I'm curious. What do you all think of these memory-foam mattresses? (Namely the Tempurpedic.) Personally, I think they are THE MOST comfortable beds on the planet. If you've never tried one, do yourself a favor and go to your local mattress store and try some out (but don't you dare buy one until you read this post!) When you first lie on a Tempurpedic, you'll notice it feels different...because there's not one steel coil to be found. And because they are "steel-springless", they have a uniquely smooth, satiny texture; the lack of an innerspring means there are none of those uncomfortable pressure-points traditionally caused by steel-coils poking against your flesh.

Tempurpedic mattresses get their support from a core of firm polyurethane-foam, an intrinsically comfortable material. Innerspring mattresses get their support from cold, hard steel...an intrinsically uncomfortable material.


So now that you know what I LOVE about Tempurpedic mattresses, let me tell you what I HATE about them...they are prohibitively expensive, on the order of (for King Size) $2000 to $7000! Talk about sticker-shock!!!


But, luckily for anyone who doesn't have five-grand lying around in petty cash, there's a dirty-little-secret they DON'T want you to know! You can easily "build" your own premium, customized, "Tempurpedic" mattress for less than 1/4 the cost of the brand name Tempurpedics!!!

I'm not talking about saving money by purchasing one of those cheaply-made, slip-shod, piece-of-crap, Chinese-Import, inferior, Tempurpedic-Wannabes that have FLOODED the internet...no, no, no!!! I mean to say that ALL the necessary, high-quality components that go into making a Tempurpedic Brand Mattress, are readily available to the public through legitimate, highly reputable wholesale distributors!

Wanna know more? Say "aye!"

Pete

Ok - Aye!

I have also wondered about those kind of mattresses that have air inside and you can control how hard or soft you want your side of the bed by changing the number on the control.

I've never tried a tempurpedic mattress. So they're really comfortable, huh? I once had a neck/shoulder ache for about two years and finally realized it was because of my uncomfortable mattress. When I got a new mattress, the pain stopped. But a good pillow is important too.

Oh yeah! TempurPedics are the best, like sleeping on pure wonderful. Pillows are so under-appreciated; there's few things I enjoy more than a pillow that's 'just right'! Tempurpedic makes $200 memory-foam pillows, BTW. Ironically, I don't find them comfortable at all! (Perhaps because pillows never had springs to begin with?):lol:

The adjustable air mattresses, the 'sleep number' beds are very nice, but are also a little pricey; "Sleep Number" even makes a memory-foam/air-chamber hybrid that takes the best of both worlds. Innerspring mattresses should become a thing of the past, now that we have the technology.


My physical therapist said I was "going to have to" buy a Tempurpedic to take the pressure of my injured shoulder's brachial nerve. I'm a side-sleeper and my innerspring mattress was creating a pressure in the rotator-cuff. This is all well and good but the $2,700 price wasn't covered by my medical insurance. So after much thought, I posited: "can I make a reasonable facsimile?" As it turned out, the answer was a resounding OH, YEAH!!! My mock Tempurpedic is a $600 King sized slice of heaven.

q.....

Please order me the Tempurpedic piano bench in black.

Is there such a thing? A memory foam piano bench?

Wow, Pete! Very informative.

("Tempurpedic mattress" will henceforth be abbreviated "TPM".)

The most basic TPM consists of two, simple layers: a lower, "support layer" of firm polyurethane foam and an upper "comfort layer" of memory foam. On 90% of their mattress models, the only differences between Tempurpedic's most basic bed and the top of their product line are the quantities, qualities and juxtapositions of these two basic "support" and "comfort" layers. But making high-end Tempurpedics from separate components can get a little complicated, so let's start by making our own version of "The Original Bed" by Tempurpedic. See this link for a useful glossary and an illustration of this two-layered construction: http://www.tempurpedic.com/sleep_system ... /features/


1 - The Support Layer: This is the backbone of your mattress; without it, your bed would sag like a deflated balloon. It consists of high-density polyurethane foam (HDPF), similar to what's in your sofa cushions only a LOT firmer and much denser (high-density = durability.) You want to use HDPF with a density between 2.4lb/ft3 and 2.8lb/ft3 and a "compression" (a firmness rating) between 35lbs and 50lbs. I like a decidedly firm core to my mattress, so I chose the firmer foam, with a "compression" (firmness rating) of 50lbs.

How thick should this supportive base layer be?

THE REQUISITE THICKNESS OF THE BASE LAYER DEPENDS ON THE WEIGHT OF THE SLEEPER.

One of the neat things about assembling your own mattress is that you can customize according to YOUR needs (often saving money). If you're making a child's bed, you don't need a 5" thick base. Likewise, if you are a heavyweight, you're gonna need a much thicker 6" or even an 8" support layer, to keep from "bottoming out" the mattress. I suggest the following thicknesses for the mattress base.

under 70lbs ------- 3"
70lbs - 100lbs ---- 4"
100lbs - 150lbs --- 5"
150lbs - 300lbs --- 6"
over 300lbs --------8"

Here's what I used as my 6" base layer: http://www.foamdistributing.com/products/lux-hqM.html
This stuff is so firm and resilient, I was able to do jumping jacks on it without bumping into the floor!

If you prefer a less firm mattress core use this: http://www.foamdistributing.com/products/hd36-hqM.html

Notice; the density of each of these HDPF products is the same (2.8lb/ft3) but the compression (firmness) is 50lbs and 35lbs respectively. Density refers to the weight of foam given a certain volume; the higher the density, the longer the foam will last; high-density foam like this should last 10-15 years as a mattress core. Compression refers to the firmness of foam.

PS: This is a good company with a good reputation. They offer free shipping to the 48 states and Canada. For those of you in the rest of the world, I don't have any reliable links yet. If you know of any, please share.

2 - The "Comfort" Layer, Memory Foam

Well, now you've got a thick, stable, supportive base-layer of high-density polyurethane foam lying on your bedroom floor. (Not so sure, but I think you might want a little cushioning on that thing.) Memory-Foam to the rescue! For our purposes we'll use 3" of Sensus brand 5lb/ft3 density foam, it's great stuff, from here: http://www.foamsource.com/shop/product/9 . Just take the memory foam layer and stack it on top of the base. Voila! You just made the Tempurpedic Original bed!

Or add an extra layer of memory foam like I did from this site. http://www.healthyfoundations.com/toppers.html


NEXT TIME, I'LL DISSECT AND REBUILD THE TEMPURPEDIC CLASSIC BED!

Questions? I have answers.

Pete

Here's some links you find useful. http://www.gmilburn.ca/memoryfoam/ http://thenobot.org/stories/?i=112

Here's what I did:

#1 Base layer - 15cm of this 2.5lb/ft3 base foam: $240
http://www.foamdistributing.com/products/lux-hqM.html

#2 Firmer memory layer - 5cm of Sensus 5lb/ft3 high-density memory foam : $259
http://www.foamsource.com/shop/product/9

#3 Top cushioning layer - 5cm of Aerus 4lb/ft3 memory foam: $220
http://www.healthyfoundations.com/toppers.html

For my KING sized "Tempurpedic" bed, $719 with free delivery! That's 67% less!

Pete

Pete - when I'm ready for a new mattress, I know where I'll go. It won't be to a bed store, but to Piano Society where one can learn so much about mattresses!

p.s. If you feel like making another one, can it be mine? You can sleep on it.

This has to be the most random thread on a piano forum since comme le vent.

I never tried tempur but have upgraded to a "high end" ikea and all my lower back pains went away.

word.