First Time DIYer, please help

Beyond Mattresses
1

After many mattress failures, I’ve decided when I get a new bigger bed in Oct I want to try a DIY, no reusing materials, I’d be ordering everything

My most recent mattress purchase was the hybrid from Latex Mattress Factory. It was the hardest/firmest mattress I’ve tried recently. And I was told it was medium soft. In what universe? I got their sample pack of the latex toppers before I ordered it. I liked the feel of the medium talalay. But that mattress, it was like all you could feel was cotton and steel coil. Ugh.

I digress, their customer service was nice and quick to help with returning it. They send a third party to collect the extremely heavy mattress (116 lbs for the queen) for a flat fee. I mention this because it’s making me think pocket coils are a part of the hardness/firmness problem. Please correct me if I’m wrong

Because I used to love soft innerspring mattresses on old box springs. Old box springs are ridiculously overpriced (same price or more than the expensive LMF mattress) and not an option with my spacing issues (apt so necessary to have a platform frame for storage). And it seems they only make pocket coils not innerspring anymore.

I’m also worried that mattresses become harder/firmer by a great deal being on platform frames. With the LMF mattress, it said 3" or less spacing between slats so I got a metal platform frame with wood slats to ensure the correct spacing. The mattress was much harder/firmer on the frame than on the ground. Metal slats would be worse, wouldn’t it?

Goals:
SOFT/Princess Plush level mattress.

King size

NOT memory foam, I hate it

Sleepers: 240 lb, 5’2" side sleeper who can’t handle firmness whatsoever.
Part time bed partner (moving in together at end of my lease) 5’9" 160 lb side sleeper/tummy ish sleeper who can sleep on literally anything and told me to build to my preference, they’ll be muscle lol

My questions:

  1. Do pocket coils make a mattress firmer/harder? Would using a foam core be softer? It says medium-firm

Example of foam core:

  1. Also is diy mattress .net legit?

  2. Other options for base?:
    Referring to same website, other base/core consideration would be latex either the blended or full Talalay, however it says they only pour twins and queens so for a king I’d have to get two twin XLs.
    Are there other 6" latex options that are one solid piece in King? Please include links if possible

3a. Opinion on blended vs all natural Talalay; Would blended be okay for the base/core?

3b. Plush or medium if I went Talalay for base/core

  1. Platform frame making mattress harder/firmer, is that really a problem? If so, how to deal with it. I’m open to other frame suggestions only if they have storage space underneath.
    Or would stacking taller and softer help combat the frame making firmer issue?

4a. Slat spacing requirements necessary for my build??

  1. Part of my hesitation in doing DIY is having a bunch of layers that don’t stay aligned. Latest suggestion was get a zippered mattress cover from either LMF or the DIY site to enclose all the layers in. Leaning towards the DIY site as it has up to 15" option vs only 12. Does that actually help keep layers in place/aligned/not shifted?

5a. The DIY net cover has two options cotton vs bamboo, what’s the difference? Is it important to get one vs the other? I liked the cotton feel on the LMF mattress and to me it just looks like the bamboo has wool quilted on making it thicker

5b. Regarding layers not staying aligned, is it necessary to use glue or something to attach them? That just seems to defeat the purpose of possibly exchanging a layer to perfect the comfort

So this is my current envisionment, not pulling the plug till first week of Oct so I have more time to research. Please tell me where I’m going wrong or what a better build would be (from the bottom to the top):

6" core, was originally thinking pocket coils but fear they cause firmness so either the regular foam or Talalay latex in either plush or medium

3" soft Dunlop LMF

3" medium Talalay LMF

3" soft Talalay LMF

Link for LMF layers:

So it’s a 15" total build. If I could get it my softness preference at 12" that’d be even better but again frame affecting firmness and whatnot concerns

This is currently just based on playing around with the sample box, research, and failures. Sorry it’s long

@Latex_Mattress_Fact1
@CST

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Hello Kea12312 and welcome to the forums and thanks for reaching out on this! I’d first like to mention that we can only take one item for return per customer per 12 month period, so if you returned the hybrid and order something else from us within 12 months, those items aren’t returnable.

That foam core should be a bit softer than our 6" coils, but I can’t say or quantify how much softer.

DIYmattress.net is a legitimate company, they’re a part of Arizona Premium Mattress, and they’re one of the trusted members of the Mattress Underground, so definitely a legitimate company.

There are only 2 companies in the world that make Talalay, and they don’t make king sized layers, so you have to get twin XL layers and either have the manufacturer glue them together or leave them “split.”

I think blended Talalay is a great product, and it’s still certified against harmful chemicals and safe for use in baby articles, and it’s actually a bit more durable than 100% natural Talalay, so I think it’s fine.

If your foundation is making the mattress firmer than you’d like, then my advice is to get softer components, and keep the slat spacing under 3" so you can get the full expected lifetime out of the mattress.

We’ve been selling layered latex mattresses for decades and get practically zero complaints about the layers shifting. There’s so much friction between the layers, you can pull them as hard as you want and you’ll tear a layer in half before you get it to slide over the other layers. And a proper mattress cover will help keep them in place as well.

Based on the information you’ve provided, I don’t think a mattress cover with wool will be a good choice. Anything you have between yourself and the latex affects how much you’re able to sink into the latex, making for a firmer feel and giving the mattress more surface tension.

I don’t recommend gluing the layers together.

I think the build of 6" coils, 3" soft ND, 3" medium ND, and 3" soft NT is softer than what we would NORMALLY recommend for someone at your height and weight, but there’s no wrong way to set up the mattress as long as you’re comfortable!

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Thanks for the suggestion. That’s part of my problem when mattress shopping, instantly focusing on my weight I get recommended medium or medium firm that are just too firm for me. That results in hip, shoulder and higher back pain or numbness. So I guess I need plush feel with a medium support. I don’t mind being ‘in the mattress’ a little rather than some describe they prefer being on top of the mattress. But I hate how memory foam causes both partners to sink together in the middle of the mattress or you can’t move around/shift positions at all.

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I think the build of 6" coils, 3" soft ND, 3" medium ND, and 3" soft NT setup should be good!

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