Hi John and Ryan I have just stumbled across your web site and after many hours of soul searching and visits to numerous bed shops, I’m so glad I did. A few years ago my wife and I purchased a new bed frame and mattress. The bed frame is a lovely piece of furniture and to be honest I would be loathed to replace it. From day one my wife has always found the bed far too firm, I take the blame for that as at the time of purchase I insisted on a firm mattress as I suffer from occasional back problems and at the time of buying was only able to sleep on my back. The frame has spring slats (2 sets as it is a king size) and the mattress is a “Sealy Posturepedic Ultra Luxe Ortho luxury Extra Firm”. From the start I have used a board under my half as I felt this gave me more support and did not allow my back to flex too much. Recently I have found myself occasionally reverting to sleeping on side only to find I have a sore shoulder when I awake. I am starting to question myself as to whether my wife has been correct all the time and this type of mattress is just too firm. My wife is approximately 11 stone and 5ft 2in, I am approx. 12 stone and 6ft, I definitely would not go for a memory foam or latex mattress due to the heat issues, however I’m in a quandary as to what type of mattress to go for, trying a mattress in a shop has not been very successful for me in the past. I like the idea of a solid base and when I seen your MDF solution it made sense and I was wondering if it would be a good idea to cover all the slats, leaving a complete flat surface albeit still using the spring effect of the slats and invest in another type of mattress. I would appreciate any suggestions about: - 1. Covering all the slats with MDF or Plywood. 2. What type of mattress would you suggest to give a bit more comfort however still retaining a good level of support?

We recently stayed in a hotel and found the bed extremely comfortable together with a good level of support for my back. On checking the label on the mattress , all it had on it was “Mattison Contract beds, The lion sleeps tonight”, I don’t know if this will give you an idea of the type of mattress that would be suitable, however any or all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Alan >