The bed base is a basic complement for your mattress, since apart from its primary function of supporting the mattress, it maximizes the comfort of your resting place, keeping your back in the ideal position thus taking care of it while you sleep.
There are different types of bed bases and below we will briefly explain their characteristics so that you can choose your new bed base independently and without any problem or complication.
WHICH BED BASE TO CHOOSE BASED ON ITS FRAME?
The frame is the structure that supports the bed base, the materials of one bed base to another may vary but the most common are wood and metal.
- Regarding bed bases with wooden frames there are three types: beech, MDF, and birch. Beech laminated wood ones are of better quality and more durable than birch or medium-density fiberboard, but the latter two are more economical than beech.
- Regarding bed bases with metal frames there are two types of these bed bases: aluminum and iron. These are much cheaper than wooden ones and offer the same features.
With this type of bed bases you have to pay attention to the diameter and gauge of the tube. Considering that the thicker and larger the diameter, the greater the product's resistance, the most suitable bed base is the one with a 30*40 gauge tube frame with 1.5 mm thickness. They are more expensive than the 30*30 gauge and 0.9 mm diameter ones but are much more resistant and durable. Besides these characteristics, you also have to be alert to the reinforcements the frame has.
WHICH BED BASE TO CHOOSE BASED ON THE SLATS?
The slats are responsible for supporting the mattress and offering it freedom so that it adapts to the weight and shape of each person. The slats can be made of two materials: wood and metal.
The difference between these two materials is their flexibility since wooden slats are more elastic and durable than metal ones, and consequently have a higher price.
Just as beech frames are better than others, beech slats are much better and of superior quality than poplar ones since just by saying that a 6 cm wide beech slat is much better than a 15 cm poplar slat, you can imagine the quality and resistance of beech wood.
Considering the type of slat, we highlight that narrow slat bed bases, also called multilaminate, are the most suitable for latex or foam mattresses.
WHICH BED BASE TO CHOOSE BASED ON THE JOINTS?
The joints serve to connect the slats to the frame and depending on the type of mattress we have or want to buy, the type of joint changes.
- For spring or rigid mattresses, the best are plastic ones as they offer greater firmness.
- For latex or viscoelastic mattresses, the most suitable are rubber or SBS rubber joints, as they give flexibility to the slats and allow greater adaptation of the mattress to the person resting.
- For high-end mattresses, we have Hytrel joints, an ideal mix of the best of plastic and rubber offering durability and flexibility at the same time.
WHAT ADVICE SHOULD WE KEEP IN MIND WHEN BUYING A BED BASE?
- The best is to buy your mattress and bed base together since not all mattresses adapt to all bed bases.
- The best for viscoelastic and latex mattresses are bed bases as they allow the mattress to air and ventilate while upholstered bases suffocate it.
- Depending on the width and number of slats of the bed base, its firmness will vary since the greater the number of slats, the firmer it is.
- The best wooden slats are beech and besides durability, they provide greater flexibility, thus avoiding easy breakage.
- Bed bases with metal frames are cheaper and easier to transport as they weigh less than wooden ones. But keep in mind they are less flexible and have a shorter lifespan than wooden ones.
- The attachment of the slats to the bed base frame is a key point in the services it can offer you since isolating some slats from the bed base with the help of tensioners can achieve different comfort zones for the body.
HOW TO CHOOSE AN UPHOLSTERED BASE?
Every time we buy a mattress, we focus on the mattress and how to choose it but we do not pay attention to the support of that mattress since the main thing to enjoy the features the mattress offers is to have a good base otherwise we will not make the most of what this mattress offers us. Therefore, it is recommended that every 10 years when we change the mattress, we also change the support since they also suffer deformations due to use over time and besides reducing the mattress properties, it will also reduce its durability.
An easy and economical solution that is a good alternative to the bed base are the bases, these are the 3 fundamental properties to consider in a base when choosing a new one:
- Top: we must always choose a firm and perfectly breathable top upholstered with materials that ensure correct mattress breathing.
- Legs: must ensure the correct stability and robustness of the base fitting perfectly to the base, we recommend that for large or family-sized bases, these come with 6-8 legs.-Steel bars: they are the reinforcement of the structure and the more we have, the better reinforced and durable it will be.
- Aesthetics: we have two options to choose from which are fabric and faux leather, we recommend that if you opt for the faux leather finish we must ensure it is a perimeter upholstery and that the center of the base is made of a material that improves breathability.
1- Slatted bed base or upholstered base?
To choose between one or the other, we have to consider the ventilation and humidity level of our room and comfort.
If your room has no humidity issues, you can choose between one or the other only depending on comfort, while if your room has ventilation or humidity problems, we must choose one or the other leaving comfort aside.
Suppose we have conditions where there is no humidity and ventilation is total, then we will only be guided by comfort when choosing:
- if we have a spring mattress we can use either a upholstered base or a wide slat bed base thus guaranteeing full support of the spring and not reducing the mattress's useful life.
- if we have a pocket spring mattress we will also place it either on a upholstered base or a wide slat bed base since its firmness requires a good base to avoid being too soft.
- if we have a HR or viscoelastic mattress it will depend only on the HR with soft or hard finish, in the first case if we put a narrow slat bed base it enhances softness and in the second case if we put a firm base it enhances firmness.
- if we have a latex mattress needing great breathability, we will put a slatted bed base whether narrow or longitudinal
2- Can we choose any type of cheap upholstered base for our mattress?
When buying a cheap base we must keep in mind that it is a fundamental piece where we will spend many hours resting and where our mattress will rest, so it must support both weights besides the nightly movements. For this reason, a very cheap base may suffer different deformations over time and even become unusable. Therefore, it is important to consider the warranty and that the base has reinforcements.
The problem here is with latex mattresses that due to their high ventilation needs require bases with a high level of breathability something that only appears in high-end upholstered bases and some mid-range but usually not in the cheapest ones.
On the other hand, if we have a viscoelastic mattress as they tend to give some people a certain sensation of heat, we recommend using bases or bed bases that have good ventilation.
3- What material to choose for our base?
The main materials in which our bases and bed bases are made, are iron or wood.
The nobler and more resistant wood adds more elegance and enhances warmth in our room, iron is usually used in cheaper or lower quality bases and it does not retain warmth as it always remains cold and its useful life is shorter than wood ones. We personally recommend choosing that your base, whether bed base or upholstered base, is made of wood, you will appreciate it over time.
OUR RECOMMENDATION
