Female, 64
5’5" 180 to 190 (slightly top heavy with wider shoulders, smaller waist, wide hips and generous butt)
Single sleeper (mostly)/queen bed
Active lifestyle- lifting, hiking, and farm life/work
Chronic neck pain, spinal compression, and arthritis from old injury
80/20 side back sleeper
Favorite bed of all time: Bethany Bay by Sealy
Foundation is a solid platform
I definitely prefer the feel of an all latex mattress as opposed to a hybrid
I started with a hybrid build:
Build #1
8" 14.75 ga pocket coils ( rescued from a beautyrest 900c series x-firm)
3" firm SOL 46 idl (extra firm)
This was a horrible idea & a horrible experience. After just 15 minutes without numbness in my extremities and pain everywhere.
Build #2
8" 14.75ga pocket coils
2" 28idl latex (latex mattress factory)
2" 20 idl latex (sleep on latex)
Still waking up stiff and sore so I added a
1.4" extra soft (10 idl?) Latex Eggcrate topper ( Turmerry)
Better, but not quite right. Some soreness and neck pain.
Build #3
(Removed coils)
3" X-firm (SOL 46idl)
2" medium (LMF 28idl)
2" soft (SOL 20idl)
1.4" egg crate (Turmerry- idl of 8 to 10)
Most comfortable, but spine compression upon sitting up on side of bed. A little stiffness in the upper back and shoulders.
Build #4
I added a 1" medium-firm 34 idl from SOL between the 46idl layer and the 28idl layer
I woke up with severe knee pain and some light hip pain, a bad pain in upper back and neck.
I still feel the spinal compression when i sit on the side of the bed.
No numbness or tingling in my hands or feet. I can slide a hand easily under the curve of my back when lying on my back.
When on my side, I can slide a hand under my waist.
Ideas:
add 2" medium 28idl for comfort -
Will this will affect my support layer negatively?
Or add to support layer 2" of 34idl
Will this will make mattress firmer or just add support when sitting up?
Will this make knee, hip, upper back, and neck more painful since adding just 1" made pain worse?
I will be buying a cover from sleeponlatex once I finish this build. I’d prefer the finished mattress be between 11" and 13" included the 1" cover.
I’m planning to remove the plywood base and add a slat support system with 2" spaces using finished 1x4’s.
I have a solid wood sleigh bed and live in a very humid sub-tropic climate so I need to consider mold.
I considered leaving the plywood and adding a barrier layer for humidity, but because of the metal support with a verticle center screws into the side of the bed, the plywood, which is 3 pieces with the largest piece in the middle, is very slightly (less than 1/16") higher in the middle than at the top & bottom. This is caused by screw placement and using slats will allow me to work around this) Adding shims might help, but I’d prefer to add slats.
(No room to put mattress on floor to check mattress without moving that super heavy wooden bed out of the room)
Any and all ideas or advice are welcome and appreciated.