Glossary

Bed Base/Frame

Refers to the type of platform the frame the bed will be resting on. All Queen and King size sets require a frame that is either metal with a center support bar and vertical center leg or on a headboard/footboard system, a minimum of 5 slats (1” x 6”) with a vertical center support. Waterbed platforms may be used, but a layer of protective material must be used between the bed and the platform to ensure that damage is not caused by splintering wood.

Border Wire

A heavy wire attached to the outermost coils, providing shape and form for the mattress and/or foundation. The border wire is that forms the perimeter of a mattress and/or box spring.

California King

Sometimes referred to as a Cal-King or Western King. A bed that measures 72 inches wide and 84 inches long.

Coil Count

This refers to the number of innerspring coils in a mattress. A high coil count does not necessarily indicate better quality. Rather, it is the design of a coil, the gauge of wire used and the way the coil is engineered that determines the comfort, support and durability that it will provide. The number given will usually be in reference to a double (full) size bed.

Comfort Options

Firm

Firm mattresses are, as the name indicates, the firmest style of mattress. They provide more resistances against pressure from the sleep surfaces.

Plush

With soothing comfort layers, like latex and memory, a softer sleep surface is created.

Pillow Top

Especially soft, enveloping surfaces are created by multiple layers of foam in the top upholstery.

Plush Pillow Top

This mattress has soothing foams in its upholstery layers, making it quite possibly the softest and most enveloping bed available, .

Cushioning

In an innerspring mattress, the materials such as cotton, felt, polyurethane foam, etc. that lie below the tickings and above an insulator pad.

Double Bed

Sometimes referred to as a full-size bed. Refers to a bed that is 54 inches wide and 75 inches long.

Double Extra Long

A bed that measures 54 inches wide and 80 inches long.

Foundation

Formerly called box springs, the term now used industry-wide.

Gauge

Refers to the thickness of the wire used in a mattress and/or foundation coils. A lower gauge denotes a heavier/thicker wire.

Helicals

Adjacent rows of coil springs are usually held together by these wire spirals.

Innerspring Unit

The inside of an innerspring mattress, or the spring and wire unit made up primarily of coils, helicals and border wires.

Insulator Pad

Fiber padding separating the cushioning from mattress coils.

King

A bed that measuring 80 inches long and 76 inches wide.

Latex

Premium latex foam mattresses are often constructed from this natural foam product.

Modules

One type of coil/spring used in foundations to provide support to the bed’s occupant(s) and the mattress.

No-Turn / No-Flip Mattress

Matresses that have been designed to provide continuous support without the need to turn them over and use the reverse side of the mattress. Tempur-Pedic, Simmons, Serta, Stearn’s & Foster and Sealy models do not require end-over-end flipping in order to maintain their warranty.

Pillow Top

A type of top finishing on a mattress where a pillow of soft materials is sewn over the entire surface.

Pressure Points

Locations on the body where capillaries will close due to pressure against that area, causing discomfort.

Prorated Warranty

Check with your salesperson to determine if the warranty on the bed you are purchasing has a prorated time frame. Each unit comes with a national manufacturer’s warranty, which can range in length from 1 to 20 years, depending on the model. Some warranties have a prorated time frame, wherein if a manufacturing defect occurs after that time frame, the consumer will be required to pay a portion of the original retail cost to have it replaced.