Firstly, nearly all mattresses are suitable for nearly all bed frames. They really are. Perhaps there may be a disclaimer with cheaper one sided mattresses where there is insufficient wadding on the non-use side but if the mattress is well made there should be a relatively firm pad or adequate wadding on the underside to keep the spring unit stable.
Pocket Sprung mattresses seem to have the raw deal on many of these comments. With the theory being that if the slats are too wide the individual pocket springs will drop down through the gaps. Now, a bit of common sense has to be applied here. If the gaps are too wide say, in excess of 4″ then there will be insufficient support for the mattress and improvements to the slat spacings should be made - If the gaps are standard, say 2-3″ apart then any weight on the mattress will be evenly distributed with absolutely no need to worry.
Equally so, on traditionally built double sided mattresses, there will be more than sufficient fillings and waddings to prevent the entire contents of your mattress spilling on to the floor.
Sprung slats that (usually) have a central support bar tend to need some sort of ‘dampener’ on the rigid section to keep a pocket spring unit stable – remember – pocket sprung matts love a flat surface. Over time, a dip could appear in the central area of a mattress caused by the uneven surface. Vi-Spring, as one of the country’s top manufacturers give the advice that a mattress pad should be used on all slatted bases. Quite right too, hence the reason that a sprung divan base is reccomended for pocket sprung matts. This pad acts as a buffer between the mattress and the slats preventing pressure indents in a two sided mattress and stability for a one sided [latex] mattress.
There is no real need to buy a purpose built mattress pad for your slatted base. Although more presentable than a home made version, the contents of such are usually either going to be polyester or foam (wool, cotton, horsehair etc in more salubrious versions) and therefore a basic quilt from Tesco, or a couple of blankets placed on top of the slats will offer adequate protection for your mattress.
There is too much fallacy around about mattresses that are or arn’t suitable for slatted bases, or bedsteads or divans. So how did these stories come about?
It all seems to have started with Silentnight. Retailers were plugging the benefits of their Miracoil Spring system with an explanation that as the continuous coil springs run North to South there was no way that the springs could fall through the gaps which run East to West. Quite a logical and well thought out explanation and really no room for disagreement. Unless ..
Did we ever have a problem with springs falling through the slats prior to SN Miracoil ? I can’t ever remember it being a problem. And I cant think of one instance since where I have ever heard this to happen. ..Unless you know differently.
John and Ryan thanks for replying.
The bed I brought is a leather and has a wooden bar straight through the middle of the bed and the slats individually fit into plastic sheath’s which pop into place along the sides and middle bar, I had to nail the slats to the sides of the bed throught the sheaths because every time we moved or sat on the bed one side of the slats (two or three at a time) would pop out its sheath and onto the floor hence nailing them and now its beginning to happen in the middle, the mattress itself is a pocket sprung with memory foam. I have been advised to buy a second mattress as to take pressure off the slats personally I think the mattress has pushed the sides of bed out because it cannot take the pressure could my thinking be right or would a second mattress be the answer?
Thanks Lee
Hi again Lee. I’m sorry but we are really at a loss. The plastic sheaths should have two lugs that sit in appropriately sized holes on the side of your frame. If they are popping out it could be that there was a manufacturing fault with the ‘holes’ being too big for the lugs to sit tightly.
If the plastic sheaths stay in place and the slats are dropping out then the only reason we can think of is that you may have slats for a double bed and not a king size. If you are unable to have a replacement set sent out to you from the retailer then consider replacing them with solid slats that stretch across the entire frame from side to side (a good timber merchant will cut these to size and shouldn’t cost that much).
I’m not convinced of the second mattress theory. A bed frame should be capable of supporting a mattress. If it dosn’t – and it obviously isn’t – then it’s not doing the job it is supposed to. Let us know what the outcome is. I really would contact the retailer and explain the situation. John and Ryan.
I literally got a vi-spring Apsley firm delivered yesterday. It’s on a cheap Ikea slatted base.
Before I was sleeping on a cheap, open sprung £180 mattress for 3 years. I’ve always had a terrible back that needs massaging nightly and a microwave wheat bag placed on. I tested the firm and medium and by the advice the salesman gave me bought the firm. I woke up in the middle of the night with my lower back in agony! To sleep again I had to heat up the micro bag. I expected a great nights sleep after spending almost £2000! Is there anything I can do? I don’t have much money after all that on a mattress. Thank you for any help!
Hi Diana. I really do you think you should give your new mattress a bit more of a chance. It is generally understood that it does take a little time for your body to adjust to a new mattress [new shoes syndrome]. I have had a look at The Apsley spec and there is nothing there that I can point to as being the culprit for your discomfort. I am assuming your bodyweight is not overly above average, and the fact that the salesman recommended a firm would indicate he took this into consideration.
If you are finding this mattress to be on the firm side [you think a medium or soft would have been more comfortable] then consider the use of a feather and down topper to take the edge off the firmness level whilst the mattress breaks in slowly and naturally. A good initial test is to place your duvet under the bottom sheet and see if that helps. Please let us know how this progresses a sit will help many other people with the same problem. John and Ryan.
Hi
I brought a wooden slatted bed and pocket sprung mattress the problem I have is that the slats fall out of their plastic covers and on to the floor, my uncle who used to work for a bed retailer told me I need a second mattress under the pocket sprung one to support and distribute the weight evenly if this is correct what kind of mattress should be best for the bottom?
Hi Lee. I’m not particularly sure what’s happening here. Are these two separate questions? Are your slats fitted correctly. As for a second mattress underneath your mattress – I’ve never heard of that before. Sorry but a bit more info is required. John and Ryan.
Hi,
Weve recently bought a new bed from next which has sprung slats with a metal connecting bar running down the centre of the bed. We are looking at getting a new matress as our current old cheap one is giving me pain in my ribs at night. We would like something reasonably soft and have a budget of upto £400, can you recommend a matress. both me and the wife are of average weight. Should a one sided memory foam matress be the way to go and can we afford one?
Hi Mike. Ryan and I would not reccomend Memory Foam. reading through this site you will see our disdain towards this overhyped and overpriced foam. Your budget is on the low side and by looking at our product list you will see what you can reasonably expect to get for this amount. If you need any more help, please give us a call direct. John and Ryan.
So glad I found your site. I have an ottoman style bedframe with curved slats. The frame around the slats is metal as is the central support bar. I bought a memory foam 250 mattress to go with it. Me & my husband are now both rolling into the middle of the bed and it is the most uncomfortable bed I have ever had. We tried a board under the mattress for extra support but this just made it more uncomfortable. This is a king size bed. Would really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.
Hi Audrey. It seems the mattress is lacking in substance – Correct me if I’m wrong but I dont think there is enough weight to depress the slats hence the roll together. I would try the boards on the slats again – perhaps three 5 x 2 MDF boards just to provide an even surface. To make the mattress more comfortable try a topper or comforter. Hope this helps and keep us informed on how you combat this. John and Ryan.
Hello
A very informative site, glad I found it!
I have a double metal framed bed from Laura Ashley with ‘single frames’ for the slats. The mattress is a Hypnos Handrcrafted Wendover. I took this off our original Hypnos bed frame as found the Laura Ashley Harlech mattress that came with the LA bed frame too soft and when using this mattress always had back ache. The Hypnos mattress has improved things slightly, but I still have acheing joints and stiff shoulders.
I know there is a problem as when we stay away in B&B’s, cottages (who do not always put the best in their premises), etc, I find I do not have the problems I have at home.
Should I place a peg board on top of the slats and a duvet as you have suggested, or just a duvet? Also could the metal ‘join’ down the middle of the bed which is double metal bars because of the single configuration be a problem?
Many thanks for any help you can suggest. Sandra.
Hi Sandra. I can’t seem to find that much info on The Wendover so I am unable to accurately tell what you are currently sleeping on. The symptoms you describe lead me to believe that the mattress will be on the firm side and so the addition of topper / comforter may improve things a little more. Try your duvet beneath your bottom sheet as a trial to see if this improves things.
Your base design with the two single frames for the slats should not be contributing that much to your discomfort. It is true that the metal bar down the centre may be a contributory factor (Hump back Bridge Syndrome) and if the slats are too firm to fully compress once the mattress is placed then the addition of pegboard to level out the lump plus cushioning will help. John and Ryan.
Hello – before I put my question may I say how helpful your website is.
We have a metal slatted kingsize bed. The slats are at least 4 inches apart and obviously rigid (being made of metal). Our current pocket sprung mattress was a cheap, poor quality one but has only just lasted for about 10 years and is now indented with our body shapes and supremely uncomfortable!
We’ve just bought an Elixir Tempur mattress (memoryfoam and pocket springs). Do you think we’d be better off putting a sheet of plyboard (perforated perhaps???) below the mattress and, if so, should we cover it in a blanket for extra protection? Or should we just put an old duvet between the slats and the new mattress?
We’d really appreciate your help with this! The Elixir mattress was very expensive so we’d like to look after it and keep it going as long as possible!!
Jennie
Hi Jennie. Thanks for the thumbs up!
Firstly, your metal frame bedstead will indeed be in need of tweaking, The ideal solution will indeed be a sheet of pegboard cushioned with a blanket or similar for cushioning. Secondly I am under the impression that The Tempur Elixir was all foam – Not pocket springs! John and Ryan.
Hi, would really like your advice please.
I have bought my son a pocket sprung mattress for his sprung slatted base. The slats are 3inches apart. I have put a blanket I between the mattress and base to protect it but am worried that the slat space may be too wide apart. I have found somewhere that provides extra sprung slats and wondered if I should buy some? They would lessen the gaps to 1 inch or is it alright as it is? Would it make the bed firmer?
many thanks for any advice you can give
Hi Jackie. I wouldn’t worry too much. If the mattress you have for your son is a one sided model then just have a feel of the underside [the non sleep surface] by rubbing your hand across can you easily feel the springs through the fabric? On non sleep sides a minimum of insulator may be used and so you will need to add a further level of barrier such as pegboard to giver the springs something to push against.
If it is a two sided mattress then there should be adequate cushioning for the springs and the blanket should suffice. Ideally, to avoid any potential issue I would lay some sheets of pegboard over the slats so that the weight of the mattress keeps them flat. John and Ryan.
It’s called Elan Faux Leather divan. It’s not on their website anymore, they said they don’t sell them board base bed anymore even though i purchased it on May 2011. The mattress i bought is called Sleep to go support 1500, it’s similar to my old one i bought 3 or 4 years ago , only difference is that my old mattress had a cotton cover stuck to it and this one has a soft cover to it which you can unzip it. If it’s humidity, how can I prevent that from happening? Thank you so much.
Hi Shazna. Cant seem to see any fathomable reason why you are getting moisture retention between the mattress and your base. The ventilation holes seem adequate in each of the boards. But, the fact that moisture retention is evident means that there is not enough room for it to adeqautely escape. The humidity in your room seems the likely culprit but obviously I am only speculating. If clothes are drying in front of radiators, inadequate ventilation will all have an adverse affect to prevent your mattress drying out naturally and completely.
Bear in mind we all sweat up to a pint each night and if there is inadequate ventilation or high humidity then this sweat will either permeate the mattress or make you feel clammy. Please let us know how you resolve this and what you think the reasons for the wet patches on your base is. Very Interesting. John and Ryan.
Hi, sorry if i did’nt explain it too well.Basically, the foam mattress sits on top of the boards which has some kind of laminate cover to it. So they’re not slatts (wish it was). In each board have 7 holes in it, 6 small ones and 1 big one. Yesterday bought a new mattress (foam mattress) and throwed the old one away, lifted the mattress up today and saw sweat on 2 of the boards…what is going on??? Can i somehow customise the bed like put slatts instead of them boards or something?
And also i have no damp wall but sometimes the windows get abit cloudy.
Please help, thanx.
Hi Shazna. Please send me links to the bedframe you have and also name and model of your mattress. I have a strong feeling your troubles are due to your rooms humidity. John and Ryan.
I’m considering buying a spring slatted base but I’m worried about the type of slats to take. What Is the best material, pine or beech wood.
I’ve plans to use the Sealy 2400 pocket spring mattress. My concern is will the slats support these springs and not cause them to break through the gaps?
Thanks for our feedback.
Hi Lolly. Usually sprung slats are made from Beech and flat rigid slats are made from pine. Ryan and I personally favour the rigid slats as this gives more of a flat surface particularly if the mattress is pocket sprung.
Hope this helps. John and Ryan.
Hi,
Great site by the way, so much info.
We can’t work out if we need a new bed and/or a new mattress.
We have a pine beadstead with wooden slats spaced 4 inches apart.
The mattress is ny 6 months old and is a single sided reflex foam from Breasley. My boyfriend thinks it’s too thin at 14cm.
I’m 5′ and 8 stone and he is 5′ 7″ and 11 stone
Any help on what type of mattress would go with this bed is appreciated.
Thank you
Hi,
I left a comment recently and appreciate that you receive many comments that you need to reply to but I would be very grateful for an answer as I need to make a decision soon.
My problem is we have bought a sprung slated base bedstead from John Lewis with their Cotton Classic Pocket Srung Mattress medium tension, 1500 spring count. John Lewis have been excellent they changed our original mattress because it was too firm. Although I have recently noticed that this mattress is only sold by JL during their clearance as a Special buy:, offers are available for a limited time only and are exceptional value as we’ve been able to secure one-off discounts from our suppliers.
My husband is 6ft 12 1/2 stone and I am 11 stone. We are still finding this mattress much too firm, not getting comfortable night sleep and waking with upper back,shoulder aches.
This is our first slated base (previously had a divan) and we are not sure if it is the base that is the problem or the wrong mattress, would we benefit from adding a board under the mattress or should we change the mattress again.
Many thanks Pauline
Hi Pauline. The Cotton Classic was added to the John Lewis [online] range between the 18th and 27th December 2011. Manufacturer of this model is Harrisons and retailed at £625 KS. This is listed as a two sided model although there is no indication of the weight of filling [GSM] used which would indicate how much cushioning (comfort layers) are used.
As for your base – ideally pocket springs do like a sprung divan base for additional suspension. However, I do not think this is the only issue with your mattress comfort. Additionally, the JL spec sheet states that this mattress is suitable for ‘their’ slatted bedframes. As a precaution I would board your frame and also use a cushioning dampener so that the mattress is not compressing directly on a hard surface.
As for the firmness. You have to bear in mind that all new mattresses will be firm (ish) to begin with and then slowly soften [or break in] the more it is used. Just like new shoes. If you start with perfect comfort from day one, it stands to reason that it will become softer from that point onwards. It is bettter to initially go a stage firmer and adjust comfort level with a topper / comforter in order for the mattress to break in slowly over time.
I hope this helps. John and Ryan.
Thank you for your response to my question. We are going to do as you suggested, board the base and buy a mattress topper. I will let you know if this improves our level of comfort.
Many thanks, Pauline
Hi, i have a problem with my bed. 7 months ago i bought a leather bed, four flat boards were included. 2 weeks ago i checked my mattress, it was all moldy, musty and wet aswell. I have no idea of what to do about it? what sort of mattress should i buy and can anything be done with the boards? if i drill few holes in each board will it help? I tried talking to bensons and beds but they completely ignored me and said inspection report showed that the bed isnt faulty. Please HELP!
Hi Shazna. Sorry to hear of your dilemma. I am at a bit of a loss as to fully understanding the problem. I am not personally aware of any bed frames where “four flat boards” would be included! The only thing I can think of is that if the bedframe was an ottoman – four boards are included as a base, not as a support for the mattress.
Secondly, as for a mattress to become as you describe there has to be an outside factor – such as a damp wall, extreme humidity comditions etc. Please give the full story including the type of mattress you have and how you have utilised the boards. Interesting question. John and Ryan.
Thanks for the response – very useful. I asked the supplier to check with Vi-Spring on the warranty situation and the feedback was that if the bed slats are more than the recommended width apart then they would only cover if a peg board was used. I have found that Jewsons can supply a peg board sheet for c.£30 (contact needed to make a call to confirm). So if I decide to go with this mattress I will definitely get a peg board, and also the mattress pad. Thanks for the info, much appreciated.
Louise.
Hi,we just purchased a pocket spring mattress with a memory foam pillow top and put it on our flexi slat base. We were told that if it was put on this type of base,the mattress warranty would be void. We bought some 12mm mdf sheets and layed them over the slats,now mattress feels alot better to lay on. Now my concern is natural ventilation as you have mentioned above. What is the pros and cons when it comes to ventilation under the mattress.
Thanks.
Hi Matt. Good question. Sprung slatted bedframes are quite adequate for double sided mattresses where there is sufficient amount of wadding to buffer the pocket springs. The use of a mattress pad should be paramount to protect the wadding/upholstery from the slats. On the flip side – One sided mattresses usually have a thin layer of insulator between the spring unit and the fabric on the underside of your mattress. – and it is in this situation where uneven distribution of the spring unit can cause problems with the mattress. Your use of MDF is a good move. Pocket springs love and work best with a flat surface.
If it was the store salesman/woman who informed you of the potential void guarantee I would question why the guarantee would be VOID if used on this type of base. Also ask them if it is the insufficient wadding on the non sleep side that will cause problems with the mattress.
I must admit that we cannot give an indisputable answer to the ventilation concern. Our own thoughts are to do all you can – Just in Case – and therefore feel that the inclusion of some vent holes in your MDF would not do any harm.
Ryan and I believe that many mattresses self aerate just because of the bellow like action caused when you get in and out of bed. The minimum standard of a mattress protector should enable body moisture to be dissapated before ingressing the mattress. The vents applied to many side panels are in our view more for the aesthtics rather than for any “major” function. We also draw on the (low – middle end) divan base construction , whereby, more often than not the surface is nothing more than fabric covered hardboard with no ventilation whatsoever.
As we said at the start, with the lack of any scientific fact or published data, we can only speculate on whether ventilation is absolutely neccessary or not. Other peoples thoughts would be most welcome. John and Ryan.
Hi,
I am thinking of buying the vi-spring bedstead mattress, however my slats are about 4″ apart. I have read that 3.5″ should be fine, is 4″ getting too large? I can’t really see a way to add more slats, will a mattress pad be sufficient or do you think a peg board would be a better bet?
Thanks,
Louise.
Hi Louise. Your slats are a little too wide. The Vi-Spring Traditional Bedstead mattress for example utilises wool and cotton as the upholstery layers – soft – but not very “supportive” components. And, as the springs are calico encased [obviously the best] they are not attached to each other in any way [bar stringing - as opposed to glued polypropylene as in mass produced units] the tendency for them to be pushed down further than designed [ie: potentially through the slat gaps] could be a potential issue.
As I have said, pocket springs like an even and flat surface – even though Vi-Spring have developed a mattress that is for use on bedsteads – obviously one that utilises slats – it is our opinion that in your case a pegboard covering would be sufficient to completely stabilise the mattress. However, It would be in your interest to gain the advice of the Vi-Spring representative to determine what base covering they would advise to avoid any warranty issue.
Finally, we would also advise the use of a mattress pad in addition to the pegboard. In general, Hi End pocket sprung mattresses like a pocket sprung Divan Base – hence the reason why all top end pocket sprung matts are partnered with an equivalent pocket sprung base. By using a slatted base you are taking away supplentary suspension – or “help” for the springs – and so any additional counter resistance you can offer is beneficial to the life of the mattress.
Please leave a response as to what your solution was. We would also be grateful to other readers for any counter-argument on this topic. John and Ryan.
Hi.
)
Interesting stuff – have come to your site via a search engine because our SN Miracoil single sided mattress has ‘collapsed’ on one side (my husband is a bit of a hippo and me a fluffy duck, hence we went for SN) and there are now holes in the base which I guess are caused by springs coming through the gaps in the slats! So very interested in the last para of your article!
Slats are 3 inches apart, sturdy Laura Ashley bed frame. Now looking for a new mattress – what do you recommend? We had not put anything between slats and mattress by the way.
Thanks
K
Hi Kirsty. The video [opening page] where I cut open a SN Miracoil 3 mattress next to a comparably priced 1000 pocket sprung mattress was purely to demonstrate the ludicrous comparison of their continuous coil spring unit to a tried, tested and validated pocket sprung unit.
The marketing men at Silentnight who came up with the Hippo and Duck nomenclature must still be patting themselves on the back when people like yourselves [and obviously no disrespect intended] are still falling for this advertising gold dust.
There is no mattress entirely suitable for vastly differing bodyweights. Zip and link mattresses with differing tensions of support is the ultimate answer but, depending on the weight differences, mattresses such as our Sequence Suspension may be suitable for most people without breaking the bank.
Please give us a call and we can advise a solution based on your bodyweights and budget. John and Ryan
Hi,
I purchased a double bed and memory foam mattress, 10 inch last year, but am finding the mattress too soft.
The slats are sprung, I am thinking of buying a firm, orthopedic mattress but have been unsure whether or not these slats will be suitable.
I have been advised to make a wooden base to cover the slats, or to invest in new solid slats, but would laying a mattress over the slats do the same job?
any advice would be welcome!
Yvonne
Hi Yvonne. The problem with your mattress may not be altogether down to your slatted base. If you are considering purchasing a ‘firm othopaedic mattress based on your current experience then this is entirely the wrong way to go. Your current mattress seems to have been the wrong choice entirely.
Your bodyweight becomes the crucial factor. Finding the right support coupled with the right comfort layers for your budget will give you the mattress right for you. John and Ryan.
Hi
Some really helpful comments on this site – thanks.
But so many comments I am not clear what I need to do…so appreciate some advise.
We have a Simmon Ortho 1400 mattress (4-5 years) on a slatted bed frame (2 joined frames running lenghtways). My wife and I are starting to get some lower back pains so want to resolve quickly and figure it’s the bed.
I checked and some of the slats are not sprung anymore, that gap is 5.5cm. So reading the reviews I am not sure if we should replace the slats and have some type of mattress cover over ther top or if we need to look at a more substantial change – bed and mattress? I figure a bed frame 4-5 yrs old should be OK and also the mattress.
Thanks for some suggestions.
Tim
Hi Tim. I personally think the slat gaps and the slats themselves should still be OK and would look at the state of the mattress first to see if it is that that is causing your back troubles.
Is the Simmons Ortho 1400 the one sided model (blue stripe)? If so, you will be able to tell if the upholstery has had its day by locating the perimeter edge bar and pinching the bar to the top of the mattress [if you know what I mean]. The upholstery edges are the least likely to be used and will indicate just how much wadding was there in the first place.
As an interim measure to see if it is actually the mattress place your duvet under the bottom sheet to see if that gives you some relief – if so, all indicators point to the mattress and not your base. John and Ryan.
To make a base for a 6′ wide sprung mattress
Is it ok to use 5.5″x1″ boards (or should I slice them in two?)
And it good to have 2 3/4″ gaps between them, or should I have the gaps more like 2″?
Thanks so much
Hi Robert. 5.5″x1″ boards should be fine, no real need to make them thinner. 2-3″ gaps will be fine. What I would do though is to lay a breathable cover over them such as a blanket or duvet to provide some sort of cushioning. John and Ryan.
Hi, could you advise please. I have a new memory foam mattress (good quality) on flexible slat bed; however mattress is too low and i feel it needs more solid support . it’s 18 cm; can i either put a cheap firm mattress underneath for extra support and height or a memory foam mattress topper? Thank you
Hi Ang. I can only summise that the mattress you have is unsupportive for your needs and what you are trying to do now is to put right what should have been there in the first place. Support and comfort should go hand in hand and you will find it very hard to make an unsupportive mattress – supportive.
Placing a plywood or pegboard sheet on top of your sprung slats will go someway of aiding support – but this will inhibit ventilation. If you are contemplating using a firm mattress under your current mattress then this would have to be in relatively good condition to offer the support required. However, it does seem to be a shame that you have to go to this length to obtain the support you require. John and Ryan.
Purchased a super king bed base with spring slats about 65mm apart. Also purchased a Komfi Sleepmart 700 memory foam mattress. Have found there is a lot of creaking sounds from the bed with 2 people in the bed who are normal weight. Looking under the bed when my husband was lying on the mattress made clear a lot of flex in the slats making the bed creak loud enough to wake us. The bed base is a metal frame with a metal bar in the centre.
Would you know of way tonrectify this? Have considered 12mm plywood sheets or mdf but are really uncertain what to do.
All Feedback greatly appreciated.
Best regards
Katie
Hi Katie. As I have mentioned elsewhere on this site, metal frame beds do have a tendency to creak, particularly lower priced models where no rubber buffers are used on the joints. Normally, excessive creaking is due to the fact that the fixings are not regularly tightened and thus the metal on metal sound occurs. I personally do not think a plywood sheet will help but obviously without seeing the frame itself and finding the cause is just speculation.
I would initially remove the mattress and retighten the fittings to see if that helps. Thanks for your comment and let me know what, if anything, remedys it. John and Ryan.
Hi John and Ryan
I have had a brass bed for 20 years for which wooden slats have been made to support the mattress. These are sturdy and quite close together so don’t cause a problem. We have recently bought a 9 inch thick, pocket sprung mattress described as ‘Ortho pocket sprung hand tufted’ and made with an ‘extra firm spring system’ We love the firmness of this mattress, but the undulations, which are quite deep, and the buttons make it feel as if I have lumps poking into me all over my body. Is this usual for very firm mattresses and can you suggest anything that I can put on top which will take away the ‘lumpy’ feeling? I do not want to use memory foam mattress toppers.
Thank you
Hazel
Hi Hazel. Good question. The undulations on a new mattress will indeed be firm at first and as with all mattresses you should be tweaking the comfort level with a topper / comforter of sorts. You do say that the support for you is correct, it’s the comfort that you feel is disconcerting. I would personally get a basic duvet from Tesco etc and use that as the layer beneath your mattress protector. This will take the edge of the firmness as it beds in slowly and naturally. John and Ryan.
I have just bought a memory foam double mattress, 4ft6, which I will be putting on a slatted base. After reading the advice on this site, my initial fears about the base being able to take the strain have been allayed. However, before I put the mattress on, I wanted to get advice about whether weight is an issue, with the base being strong enough. We will probably put an old blanket or duvet on the base, but I did want to ask about whether weight would be an issue at all? Any advice would be gratefully received! Thanks.
Hi Stephen. In reality, all bed frames should be strong enough for the purpose intended. Of course I am going to assume you are not so overweight as to cause an issue. Without knowing type of mattress / frame etc it really is impossible to even generalise let alone give an accurate opinion. If you have a specific reason for asking this question I am afraid you will have to elaborate further. John and Ryan.
Hi
Can you reccommend some kingsize mattresses for our new bedstead with sprung lats with bar down centre.
We had a Dunlopillo double divan which we have passed to our daughter. They are too expensive for us now so what would you suggest ?
Kind regards
Hi Jason, We have two latex matts both utilising 2000 pocket springs as the support. The first is The Origins Pocket Latex at £695. The second is the Sequence Pocket Latex at £725.
These have been built to offer two different levels of firmness -
The Origins is a quilted model giving the mattress an overall softer tension than The Sequence. This uses 6cm (two layers of 3cm) of Latex as the primary layer on top of 2cm Reflex, giving you a total depth of 8cm of wadding. This is the model that would be more suitable for people of a lighter bodyweight
The Sequence has been tufted and therefore gives you a much firmer tension. The Latex layer on this model is 5cm plus 2cm of supersoft foam directly beneath the fabric. This also utilises 2cm of Reflex directly above the spring unit giving you a total depth of 9cm of wadding.
Just the two rows of hand Side Stitching to The Sequence Latex more than justifies the extra £30 BUT .. it is on the firmer side of medium. Please talk to Ryan [number at top of this page] before making your final decision as he will be able to make some alterations to the mattress build such as using a lower count softer spring unit if your weight dictates this.
I must say that your question goes a long way to promote the comfort level and overall durability of a latex mattress. The fact that you are looking for similar, and have passed your previous latex mattress to your daughter is testament enough that once you have latex – you stick with latex. Please keep in touch. John.
Hi
What a fantastic treasure trove of information.
We need a new mattress as the current one has got really uncomfortable. However having read the information on slatted bases I checked the distance between slats on our 4 year old bed and discovered this distance to be 3,5 inches between slats. Would i need to revise this or cover the slats with suitably ventilated board?
Many thanks in advance.
Bernard
Hi Bernard, So sorry for the delay in replying – not enough hours in the day.
Firstly, many thanks for the appreciative quotation, sounds like an advert for Stephen Fry
Your slat width is fine. I would hope that you are looking to replace with a full double sided mattress in which case there will (should be) sufficient wadding to stop the springs potentially going throught the gaps. Too much is made of gap sizes and I think it is a ruse to prohibit full use of a warranty or guarantee.,
To put this into perspective – a pocket spring is roughly 45 – 50mm in diameter. If you pressed down on one spring then sure, a lot of pressure is directly applied and so the spring would have a tendency to be forced through the gap. But, there will never be an instance when this will happen. Your bodyweights are distributed over a greater area and the springs used are sharing this load equally. A one sided mattress with minimal supportive wadding on the underside will of course be more prone to damage than a two sided mattress with adequate wadding.
I would emphasise a disclaimer here. It is good practice to utilise a mattress pad of some sort on ANY slatted base. Not so much to stop springs squishing through the slats but as a protection buffer to the mattress. For high end mattresses that use natural fillings as the upholstery you want to minimise any kind of excess compression as well as protecting your investment in any way that you can. A mattress needs looking after and caring for, if you look after it – it will look after you. John.
Hi
We are looking for a new mattress for our sprung slat bed. We bought a firm latex mattress about 6 years ago (the mattress is latex only with no springs and cost us a fortune at the time), however the mattress is now too firm and we would like something softer, what would you recommend? My husband is about 3-4 stone heavier than me so it would need to be suitable for both of us.
Thank you. Shelene
Hi Shelene, If the mattress still has support, which I assume it has, then I would nip out to Dunelm Mill and buy a topper that would offer the comfort you require. John and Ryan.
Hi,
I have a sprung slatted base bed frame. The slats are at 90mm apart, I have checked in shops and the spacing is very common. I like the feel of the pocket sprung mattresses with two layers of springs (up to 2700 of them) like the Slumberland Gold Seal mattresses as an example. Also important is that I am well over 6ft tall and weigh 18st +
Question do I need to do modifications to the base? or is it a bad combination of mattress and bed base type?
Hi Dave, if you have a decent base then there is no need to replace. Your money should be going into the mattress rather than reducing your mattress budget to get a base as well. Bases can be replaced further down the line.
As regards the mattress you mention, your weight here is the predominant factor and as such you have to draw a tight balance between support and comfort. It is of no use finding a mattress that is ‘ideal’ in comfort today but in months down the line becomes entirely unsupportive.
Remember also that the Slumberland GS (I assume you are looking at The Supreme) is a continuous spring system – Not pocket springs – and on that one point alone I would suggest you look at our Sequence Support Latex with 2000 pocket springs as an alternative for a lot less money!! . See the details and video here.
As always, please give us a call to discuss further. John and Ryan.
Reply to claire
Posted August 8, 2010 at 12:09 PM
I have also had a bed frame with rungs which bent with my son bouncing. It was a cheapish child’s bunk bed.It was causing damage to the mattress. I got the local joinery shop to cut strong hardboard to the size of the frame and that kept it going for longer. Eventually the frame fell apart but the hardboard was well used by that time.
Hi Dorothy, thanks for adding your excellent tip. All beds with metal rungs tend to be (or should be) in the lower price range. The rungs tend to be widely spaced and not particularly suitable for pocket sprung mattresses. However, rather than going to the expense of replacing the frame, it can be adapted to suit the mattress as you have demonstrated.
All slats should really be covered by some sort of dampener. Many high end manufacturers (Burgess, Hypnos, Vi-Spring etc) sell mattress pads to protect the mattress from the slats. Rather than a custom made pad an alternative is to use an old quilt or any other sort of padding to prevent the mattress digging into the slats. It will definitely extend the life of your mattress John.
i have a metal bed frame which has rungs rather than flat slats running across it- will these damage my mattress, i have had an airsprung mattress for 2 years and it is like there’s no wadding left protecting you from lumpy mattress springs. is this because it is not great quality or is my bedframe solely to blame- and how to i get round it? i’m looking for a new mattress (obviously) and am wondering whether to put something between the mattress and frame to prevent it getting lumpy?
thanks, claire
Hi Claire, I have no ‘positive proof’ that this method of support will damage a mattress. I do not know of any test carried out that can answer this with factual evidence so any answer can only be opinion. The retailer of this kind of bedframe will obviously say it wouldn’t damage a mattress. The retailer of memory foam mattresses for example, may say yes it would. I personally would suggest that a better frame for your new mattress would be more beneficial.
The answer to your second point about your Airsprung mattress is speculation as you do not provide model name and specification. However, Airsprung as a product brand is not one that I would readily associate with top quality and so, just on that basis alone I think the model you describe has come to the end of its life. Let me know what your budget is and I will be able to help you further. John.
Hi,
Can a memory foam mattress be used slat based bed?
Kind Regards
Helen
‘ Hi Helen, I would say Yes. either rigid slats or sprung slats. The bottom of a memory foam mattress (Memory Foam on Foam) is/should be .. High Density foam and I can’t see any reason why any slatted base could not be used. It certainly isn’t going to squidge out between the gaps. However, as a sidenote.., I do think that for most other mattress types the addition of a blanket or duvet on top of any slatted base is worthwhile, just to give a flexible layer of suspension/protection from the hard slats and the mattress. People currently with slatted bases see that when they turn the mattress there are slat shaped ridges where the pressure of the slats have been. This does have an obvious detrimental effect on the fabric and underlying waddding..
Protecting the mattress from the slats does not really matter with foam mattresses – partularly Memory Foam on High Density Foam. The mattress will undoubtedly be requiring as much ventilation as it can get. And ventilation is the reason why I do not think it is good practice to place a sheet of hardboard, or indeed pegboard over the slats. I havn’t yet seen or heard anything that says whatever benefit the pegboard will potentially bring would be worth any decreased natural ventilation. Good question.