Upholstery foam

[Graham_Wright]

Advertised are;
Soft
Medium soft
Medium
Medium hard
Hard.

Without buying samples of all, which should I go for bearing in mind I will have 1" of memory foam on top?
__________________

 

[BeBe]

Sourcing quality polyurethane foam

Advertised are;
Soft
Medium soft
Medium
Medium hard
Hard.

Without buying samples of all, which should I go for bearing in mind I will have 1" of memory foam on top?
__________________

I think I can help you. At one point in my career I was VP Merchandising and Product Development for a $500 million furniture manufacturer.

The most important quality factor in foam, whether it is regular form or memory foam, is density. I can tell you what you need to know in terms of pounds/feet/inches, you will have to do the conversions.

Why density? Density is the measurement of how much material is in the foam versus air. The less material, to faster it will bottom out are feel too soft, or feel as though you are not being supported. The more material (higher density) the longer it will last and continue to feel the same as the day you bought it.

Memory foam is technically called "visco-elastic" polyurethane foam. If you want good quality visco-elastic foam, your 1" foam pad should weigh a minimum of 4 pounds per cubic foot. Weigh your 1" pad and compute the cubic feet by multiplying LxWxH. If it is 4 pounds per cubic foot, or more, then continue with your project. If it is less, forget about it and get a quality piece of visco-elastic, because you are wasting your time and money.

Next, your regular polyurethane foam: Same thing...density is king. Here you want a minimum of 2.5 pounds/cubic foot. If you can get HR foam (High Resilience Foam) at 3.0 pounds/cubic foot, it will last twice as long. The softness or hardness is actually the "compression." Ask the vendor for the compression specs which may also be referred to as the indentation load deflection or ILD. The higher the compression measurement, the more firm the foam will be. For seat cushions, look for a 24 to 30 rating for average firmness or 30 to 36 for more firmness.

Hope this helps you.

Bill

 

[ripvan1]

blimey - but does op need hard or soft

 

[BeBe]

foam sourcing

blimey - but does op need hard or soft

Only he knows the answer, but at least now he has the tools to be a smart buyer...what about you?

Bill

 

[ripvan1]

blimey again - you 'avin a bad day bill ?

 

[BeBe]

blimey again - you 'avin a bad day bill ?

It has been pretty good so far and you just put a big smile on my face.

Bill

 

[ripvan1]

may it always be thus with fair winds on your travels

 

[Graham_Wright]

I think I can help you. At one point in my career I was VP Merchandising and Product Development for a $500 million furniture manufacturer.

The most important quality factor in foam, whether it is regular form or memory foam, is density. I can tell you what you need to know in terms of pounds/feet/inches, you will have to do the conversions.

Why density? Density is the measurement of how much material is in the foam versus air. The less material, to faster it will bottom out are feel too soft, or feel as though you are not being supported. The more material (higher density) the longer it will last and continue to feel the same as the day you bought it.

Memory foam is technically called "visco-elastic" polyurethane foam. If you want good quality visco-elastic foam, your 1" foam pad should weigh a minimum of 4 pounds per cubic foot. Weigh your 1" pad and compute the cubic feet by multiplying LxWxH. If it is 4 pounds per cubic foot, or more, then continue with your project. If it is less, forget about it and get a quality piece of visco-elastic, because you are wasting your time and money.

Next, your regular polyurethane foam: Same thing...density is king. Here you want a minimum of 2.5 pounds/cubic foot. If you can get HR foam (High Resilience Foam) at 3.0 pounds/cubic foot, it will last twice as long. The softness or hardness is actually the "compression." Ask the vendor for the compression specs which may also be referred to as the indentation load deflection or ILD. The higher the compression measurement, the more firm the foam will be. For seat cushions, look for a 24 to 30 rating for average firmness or 30 to 36 for more firmness.

Hope this helps you.

Bill

Cor! ………and I thought this would be simple.

www.pfa.org/intouch/new_pdf/hr_IntouchV1.2.pdf

I found this link hoping for an easier answer;- it's not!

I guess I have to buy the samples.

 

[chinita]

We have just completely re-upholstered. We bought the blue grade - which I think is 'hard'.

This is for both saloon cushions and berths. We are very pleased with it - but then we like a firm mattress. I would imagine a memory foam topper would be great.

 

[VicS]

Cor! ………and I thought this would be simple.

www.pfa.org/intouch/new_pdf/hr_IntouchV1.2.pdf

I found this link hoping for an easier answer;- it's not!

I guess I have to buy the samples.

There is some practical advice on the "Foam for Comfort" website at http://www.foamforcomfort.co.uk/ffc/foam-cut-to-size/


Definitely neither of the soft grades if they are bunk cushions.
Nor the hard

Personally I found what I assume was "medium" to be too soft for bunk cushions and lead to an aching back.

I replaced the strategic ones with a medium hard grade ( from FFC), solving the "back problem"

Softer grades are better for back rests if you have them.

The memory foam topper is a good idea I would think although not something I have tried ...

I am not sure the sampes will help unless you get full size samples and sleep on them for a few nights

 

[single]

Have a scroll through this or phone them....very helpful.
http://www.cbscc.co.uk/

 

[nimbusgb]

Memory foam on top of seating cushions? Odd!

 

[BeBe]

Memory foam

Memory foam on top of seating cushions? Odd!

Not odd at all. It is very comfortable and will be found at the high-end of US produced upholstery products. After all, it was invented to sit on.

Bill

 

[nigelmercier]

Memory foam on top of seating cushions? Odd!

It is quite comfortable, but does leave arse shaped depressions for a while.

 

[BeBe]

It is quite comfortable, but does leave arse shaped depressions for a while.

High end upholstery cushions with visco elastic foam are generally made in 3 layers (2 layers on top of a center piece...the 2 layers will be on the top and on the bottom...some people call this 5 layers).

The center layer is HR polyurethane foam generally about 5" thick. A 1" layer of visco elastic foam is glued to the top, then wrapped around the front side of the center layer which causes a rounding effect, then glued to the bottom. Then a layer of 1" fiber is wrapped in the same manner as the visco elastic. Each layer is bonded to one another. The cushion boxing is sewn to 5" giving the cushion a wonderful crown.

That is how it is done, and no, there is no visible indention after sitting...the fiber takes care of that until the viso elastic resumes its shape.

If you want the very best in upholstery cushions with outstanding comfort and long life as well as great appearance follow the above method.

BTW, the most common mistake is sewing the box band to wide. In my example the overall height is 1"+1"+5"+1"+1"=9", but sewing the box-band to 5" gives the crown.

Bill

 

[puddock]

Some very useful info. Thanks guys.