
2inch 20ILD latex topper: $180 2inch 32ILD latex midlayer: $190 5inch HD36-R poly base: $120 The 20ILD and the 32ILD latex foam is nearly impossible to tell the difference. I sat there squeezing each one and couldnt tell. I folded them both in half, and squeezed the 4 inches and couldn't tell. I think I found the softer one and put it on top. I really have no idea. When I first got the mattress, the bottom 5 inch layer didn't fill the bed frame. The top two layers were also wider. After a week or so the bottom layer filled the frame snuggly (queen sized) and the top layers, while still larger, were a closer fit. As for comfort - I found it to be a little firm for me. The first week I had some pains but I knew to let my body get used to the bed, and it did. I don't wake up with any pains, but I didn't before. I am young and have a pretty healthy pain free body. Like I said, it still felt too firm. I slept in a pillowtop posturepedic before I moved, and slept it in again a month or so after I had my foam mattress. The sealy is much softer and I sunk in a lot more. The sinking feeling felt like a little bit too much now that I had the foam bed. I really don't 'sink in' to my foam, but it isn't as firm as it sounds. I just took a picture to see how straight my spine is, and it isn't. I am 39 inches at my widest (hips) and 32 at my smallest (waist) and the difference causes some problems with spine alignment. One thing I do want to note: Holy hell foam mattresses are a pain in the ass to put fitted sheets on. Especially that 3 of my four corners are inaccessable. If there is anything else you guys want to know, ask away.
For now, I am thinking of picking up some lighter density cheap foam to put on top of the 5 inches of hd36. I'm thinking if I put it under the latex, I might get some more depth and correct the spine issues. Any ideas? The first thing that hits me is that you should be able to tell the difference between a 20 ILD and 32 ILD. I'can tell the difference between a 28 ILD and 22 ILD, especially 4 inches. It is possible that they aren't different ILDs? My second thought is that maybe you need to get another layer between 32 and 20, like 24 or 28 to transition from the firm to the softer latex. You could put another inch or two between the 20 and 32 and it might help. My theory is that folks sometimes try to put a soft layer or layers on top of a hard one and then, it's not enough so they keep adding layers and that at some point it gets too soft. But if you smoothly transition from hard to soft, you might be better off and still get the softness for the pressure points and support for the areas that need it. JMHO. It seems to work better for me that way and I'm a 155 lb. , 5'10" side sleeper with a bad lower back. I don't think it's unusual for 5 inches of a comfort layer to be on top of a firm base. I consider comfort layers to be anything from 28ILD or softer. If you look at the zoned latex mattresses by FloBeds and Custom Sleep Design, they both seem to have that and gradually transition the layers of softness. Good luck and let us know how it comes out. By the way, I'm a latex believer so I would stay away from any soft PU foam near the top. This message was modified Nov 25, 2011 by Sall
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Sall wrote: The first thing that hits me is that you should be able to tell the difference between a 20 ILD and 32 ILD. I'can tell the difference between a 28 ILD and 22 ILD, especially 4 inches. It is possible that they aren't different ILDs? I'm thinking the same thing. I can tell the difference between my 14 ILD and 24 ILD pieces (both Talalay; one from a local bedding manufacturer and one from SleepLikeABear). If the two pieces you received from FBM are too similar to distinguish, I'd guess that what they sent was not what was supposed to have been sent (despite how it might have labeled). Do they both feel soft, or both feel firm? It might be hard to tell the difference between, say, 24 and 28 or between 28 and 32, but 20 and 32 ILD are far enough apart that they should each have a distinctive feel. I like the terrycloth cover I got from FBM, but their latex products seem to be unpredictable. |
| The ILD ratings from FBM seem to be off, so hard to know what you are actually getting. It should be pretty easy to tell a 20 from a 32. |
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I'm tellin ya guys, its damn near the same. I even had a friend come and test them both, and she had problems deciding which was which as well. SleepLikeADog mentioned in my original post: "(FBM claims most people can't tell the difference between the 20 ILD and the 32 ILD.) ". I don't know where that person found FBM saying that, but I believe it based on the latex I received. If I had some weights I could do a scientific test, but I don't have anything heavy and flat like that.
Sail - There is no medium from FBM to go inbetween. There is 20 (soft) then 32 (medium). http://www.foambymail.com/LTX_T/talalay-latex-foam-topper.html Catherine: They are both soft.
If I get another latex layer, it will be $180. I thought of adding a super soft PU layer ontop of the firm base but under the latex, at a cost of only $53. The reasoning is this. I layed on two latex mattresses at ikea. The firmness wasn't the same, but it was close. One had a slat base, the other had a box spring (springy) base. I felt like the one with the box spring contoured my body better, without having that pillow top feeling. If I get any softer ILD latex for the top, I feel its too soft to provide any support, so its just a simulation of the pillow top, creating a softness but not helping at all straightening my back. Maybe a more-compressing-base could give more contouring support instead of the pillow feel on top. The 25% IFD of the current base (HD36) is 36lbs. The super soft would be 12lbs. (I believe this means 12lbs to sink 25%.) So I believe that means it will compress the same amount under 1/3 the weight. This measurement is not a softness scale. |
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Thanks for the info, Josh. Not sure I have any advice on what to try next. Before buying another layer of anything, though, maybe take a look at the picture you took and try to figure out whether having your whole body sink in more would help with both the alignment & firmness issues, or whether you might need to use some zoning (in the additional layer) to get your spine aligned. For instance, you might need something really soft under the shoulders but not as soft under the hips, or vice versa, depending on which way your spine is misaligned with your current setup. This message was modified Nov 26, 2011 by Catherine
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| I thought about zoning. Sounds fantastic in theory, but I have a feeling it will be a pain to cut the foam. Also, I don't know how big to make the zones. I move around a lot and I don't think my hip is the same distance from the top and bottom at all points of the night. |
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jjswee wrote: I thought about zoning. Sounds fantastic in theory, but I have a feeling it will be a pain to cut the foam. Also, I don't know how big to make the zones. I move around a lot and I don't think my hip is the same distance from the top and bottom at all points of the night. I haven't tried zoning (yet), but I've pondered it a bit, and I'd think as long as the zonal boundary is somehere between your hips and your shoulders, you'll be ok. That'll easily give you a foot to work with - surely that should be enough. I think foam is pretty easy to cut; a heavy pair of kitchen-type scissors for 2" or maybe more, just a regular crosscut saw should work for thicker. The thing that concerns me is getting the different pieces in the zones to fit togther flush, and not slip and create gaps; I suppose use of some kind of adhesive is the answer. |
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Hi Josh: It seem you have a little confuse of 20ILD and 32ILD latex, if we ask you to check it with the machine, it must be a very big kidding for you. Now I show you a simple skill to test the difference between the two kind of latex. In Chinese factory, worker test the quality of latex by hand. When you knead the latex face for several time, here may drop down some latex dust. Then you see the the difference of the dust, 32ILD latex dust must be bigger than 20ILD latex and more flextable than 20ILD latex. You can touch the feeling and stickness to see the difference between them. For your DIY design mattress, I am confuse that how do u tight up the latex and foam together? In our coutry we alway with professional glue to connect them, and then with a soft fabric topper, surounding by zipper. But your mattress seem not very easy to fit them together. Anyway, you are a good desinger!
By Derick |