A comfortable bed

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sky
Posts: 1726
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:20 am

A comfortable bed

Post by sky »

Living the good life on little money means maximizing your comfort in frugal ways.

I put together a relatively low cost bed that I find to be very comfortable and would recommend it to others seeking a low cost sleeping option that is not associated with some type of painful asceticism.

Start with this frame:
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Fol ... 1610471816

Then order an HD36 Regular Foam mattress in a 6" thickness from here:
https://www.thefoamfactory.com/mattress ... ional.html

You will also need at least two sets of twin bed sheet sets:
https://www.amazon.com/Twin-Size-Sheet- ... 1610472082

Frame: $71
Mattress: $86
Two Bedsheet Sets: $45
Total: $202

This does not include a pillow or quilt, but this set of bedding will provide a single person an extremely comfortable sleep at a fairly low cost. One could also build a plywood/2x4 frame, but it would likely be heavier, harder to move and not that much cheaper. I don't think that this frame is strong enough for multiple adult gymnastics, so it is a bed of celibacy. But you could probably move up to a Queen size if that matters to you.

I had an older traditional style mattress that was giving me backaches and was uncomfortable to sleep on. Switching to this type of bed was a large improvement in quality of life (and quality of sleep!).

Hristo Botev
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by Hristo Botev »

FWIW, DW and I just replaced our mattress after 20 years (she brought the mattress into our marriage). As I'm prone to do in other areas of my life, I tend to stick with what works, especially if not sticking with what works means I have to spend a bunch of time becoming knowledgeable about a topic I have no interest in at all; and if a bed kept DW comfortable for almost 20 years (the last month or two got a little uncomfortable), and me comfortable for 15 of that 20 years, well, when it comes time to replace it, no reason not to stick with the same thing. So this time around the only research I did was to confirm that the mattress company DW had bought her mattress from 20 years ago (the Original Mattress Factory) was still basically the same company selling basically the same product.

Our new mattress definitely did NOT cost $86. But, assuming 2 people spread out over another 20 years, I tend to think it's worth it.

white belt
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by white belt »

I got that exact bed frame (queen size) and a Linenspa mattress for a total of $400. I don’t think I’ll ever buy a “name brand” mattress from a store again.

jacob
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by jacob »

sky wrote:
Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:33 pm
One could also build a plywood/2x4 frame, but it would likely be heavier, harder to move and not that much cheaper.
Definitely heaver and harder to move. But also quite a bit cheaper (~$15-20) and robust towards gymnastics. I'd skip the plywood and use 1x2s or 1x3s for slats. Nail them on top.

PS: There's a whole world of 2x4 furniture out there. It's a thing.

Scott 2
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by Scott 2 »

You could save $70 and put the mattress on the floor.

I've spent most of my life with no box spring or bedframe. In a pest-free, climate controlled home, it works well. Very stable. Getting up and down from the floor is good for you.

I do like putting money into the mattress. A large memory foam bed is fantastic. Worth every penny.

ertyu
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by ertyu »

Have been considering exactly this, a 2 by 4 bed - there are multiple tutorials on youtube. i always get discouraged by how many tools seem to be required. It almost seems to me like to complete a project like that one must first furnish a workshop. Multiple clamps, multiple drill bits, multiple plastic tools to guide the bits when you want to join two pieces of wood with screws that go in at an angle, two types of sander, three types of saw, etcetera. Videos who claim to include tutorials "with only basic power tools" also seem to take at least 3 different power tools. It's been discouraging. Also, if I need 4 different types of power tool for a project, it's probably not the type of skill development that will be useful during the zombie apocalypse. RIght now am just expressing frustration. I'm sure I'll arrive somewhere in the end.

One underemphasized option when it comes to ERE sleep is, you're only as comfortable as what you're accustomed to. I am very much leaning todards a slab or plywood and a mattress topper (3-4 cm thickness). In two weeks, I wouldn't know the difference from a bed with a mattress. I also seem to have inherited monstrous amounts of particle board, so trying to think about how to use that as raw material.

jacob
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by jacob »

@Scott2 - We did that for a while (memory foam mattress). It definitely changes the temperature balance when air is allowed to circulate underneath it.

@ertyu - Sounds like a kreg jig + miter saw deal. It's definitely correct that this would be some kind of "investment" that requires more than building a single bed to make the payoff worthwhile.

However, it's one of those things where you can do it with far less tools if you have more "skill" to compensate for the lack of fancy tools; most importantly the skill to saw straight. This can be learned but it's not intuitive. I think the minimum I could build a 2x4 bed with with my skillset would be a handsaw (any kind), a pencil, a piece of string, and a screwdriver. (I'd use drywall screws for a slightly less robust construction.)

Add: Actually, if the goal is just to create some air underneath, you don't need to saw straight, so we can reduce the tool count to saw and hammer. There are many other ways to create air though. Stacking a set of encyclopedias or bricks.

7Wannabe5
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

I don't think I have ever purchased a regular bed and/or mattress for myself. Most expensive alternative was probably the futon my first husband and I bought that my kids destroyed crawling into bed with us during their leaky cloth diaper and breastfeeding years. Least expensive alternative being simply moving into some man's bed. Most creative alternative being the pile of 10 down-filled comforters I bought at the everything is $1 Thrift Store. I wonder what my next bed will be?

Hristo Botev
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by Hristo Botev »

I just posted this on my journal, but I just built a 2x4/2x6/1x6 bed for DD; generally following this plan. https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-b ... 016d2777b3

sky
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by sky »

I am going to check out 2x4 furniture on the tube now. I started out thinking I would make a wood bedframe, but then wimped out and just flashed the plastic to amazon for a metal frame.

white belt
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by white belt »

Of course it’s not the ERE ninja level solution, but I will say 2 benefits of the metal folding design bed is that it can be assembled/disassembled quickly with no tools and it’s extremely light to carry/load. I’ve moved an average of every ~18 months so heavy and complex bed frames get old fast. Also mine is slightly higher than a normal bed frame so I have a ton of storage space underneath, which is definitely needed in my 300 sqft studio apartment.

sky
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by sky »

Scott 2 wrote:
Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:54 pm
You could save $70 and put the mattress on the floor.
I like to keep the bed above spider and dust level, plus I can sit on it comfortably.

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Ego
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by Ego »

In my area it seems craigslist has a perpetual listing of a dozen or so ads for people trying to unload bed frames of every sort for free. Out of state moves are expensive and beds are big and heavy to move. I bet there are some amazing beds for free on the Silicon Valley CL about now.

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Alphaville
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by Alphaville »

sky wrote:
Tue Jan 12, 2021 7:58 pm
I like to keep the bed above spider and dust level, plus I can sit on it comfortably.
same. we don't have spiders but it feels filthy after a while. we had our bed on the floor for a while while getting our bearings in the apartment but after the plague hit we hurried up and bought furniture so we could enjoy home 24/7.

in an ideal ere world i would have built from scratch, but pandemic is pandemic and not ideal, so we spent the dough on a nice modern platform we expect should last 50 or more years.

enigmaT120
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by enigmaT120 »

I see free mattresses by the sides of the road pretty often around here. Sometimes I really hate people.

ertyu
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by ertyu »

sky wrote:
Tue Jan 12, 2021 7:03 pm
I am going to check out 2x4 furniture on the tube now. I started out thinking I would make a wood bedframe, but then wimped out and just flashed the plastic to amazon for a metal frame.
a metal frame is practically immortal so this isn't necessarily a bad solution especially if you're established in your place of residence and don't expect to move much

Married2aSwabian
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by Married2aSwabian »

@Jacob, agreed - we have two mattresses that are used for when we have company.
We don’t have the space for them to be permanently set up on the 360 days a year that we DON’T have company.
I made some European style slat frames (probably IKEA offers these things) out of 2x2s, 1x3s and 1x2s.
We have a dozen cinder blocks that are used for other purposes - when the guest beds are needed, I set up six cinder blocks to support each frame and put the mattress on top. It’s rock solid and the only significant cost is the mattress.
A couple of purchased items we won’t skimp on are good mattresses and good shoes!
Definitely get your money’s worth when the last years longer than the cheap stuff. :)

Scott 2
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by Scott 2 »

We gave away a nicer, lightly used king size mattress earlier this year. I was surprised how many people were eager for it. The luxury of being able to choose, I suppose.

I am surprised to hear dirt/spiders as a reason for keeping the bed off the floor. My house keeping is suspect at best, but it's not like the bed was any dirtier a foot lower to the ground.

I like how a floor mattress opens the room.

Lucky C
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by Lucky C »

I recommend a 100% natural latex mattress to reduce the heat trapping quality of memory foam. I got mine at SleepOnLatex.com when I believe it was $600 for a queen size, now twin size is $600. Highly recommended if comfort is your goal! Pure latex mattresses last a lifetime so an extra $500 or so over a cheaper option may still put you ahead in the long run depending on how long the cheap one lasts. Besides, $600 amortized over 55 years of use is only 3 cents a night!

sky
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Re: A comfortable bed

Post by sky »

How are latex mattresses better?

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