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Adjustable split-King experiences/recommendations

6 years ago

DH and I are buying a new bed. I am considering an adjustable split king. I have an upholstered headboard that I like. All I am buying is a base and mattresses. What is your experience? Would you buy one again? Anything I need to look for or look out for while shopping?

Comments (20)

  • 6 years ago

    We bought an adjustable bed last fall. We were just going to buy a mattress (rolls eyes) and of course the salesman showed us the adjustable bases. LOL We really weren't interested in a split. We like the head of the bed raised a bit - we never adjust the foot of the bed or use the massage feature. The new mattresses seem so much thicker! I am short and we had to adjust the base down to the lowest setting or I felt like I was "climbing" into the bed. I'm not sure how it works, but a headboard/footboard can be attached to the base. We have an iron bed I would not want to have changed. It's nice if you want to watch tv in bed or read.

    bbstx thanked Tina Marie
  • 6 years ago

    We had one for years and loved it, the reason being you don't really feel the motions of a restless sleeper as each bed is a twin size.

    bbstx thanked Yayagal
  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Do you remember the brand you had? From reading reviews, apparently motor noise can be an issue when your mate makes an adjustment in the middle of the night.

    I can see that a “stop” at the foot of the bed is necessary, but I’ve seen a couple of bases with “stops“ on the sides (not rails, just a small barrier to prevent the mattress from sliding off the side). Are the side “stops” necessary? I worry about DH getting his feet tangled in them. Picture:



    DH has Parkinson’s. He has almost no problems getting in and out of bed now, but a friend whose husband had Parkinson’s tells me we will need an electric bed at some point. Since I’m buying a new mattress and base anyway, I thought I’d go ahead and get the adjustable. I know the mattress I want and it comes in an XL Twin, so all I’m looking for is a base.


    ETA: It does NOT come in a Twin XL without buying the whole shebang.

  • 6 years ago

    Ours only has an end stop. I don't see a need for side stops, but again, ours is not split. The mattress did slip a bit and I bought one of those grip pads (kind of like you would use with a rug) and that did the trick.

    bbstx thanked Tina Marie
  • 6 years ago

    Thanks, Tina. The gripper pad sounds like a much better solution than the side stop. I spend a lot of time looking for and eliminating falling/tripping hazards.

  • 6 years ago

    We needed a new mattress a little over a year ago and bought a split king. We love it. Yes, it slides apart a bit but we just push it back together when we make the bed and we don't really notice it otherwise. Ours doesn't have side stops or a massage feature. The motor is pretty quiet.

    It would be a good idea to put a gripper pad underneath so I'm going to look into that. DH did put heavy duty zip ties on the frames to ensure those didn't move anywhere.

    bbstx thanked OutsidePlaying
  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago


    I just posted a thread recently about the split king I bought through Costco. It has the stops pictured above and I cannot imagine anyone getting tangled in them. When the mattress is on they are not even noticeable and fit snugly against it. The bed is very quiet; I don't think the noise would be disturbing at all. I love Costco return policy, if you should regret your purchase at all.

    Here's a link to my thread about it.

    https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5997086/do-you-have-a-king-size-adjustable-bed#n=27

    eta: to show the mattress stops when the mattress is installed and how snugly they fit.


    bbstx thanked olychick
  • 5 years ago

    We've had an adjustable bed for about 2 years. We have carpet and a rug under it and it looks like the weight of the bed is causing the legs to damage the rug. Also, I had a nice and costly dust ruffle that wouldn't stay put so I had to quit using it. Now the bedspread which was also costly doesn't go all the way to the floor and doesn't look very good. I also find the mattress to be too warm even though we were sold the "cool" top version. Ugh. Maybe there is something to put under the legs to prevent it from digging into the rug but I'm not sure what. I'll try posting a question about that.

    bbstx thanked sunfeather
  • 5 years ago

    @sunfeather depending on the shape and diameter of the legs on your bed, I think you can get something to put under them that will distribute the weight . Google “furniture leg coasters.” Amazn sells them


    As to the bedskirt, there are several ways to secure it in place. For an adjustable bed, the first thing I would do is cut out the center of the fabric that goes between the mattress and the platform - in the photo below, the portion that is marked in red. You can finish the raw edges that are left with FrayCheck. Again, on Amaz*n, search for “bed skirt pins.” The decorator who is advising me prefers the pins that are small rectangles of white plastic with a pin at each end. I prefer a curved quilting pin. There are also pins that look like corkscrews that work. (See examples of pins in photo below) In the alternative, you can use hot glue to glue the bedskirt in place on the frame. Attach the skirt to the frame/platform with pins or glue, making sure you keep the bottom edge level and the correct distance from the floor.


    Yes, this will destroy the resale value of your bedskirt, but the resale value of a bedskirt is negligible anyway. Gluing will damage the resale value of your bed frame, which is also probably negligible.


    I have no cure for your “hot” problem.





  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    @sunfeather i had a bed skirt custom made for our adjustable bed. It Velcro’s to the edge of the top of the base. Hard to explain but there is a flat band about an inch wide all around my “skirt”. It folds over and lays flat to the top of the base. It is very easy to remove to have cleaned.

    bbstx thanked Tina Marie
  • 5 years ago

    I think the problem with the legs and the rug are that the rug is over carpet and not on a firm, hard surface. The legs will sink into a rug on top of carpet much more than it would in a rug on the floor. Coasters will help, but still they will sink through two layers of rug/carper more than if you removed the rug and had it sitting just on carpet.

    Is your bed memory foam? It's known to be hot; you could try getting a natural latex topper and see if it helps.

    bbstx thanked olychick
  • 5 years ago

    @sunfeather I'm back! I remembered this bedskirt from a blog I read. Our adjustable base has a warranty, so I'm not sure I'd want to glue to it. Hot glue does come up pretty easy, not sure if it would leave marks. Plus, you'll want to clean it from time to time. Just thought you might like to see how it's done. You could easily pin instead of glue.bedskirt

    bbstx thanked Tina Marie
  • 5 years ago

    I’m interested and know nothing!! Isn’t a special mattress necessary with the adjustable equipment? Can any mattress withstand the bending involved?

    bbstx thanked martinca_gw sunset zone 24
  • 5 years ago

    My mattresses are gel foam Twin XL. Instead of being 14” thick like my old king mattress, they are 12” thick. I think the difference in thickness is to accommodate the movement.

  • 5 years ago

    @martinca_gw sunset zone 24 we bought a regular mattress. In fact we were mattress shopping and tried out the adjustable base and decided to purchase that also. Our mattress is thick (you may remember my post on finding deep pocket sheets) but I'm not sure what the depth is. We rotate it, but it is one you do not flip. It moves fine and as far as I can tell, no damage in "bending" the mattress. We only had it a little over a year. This was all at the advice of the salesperson though and both mattress and base have a warranty. I guess time will tell!

    bbstx thanked Tina Marie
  • 5 years ago

    BBSTX, thanks. I have a dust ruffle that is in three parts and doesn't go completely under the bed. So, it is pretty much what you have described without cutting. I had it just stuffed between the base and the mattress, so maybe I can try pinning it. I will need a couple of really strong people to move the beast of a mattress. Maybe if we get the carpet replaced, I can do it then. OLYCHICK, you are right. I wish I had thought about the damage to the rug before.

    bbstx thanked sunfeather
  • 5 years ago

    Sunfeather, I started looking at my crude drawing and realized it wouldn’t work. The portion that goes across the foot of the bed has to be split, too.

  • 5 years ago

    @bbstx it will depend if @sunfeather has a split mattress or not. Our mattress is not split, hence no need for an opening at the foot end of the bedskirt.

    bbstx thanked Tina Marie
  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Not split.

    bbstx thanked sunfeather