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Sprung slats and the effect on feel?

Chris asked
12th July 2014

My partner and I have had exactly the same problem – we originally bought a Silentnight bed from Bensons, with a sprung slat bedstead. I found the bed very uncomfortable – to the point where we exchanged it for the Decadence mattress through their ’40 night comfort’ guarantee. We had the same problem with the Decadence mattress – it felt much too firm, certainly a lot firmer than the mattress in the shop. Both mattresses felt like there was too much tension in them – there was a real feeling of something forcing upwards. At first, we were thinking we would have to buy another mattress and start all over again, then realised the problem could be the sprung slats. In Bensons, we were led to believe that the sprung slats would make the mattress feel very slightly softer – not harder, so I feel we weren’t well advised. We had a 3 inch thick piece of memory foam and put that over the slats, then put the mattress on top. That seemed to ‘dampen’ the ‘tension’ but didn’t solve the problem. Then we turned round the slats so that they were concave, rather than convex, put the foam on top, then the mattress on top of that. The result is a very comfortable bed!

However, I am now concerned that the mattress won’t get the proper long-tern support with the slats turned round the wrong way and we’re considering removing them and boarding the bed. What do you think?

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1 Answer
Lee Staff
answered 10 years ago

Hi Chris,

 

Thank you for your enquiry on our website.

As a general rule, a sprung base (even slatted) will soften down the feel of your mattress.  Without knowing your weights I can’t advise on the mattress you have bought but from what you’ve said its simply too firm a mattress for you, either in the spring tension or the upholstery layers or both.

 

MDF sheets on Slatted base

 

I wouldn’t advise long term using the sprung slats upside down as I do believe this will damage the mattress or at least reduce the longevity over time.  It may cause a sag in the centre of each slat where it curves.  My guidance would be to get plain slats and board over them with MDF or Plywood, removing the issue with the sprung slats completely.  This is the most consistent way to then adjust your mattress slightly if too firm.  Have you considered adding a mattress topper to soften the top layer as well?

 

Kind Regards

Michaela

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