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Old 01-07-2005, 05:05 PM   #1
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foam mattress material

I'm wanting to put two twin beds where the rear bath was. Does anyone know of where I could find some of the foam mattress material that could be used to make beds that would follow the contour of the body?

Thanks
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Old 01-07-2005, 05:45 PM   #2
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Foam source

Quote:
Originally Posted by 69Ambassador
I'm wanting to put two twin beds where the rear bath was. Does anyone know of where I could find some of the foam mattress material that could be used to make beds that would follow the contour of the body?

Thanks
I bought some last year from http://www.rochfordsupply.com and am very happy with the material. There are several places online that will cut to order, but I found this place to be the best price for standard 24" slabs.
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Old 01-07-2005, 08:46 PM   #3
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Thanks!

Hi Muddy Hollow,
They had just what I was looking for. The 'Memory Foam' in the king size should be more that enough for the two twins.
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Old 01-07-2005, 09:41 PM   #4
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The memory foam I saw on their website was 3.5# density. Memory foam typically comes in 3 weights 3#, 4#, and 5#. The 3# is the least dense, least supportive, and has the shortest useful lifespan. To make their low grade 3# seem better some companies call it 3.5# density because 3.5# density is the upper limit of the foam refered to as 3#. Typically the actual density is much closer to 3#. You can expect a useful life of 2 to 3 years out of 3# density, 3-5 years out of 4# density and 5-10 years out of 5# density. For most foams, density equals quality and durability. Check the bedding secton of Overstock.com for good deals on typically 4# density memory foam including toppers. Or check Ebay for Memory foam toppers up to 4" thick. The most durable bedding foam is latex made using the Talalay process. Talalay latex foam has a life expectancy of 20-25 years and is within 3% of the firmness of memory foam. In other words, it is soft and cushy but also very supportative. Check Ebay for talalay latex foam toppers.

You can usually make a fairly supportive 4" mattress by bonding 3" of 4# or 5# memory foam to a stiff 1" urethane "Reflex" foam base having a stiffness of about 35. Reflex is the term for an especially long life urethane foam. It is often used in furniture. You can also bond a 3" Talalay latex foam pad to a stiff 1" thick urethane Reflex foam base for an excellent 4" mattress pad. To make the mattress pads thicker, increase the thickness of the Reflex foam.

Enjoy!
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Old 01-07-2005, 10:55 PM   #5
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Custom Mattress

Look around, there are MANY areas where shops will make a custom mattress for you, either foam or innerspring. The cost usually runs only 10-15% over what a standard size mattress would cost and you can pick your level of firmness, cover style and thickness. Buying foam is only the start of making a mattress, covering it isn't as simple as it looks. You'll have to sew one side seam by hand - and getting a big hunk of high friction foam inside a tight fitting cover is a pain in the neck. Getting a good durable cover material, etc. certainly adds to the cost.

I've sewn since I was 3 years old and have done clothing, upholstery, slipcovers, and even helped a parachute rigger. As much as I like to sew I wouldn't make a pair of men's jockey shorts - it's too damn labor intensive and there's nothing wrong with fruit of the loom. Besides, I'd hope to be the only one who'd see them - so who would appreciate my craftsmanship?

I'm all for "do it yourself" - but having mattresses made is surprisingly affordable. I'm sure you have dozens of projects to do, and many will save you hundreds if not thousands to do yourself. You'll be lucky to save $40/$50 on this project, not to mention the time it will take to do.
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Old 01-07-2005, 10:56 PM   #6
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Thanks for the input Bob,
I'm looking at the foam for two reasons. One, to easily fit the curve of the interior, and second to get a more comfortable bed. We have a standard RV mattress in our 5th wheel and after a week of camping we're praying for our regular beds. I appreciate the lesson on the foam. I'm probably going to have to get samples of the different grades and figure out what works best.
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Old 01-08-2005, 07:20 AM   #7
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Bob,



You said something about "bonding" two of types together. How would you do this? Also, it appears that Airstream used that type at one time. On my 66 Overlander the pads appear to be two types of foam bonded together.



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Old 01-08-2005, 07:59 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 69Ambassador
I'm wanting to put two twin beds where the rear bath was. Does anyone know of where I could find some of the foam mattress material that could be used to make beds that would follow the contour of the body?

Thanks
I've had good luck with knoxfoam.com
Their service is excellent, and so far the quality of the foam they sent me was very good.
You might consider buying your shapes a little big, and then trimming yourself to the curvature you desire. To trim, use an electric (meat) carving knife, and move it slowly through the foam. Works like a charm.
To bond the foam in layers, you can use regular spray adhesive formulated for foam.
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Old 01-08-2005, 10:52 AM   #9
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I second the recommendation to use spray adhesive, but I would get a recommendation from the foam supplier as to which adhesive to use. I've had good luck with 3M "77", but I would still get a recommendation.

As for cutting a "king" size topper to make twins, it is far and away the most economical way to get twins. On Overstock.com the price for one piece is the same no matter what the size. A twin costs as much as a king so you just as well get the king or "Cal" king and cut it in half.
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Old 01-08-2005, 11:44 AM   #10
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Foam source

After Bob's very helpful primer on foam I went back to a website I've seen before: http://www.foambymail.com/

They have a variety of mattress pre-made just like Bob suggests I think. I'm not sure about how the prices compare though.

I need to replace the foam on a goucho bed and start from scratch dinette cushions.

Steve
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Old 01-08-2005, 07:27 PM   #11
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The company you want to find is Active Foam Products of Chicago.
800 728 4567 ask for catalog or most recent sale flyer. They sell all kinds of foan for furniture,boats, campers etc.. Each foam is identfied with a scale for firmness and quality and thy will cut to your measurements.

Good luck ,
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Old 01-09-2005, 06:00 PM   #12
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For those that are learning more about foam, the stiffness is represented by the foams' ILD or " Indentation load deflection". One foam expert taught me the ILD number is the weight in pounds it takes to compress a cubic foot of the foam down to a height of 8". However, on a foam website, while searching for the meaning of ILD I found the following: ILD is measured by putting a 15"X15"X4" specimen of foam in an indentometer and measuring the weight required to push the foam down to 25%, 65% and back to 25% of its thickness. Therefore, an I.L.D. rating of 10 lbs. at 25% means that it takes 10 lbs. to compress the foam 25%, 65% I.L.D. compresses the foam 65% and will have a higher figure, then it is brought back to 25% and this is generally the right I.L.D. rating. These days I.F.D, "Indentation force deflection", is sometimes used instead of ILD but means the same thing.

DENSITY - Lbs. per cubic foot is simply the DENSITY of the foam and is not related to I.L.D. at all. You can have a high I.L.D. on a low density piece of foam and conversely a low I.L.D. on a high density foam. The higher the density of the foam, the better the quality and durability of the foam. I.L.D. has nothing to do with the quality, it merely indicates the softness or the hardness of a piece of foam.


On a personal preference note, I've seen Reflex foam mattresses with an ILD of 23 and I thought they were too soft, best suited for children. The same style mattress in an ILD 30 foam was too stiff! Generally, you want a mattress with a soft top (about 2"thick slab), with and ILD of around 15, under that a 2" foam slab of about 23-28 ILD, then a base foam of about 35 ILD. Hope this helps explain things.
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Old 02-11-2005, 08:02 AM   #13
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Angry

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Thompson
Hope this helps explain things...
Bob, I'm getting ready to place my foam order and would love it if you could offer some more advice please. I'm building a convertible dinette/bed and sofa/bed. I spent the $20 to get Rochford supply to send me a sample package so I could be sure of what I was buying. The package contains 13 samples 12" x 12" x 2" and I think that I've narrowed it down to a couple types.

I have already purchased two 1.5" Cal King memory foam toppers from Overstock.com which is an amazing deal since king size costs the same as a twin, $48. I don't think that they tell you on the web site but they are packaged as Sealy Posturepedic brand.


My fabric is 500D Cordura Plus. A tough fabric coated on the back with urethane for water resistance. The plan is to sew them as a 5 sided box, Fill with the foam, wrap and staple it to the underside of 1/2" plywood. So the cushions only have one top side.

I like a fairly firm bed but it seems that the problem here is that I need to balance too firm a bed with too soft a seating cushion. and it's hard to test with 12" squares 2" thick. plus, I don't think that I can go thicker than 4" overall. I'm torn between the 27 ild/2.8 density and the 26/27. Do you think that I'm on the right track? Could i go more firm?

Thanks for any help that you can provide,

Steve
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Old 02-11-2005, 11:58 AM   #14
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Hi Steve, I'll try to help, but don't be mad at the messenger if it isn't what you wanted to hear. I went to the Overstock website to check out the 1.5" Memory Foam Toppers. We've sold about 130 2" toppers from Overstock in our Quartzsite store this year, so I'm familiar with the toppers and with Overstock.com. My search came up empty on the 1.5" toppers which probably means they are sold out, nonetheless, we have ordered products with the Sealy name from Overstock and they were substandard in my opinion. We returned them to Overstock for a refund.

I'm almost sure, the 1.5" toppers were 3# density, and as I have posted above, the 3# is weak and short lived. The product we sold was PN# 954089 and was a 4# density memory foam topper. When ordering from Overstock, you have to read very carefully and be sure to get the correct product number. They have another 2" memory foam topper at the very same price as the #954089 but it is only 3 lb. density. The 4 lb. density will have 2 to 3 times more useful life than the 3 lb.

You didn't tell me your physical size, so I'm going to assume you are about 180 lbs. If you are lighter, use 1 step softer foam, if you are heavier, use 2 steps stiffer foam. So here is my recommendation and it is based on comfort, quality, and durability, but not on price! I would not use 3# density memory foam for anything but pillows. If you are limited to 4" height, I would use one of the following

a. 3" of 5# density 18 ILD memory foam on top, bonded to 1" of 34-40 ILD Reflex (urethane high density) foam. This should sleep well, but be just a bit soft for sitting.

b. 2" of 5# density 18 ILD memory foam on top bonded to 2" of 34-40 ILD Reflex foam. This should still be comfortable for sleeping, just not luxurious, and would be acceptable for sitting.

c. 1" of 5# density 18 ILD memory foam on top bonded to 3" of 25-30 ILD Talalay Latex Foam . This should be expensive, very durable, and comfortable for sitting and sleeping. Perhaps just a bit on the firm side.

In my opinion, the vinyl coated Cordura is an unacceptable choice for covering the cushions. It won't breathe, so when setting or sleeping on it, it will be like sitting or sleeping on a sheet of plastic. It will be hot and wet! Or, cold and clammy, depending on the season. As importantly, it won't allow the foam to breath. It will be like sitting on a vinyl coverd couch. It's good for backpacks and is very durable, but not good for furniture used for sitting and sleeping. You would be much better off going to an upholstry fabric store and having them help you make a choice of a good durable Scotchguarded fabric and, they can help you with the thread ( several pre-wound bobbins should do), piping, and other details of the construction.

Again, don't shoot the messinger. This is just the way I would do it if I was doing it for myself.
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Old 02-11-2005, 12:41 PM   #15
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Did I mention that I already have 2/3rds of the materials purchased? Neither the fabric nor the memory toppers are returnable. I guess I'll order the foam and mock up a cushion. If it's absolutely awful I can try to resell the materials on eBay. Otherwise I'll have to live with my poor choices until I can afford to rebuild the cushions right later. Your suggestions make perfect sense to me...but ignorance was bliss. I thought that I had a pretty good plan. I guess at the very least I will drill large air holes in the plywood support to try to eliminate the cushion balloon effect. I could also find good mattress pads to help the bedding breathe.

Thanks for clueing me in,

Steve
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