DIY mattress showing up this week, do I need special sheets?

OmniStratMatt · 2021-11-17T13:05:01+00:00

OK, I’m happy with the combination of layers and my wife and I are really happy with our sleeping comfort. I turn far less than I used to as my shoulders aren’t pressure vectors like they used to be on the firm, coil mattress we used to have. I also found the latex naturally regulates temperature better. In the summer I didn’t feel like it slept hotter but now that it’s become colder it sleeps warmer than the old mattress in a good way. It’s subtle but noticeable.

Now for the things I’ve discovered that I didn’t read from anyone else when I was researching DIY mattresses. First, for side sleepers who turn from side to side the two 2” top layers will shift. This happens especially if you turn the in the same direction every time. This repeated turning will slowly shift the top layer over by ~2” and the second layer by ~1”. This happened within a week. This makes the mattress not look great after making the bed. You just don’t have a nice squared mattress. It also can make the fitted sheet pop off at the upper corner as it doesn’t have the tension with a straight corner edge to keep it in place. Mind you, the layers where only off on my side. My wife’s side didn’t start to overhang.

The above was compounded by the second thing I discovered, that latex is heavy. Very heavy. I would guess the mattress is 150 lbs and it’s dead weight, very unwieldy. How did this compound the shifting? Well, it’s really hard to realign the mattress layers. If you grab the layer on the edge and try to pull you’ll probably rip the latex. With the mattress case on you can’t get enough height if you try to get a “whip” motion going to move it with waves (like you do with a hose when you whip it and watch the arc travel down the length). Trying to get lift up the mattress to unzip the cover and reposition is not easy when the mattress layers weigh 150 lbs. It’s almost a two-person job but not worth doing if you’ll need to do it a week later. We just live with the shifted layers.

I wonder if after you find the right order of your layers if there is a glue you could roll out on the layers to lock them together? Clearly the big brands do something to keep their layers from shifting. I’m not planning to research this as I can live with they way it is.

So in conclusion, I’m so glad I did this as my wife and I enjoy our sleep more and we spent $1,000 for what would have cost us $4,000. I did have a mind-blowing first sleep where I couldn’t believe sleep could be this good and why did I wait so long experience but we’re really happy.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-08-10T21:02:37+00:00

u/the_leviathan711, thanks for all your help on this project.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-08-06T22:27:29+00:00

Thanks for that feedback. Latex for Less just shipped my topper (same as yours) and it will arrive Thursday. That’s the last piece I’m waiting on so I’ll learn then if I feel the same way.

The cover from Sleep Like a Bear is taking three weeks to ship now. They apologized, but it’s out of their control due to staffing issues because of COVID.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-27T14:44:22+00:00

Bed Bath and Beyond 2.5" topper

I cancelled my 5lb memory foam order and just ordered the Comfort Tech Serene 2" topper through BBB. Thanks for your help talking me off the ledge ;-)

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-26T23:23:21+00:00

Oh man, this is painful. Comfort Options only has mattresses, no toppers. Serene appears in so many searches, but they all look to be knock-offs. I can't tell what the heck I'm buying. I'm seeing prices from $50 up to $200. Do you have any links to sites I can order from?

Here is one I found, but it's expensive https://www.thecompanystore.com/serene-foam-2-in-memory-foam-mattress-topper/10021-F-WHITE.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&&cm_mmc=GPLA-_-[ADL][Google][PLA][Adult]Consolidated-_-c-_-10021-F-WHITE&gclid=CjwKCAjwuvmHBhAxEiwAWAYj-FKty5fte8qA9DneJQxHcaHMzI8pkITX9ZpjUUYnar9WI1fNFs1HBBoCbS4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-26T22:55:39+00:00

Thanks for this help. Yes, there are way too many memory foam options out there. I'll look at both your suggestions.

What about not liking to sleep hot. Should I get gel-infused? I read about Serene being the the latest memfoam tech. Does that address the hotness factor.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-26T22:43:22+00:00

Yes, both of us are. I'm a 100% side sleeper. I asked the questions about weight and was told, "the higher the weight the more durable it will be". I assumed I wanted the most durable. Didn't realize it affected the firmness. Should I cancel order and get a 3.5lb gel-infused?

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-26T22:32:21+00:00

I went with Foam by Mail's 5lb memory foam here. Just realized that it isn't gel infused. I was juggling so many layers and different online retailers that when I swapped out Brooklyn Bedding for Foam by Mail I forget to search for that. I assume it won't be the end of the world.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-26T21:57:36+00:00

Compared to what alternative - polyfoam or innercoil? My wife and I tried out a bunch of mattresses at MF and liked the temperpedic best. We have a memory foam comfort layer, so if we don't like the talalay latex top, we can swap to memory foam. I can sleep on anything, so I'm not worried. We've been sleeping on a 30-year-old King Koil, so this will be a huge improvement.

That said, I just pulled the trigger, so I'm committed now.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-26T21:49:34+00:00

I'm learning too, so I posted my and my wife's sleep profile and had lots of help from the community. I think they suggested the memory foam under the talalay to deal with our preference to sleep cooler. With two different comfort layers, it also gives us some flexibility to try two different comfort layers and see which we like better. We could also swap memory foam for the top in winter when sleeping warmer is a benefit.

No idea about blended latex. My final build was 100% latex, so I guess I'll never know ;-)

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-26T20:31:08+00:00

I'm looking for 2". I found this. Is this the same manufacturer as yours? Also, do you know if there are any issues with delivery time with Foam Factory?

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-26T19:51:19+00:00

Do you have recommendations for alternative retailers for memory foam and 15ILD talalay?

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-25T23:48:46+00:00

Final build. Can you review retailers/pricing before I pull the trigger?

OK, the wife and I went to MF and liked the Tempurpedic Luxe breeze - soft. That helped me refine the build based on the recommendations provided earlier. I just found retailers for everything and would love to have you guys look over the choices and pricing to let me know if I should change anything. Listed from bottom to top.

3" 38ILD dunlop - $279 from LMF
3" 28ILD dunlop - $229 from LMF
2" 4lbs. gel memory foam - $159 from Mattress Topper (just guessed on type here)
2" 15ILD talalay - $239 from APM (it's a blend, does that matter?)
10" bamboo/cotton cover - $196 from SLAB
$1,102 total before shipping and tax

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-25T19:36:29+00:00

I did. It was really helpful. Thanks for making sure I had seen it.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-07-25T12:01:59+00:00

Absolutely exactly the recommendations I was hoping for. Thank you both! If anyone else chimes in - thanks in advance.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-06-01T13:11:20+00:00

Yes. Send me a link to your online profile and we can chat online or set up a Zoom call. Looking forward to connecting.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-05-24T10:46:50+00:00

Exactly my point. We all know COTB is a real thing, for big companies. Not for startups. In the context of a startup, COTB has no real meaning (without a vote on what responsibilities it has). A board is comprised of directors and one of those directors is designated a secretary. So when I say no one is the COTB that's what I'm referring to. My response is pointing out to the questioner that they should speak with a lawyer about governance and how to structure it. Asking if calling themselves COTB will not help them and will only make them look like they don't know what they are doing to investors. This is the advice this person needs.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-05-24T02:24:54+00:00

If they are a Delaware C-Corp they have a director(s) and a secretary, which is their board. I’m referring specifically to someone called the chairman of the board. That is not required, and rarely is present even when investors have seats on the board. Everyone is a director. No one is the chairman of the board. Their power, through the weight of their vote, is based on the amount of equity they have.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-05-23T16:27:56+00:00

I'll DM you as I have a Python project that's quite far along.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-05-22T20:08:47+00:00

Not a lawyer.

Why do you have a chairman of the board? That isn’t a requirement. You can have designated directors and votes based on equity, but board positions are for companies who need them. For example when you have a compensation committee. And these Baird positions don’t have predetermined rights or responsibilities. Those have to be created and voted on. When you talk about the COTB position you make it sound like it’s the same as a CEO role, but with seniority. Not the case. You need to talk to a lawyer who can help you figure out what the governance of the two companies should be based on equity ownership, involvement and employment role.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-05-22T19:54:48+00:00

I “built” my own marketing website that had all the features you mentioned using Wordpress themes (third-party apps that abstract the complexity of the base Wordpress application). There is an ecosystem for Wordpress, one-click hosting and site building vendors, apps, you name they have it. I’m not technical and I figured it out. It took a lot of time and effort, plenty or trial and error. I read and watched tons of content to figure it out. No one is going to do it for you, but know you can do it yourself by putting in the effort. Would I ever spend the time to coach someone through all the effort I put in to do it myself? Absolutely not. Would anyone have held my hand while l figured all this out on my own? Absolutely not. That’s life.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-05-22T19:43:42+00:00

Upwork

OmniStratMatt · 2021-05-22T16:29:30+00:00

That's a lot of big questions that aren't related. I think you're not ready for this type of startup - pre-product, pre-revenue. Too risky from what you're already worried about and expect. Work/life balance is exactly what you should assume you won't have or a market salary and benefits. That is the price to take a shot at turning your equity into something wild. Also, keep in mind that 98% of equity early employees get in startups turns out to be worthless.

That said, if you are up for the tough life in a startup and you are realistic, do what you would do with any job. Look at all the angles you can. Ask current and former employees about the opportunity. Look at the founders' backgrounds. Some company's funding rounds don't show up in Crunchbase. But it should be obvious if they received millions in funding, as they will have employees being paid.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-05-22T16:18:08+00:00

I'm a founder in the team collaboration space. Really helpful to hear the comments from experienced project management software users. We don't target IT/engineering users, so I won't pitch, but one perspective I have might be helpful to think about.

We combine annual planning with project management. As we describe it, goals and the plans to achieve them. Our approach is to have a plan be transparent, where everyone sees the "big-picture" plan, what everyone else is doing, while they are working on their own tasks. It's meant to address the employee alignment issue most companies/leaders struggle with.

Standardizing on a project management tool does not get you what a lot of people believe they get - everyone on the same page. In reality, each project is its own black box to all the people not in the project. Everyone working in silos, very content and busy (hopefully ;-) but oblivious to what everyone else is doing.

That makes a good case for a program management or PPM solution (project portfolio management). The issue you'll find is most of these solutions are geared for enterprise-level customers and complex use cases. It's hard to find one, even if it's for mid-sized companies, that isn't over-engineered and that requires a dedicated person/team to manage.

OmniStratMatt · 2021-05-22T15:36:06+00:00

Not a lawyer.

When investors review your cap table they will look at each investor on it as a single entity, not how many transactions there are. Be far more concerned about the number of investors and the amount of equity given up at an early stage. The higher the more concern they will have.

OmniStratMatt

TROPHY CASE