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My order of PU foam for my DIY Eastern King latex-foam hybrid mattress from foamdistributing.com arrived yesterday. It included six 82" x 76" x 1" Lux foam skins, plus a 15 lb. bag of shredded memory foam and a 72" x 5" poly round bolster. (I'm going to use the shredded memory foam to try and make my own king size pillows, and I plan to cut the poly round bolster into five 14" lengths to be used for back/lumbar support when sitting). Everything arrived safely and well-boxed. Here are some pics of the order...
The order shipped in four boxes. I opened one box, then remembered to start taking pics...
Contents unboxed but still in outer plastic shrink wrap...
Contents with all shrink wrap removed. Note that the contents are packed in an inner, "non-shrinked" plastic bag. They've also expanded somewhat...
All six layers unpacked and layered on top of one another (bolster and memory foam can be seen underneath piano)...
The next six are shots of each layer. These are "crusts" or "skins", so the sides that were against the mold are not pretty. As you can see, the reverse sides are all uniformly beautiful... Layer #1:
Layer #2:
Layer #3:
Layer #4:
Layer #5:
Layer #6:
I also recorded the dimensions and the weight for each layer and calculated the approximate density of the foam... I was pleased to discover that the average density of 2.75 is nearly that of their Lux-HQ foam which is spec'd at 2.8. I was afraid I was going to get something closer to 1.8, which is the density of their Lux-R foam. Finally, I was surprised at how much give there was to the foam when I began handling it. It seemed much softer than I imagined it would be. Once the six layers were in place on the floor and I lay down on it, however, it seemed firm. But the proof will be in the pudding. Come on, latex order, hurry up! More pics then...
6/12/2010 UPDATE — Latex Arrived Yesterday... Pics Below! The three 2" LI Talatech layers arrived from SleepEZ yesterday. Here are some pics...
The order shipped in one box (65 lbs.)...
Unboxed, still in vacuum-packed plastic...
Platform Bed Frame (for assembly pics see Wal-Mart Premier Platform Bed Frame (King) — Assembly & Report)...
Bed frame covered with cardboard from bed frame shipping box...
Bed frame and cardboard with 1" Lux-HQ foam skin on top...
Bed frame, cardboard and 1" foam skin with Luna 11" King Mattress Encasement open on three sides and with sides folded down over frame. Fourth "attached" side is in front with top folded up under front of bed frame. This mattress protector with "three-sided zipper" (according to Luna website) actually has only two sides zippered. It starts in one corner and goes completely to the opposite corner. I was very frustrated and disappointed to find this out but didn't want to return it and have to wait to obtain a true three-sided zippered cover so I used a utility knife to cut the third side open. Once the layers were in place, I duct-taped the side back together from the inside out.
All layers in place — five 1" PU foam skins, two 2" 32 ILD Talatech layers and one 2" 24 ILD Talatech layer...
Finished Mattress!!! Sides have been pulled up, "cut" side (top left) duct-taped from inside out, other two sides zipped shut, and the cover is truly a perfect fit. Yesssss!!!
So how does it feel? See the rest of this thread for comfort reports and updates. This message was modified Jun 15, 2010 by pianoman
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By the way, I don't really do jazz. Some classical, some improv (not jazz, more "pop" or New Age feel). Lately I've been writing some. Oh, one more thing... I made my pillows today. Here's a couple pics.
Stuffing the memory foam in the pillow case...
Finished pillows... |
| You know, there are companies sell pillows already made. I've seen them. |
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garypen wrote: You know, there are companies sell pillows already made. I've seen them. You're kidding! |
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I used my homemade King pillow last night and may have to remove a bit of the shredded MF. We always put two pillowcases on each pillow to help keep them cleaner. The double case seemed to stiffen the pillow and reduce the luxurious feel of the MF. The pillow fits pretty tight and probably needs to be a little smaller to make it more pliable. Regarding the Luna mattress encasement, I looked again at their web site and noticed I had missed the part in the description that says "Easy to apply with zippered side and foot fully enclosing the mattress". My mistake. It does zip up on only two sides and it does state that in the description. So what's up with the part that says "3-Sided Bed Bug Proof Zipper Fully Seals Off the Encasement"? Well, I called Luna (before even needing to be reminded by you, CJ!) this morning and found out that they're referring to the type of zipper here. It's a special zipper that's different from a regular "two-sided" zipper like you would find on a zip-up jacket or coat, for example. Now I sorta wish I had gone with my original encasement idea, the Zip It Bug - Allergen, Dust Mite Mattress Encasement with Smart Zipper - King Size. It was $25 cheaper than the Luna, and I found out from online chat with PestMall that the Zip It Bug encasement is truly zippered the full length of three sides of the mattress. The two reasons I ended up going with the Luna instead are that you can get it in different heights (9", 11", 13", 16" 20") which would give me a perfect fit for my 11" mattress (and it is a perfect fit!) and it is made in the USA (thought I'd support our fellow Americans). The Zip It would have been a little loose... not a perfect fit. But I would probably trade that for not having to do "mattress surgery" like I did on the Luna, which of course voids Luna's 10-year warranty. Live and learn! |
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Here's my promised Wednesday update. The new mattress has been fine so far. Any position — back, side, stomach — on it is comfortable. I'm mostly a side sleeper, and that has been no problem since I tweaked my pillow a bit to make it just the right height. The wife has said nothing, which is her way of giving approval. You usually only hear from her if there's a problem. I sometimes get too hot, but we don't keep our home real cool at night. If I sleep with only a sheet on top, I'm okay, but if I forget and leave the blanket on as well I get hot. We're using a 100% polyester mattress pad, so I'm sure that doesn't help. I may ask the wife if we can ditch the mattress pad for a night ot two and just put down another cotton sheet underneath the fitted bottom sheet to see how that works. This'll put us closer to the latex and totally get rid of the dreaded (cue ominous music here...) polyester! |
| Pianoman - One thing I've been wondering ever since I first saw those photos: Why buy six of those ratty-looking skins instead of one solid 6" thick piece? Were they that much cheaper than a solid 6x76x80 piece of Lux-R for $166? |
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garypen wrote: Pianoman - One thing I've been wondering ever since I first saw those photos: Why buy six of those ratty-looking skins instead of one solid 6" thick piece? Were they that much cheaper than a solid 6x76x80 piece of Lux-R for $166? Yes, sort of. I was actually substituting the skins in place of the Lux-HQ foam. Since I always planned to use one of the skins to act as a buffer between the mattress and the metal platform frame, we'd have to compare the cost of five skins to the cost of one 5" piece of Lux-HQ foam. At $17/ea x 5, the skins come in at $85. The 5" Lux-HQ would have been $204. That's a savings of $119. I'll take that! No one will ever see the "ratty-looking skins", they're fully encased, and having them in 1" layers allows me to make small (or larger) changes to the setup of the mattress if I so desire. Plus they're much easier to handle than a 5" x 76" x 80" block of foam weighing in at around 52 lbs. This message was modified Jun 21, 2010 by pianoman
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I think the 1" layers was a good idea - it will indeed give you a good ability to adjust the feel of the mattress. Maybe not as much as 1" layers towards the top would, but nevertheless.. Look forward to see how this feels after a month or so... Does that frame make any noise? |
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jimsocal wrote:
I think the 1" layers was a good idea - it will indeed give you a good ability to adjust the feel of the mattress. Maybe not as much as 1" layers towards the top would, but nevertheless.. This message was modified Jun 21, 2010 by garypen
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pianoman wrote:
Yes, sort of. I was actually substituting the skins in place of the Lux-HQ foam. Since I always planned to use one of the skins to act as a buffer between the mattress and the metal platform frame, we'd have to compare the cost of five skins to the cost of one 5" piece of Lux-HQ foam. At $17/ea x 5, the skins come in at $85. The 5" Lux-HQ would have been $204. That's a savings of $119. I'll take that! No one will ever see the "ratty-looking skins", they're fully encased, and having them in 1" layers allows me to make small (or larger) changes to the setup of the mattress if I so desire. Plus they're much easier to handle than a 5" x 76" x 80" block of foam weighing in at around 52 lbs. Personally, I still think it would be worth the extra money for a solid piece, as it seems to me, based on logic and physics, that it would react more uniformly, as I stated in response to Jim. Also, it seems like a lot of work to trim all of those irregularly sized pieces so they make a smooth, even, single, mattress-like edge. This message was modified Jun 21, 2010 by garypen
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