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Foam Rubber?

15 years ago

I'm making an over sized padded head board for our master, and am having a hard time finding a sheet of foam for a decent price. I'm looking for under $50. Jo-Ann was going to be almost $100, even with a 40% off coupon, and an upholstery shop quoted me $85-$90 for a 3" deep sheet. I tried K-mart etc, but it seems all they have is the "egg crate" type foam. I need a piece 3' x 6', and I'd like a 3"-4" depth, though I'd probably settle for 2"-3" if the price were right.

Any suggestions?

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Comments (6)

twizzis
15 years ago
I worked for an upholsterer for a few years and know full well how expensive is foam. Maybe you can call around and ask if one would allow you to order. Professional seamstresses have access to these same suppliers, also. Should you have a connection they can order it at cost.
nhb22
15 years ago
Do you have a Hancock Fabric store. They sell it in rolls. Or try eBay.

For my daughters headboard, I used a thin foam piece, with some batting over that.
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graywings123
15 years ago
Maybe you could double layer the foam to get the thickness you want.

When I was shopping for foam for a project, I was shocked at the prices. It seems like foam should be inexpensive, but it's not.
johnmari
15 years ago
JCPenney has a 3" firm polyurethane foam mattress topper on sale for $49.99 for a 38x73" twin size (and 3x6' is 36x72"!). Found a coupon code for free shipping with $49 order - REFRESH - good until 4/10.

If you can get them ultra-cheap/free you can sandwich two eggcrate pads together bumpy side in so that the bumps on one fill the dimples on the other. I did this for a bed I had back a skazillion years ago that had a horrible lumpy mattress but I didn't like the feel of the eggcrate pad's bumps. Spray adhesive will keep them from shifting.

Foam prices skyrocketed when the price of oil went up, and they didn't come back down when the oil prices went down. (Foam rubber is made from petroleum.) I guess the foam manufacturers figured that the big buyers - furniture companies and such - would still buy the product at the high price so they might as well stay there!
ladyamity
15 years ago
Wow...some great suggestions here. Thank you all!

I am forever replacing/changing chair covers and adding new or extra foam so I've always had good luck purchasing my foam from Ebay.

Many Ebay sellers can't/won't sell/ship to Calif. because of our very strict codes re; fireproof, etc.

But the sellers that would ship to me, I've always had a great experience, very reasonable costs and fast ship.

Here is a link that might be useful: Seller who made some custom cuts for me.
equest17
15 years ago
Johnmari is absolutely right about foam prices linked to oil. My upholstery supplies have been a good bit more expensive lately. I think it takes longer for the lower barrel prices to trickle down to secondary products. If the headboard doesn't need to be extra plush (i.e., for tufting or other deep effects), you can get away with carpet padding over a thinner layer of foam. I've seen inexpensive new carpet pad at Habitat Restores and other discount building places that sell flooring material. You can also use spray glue to adhere smaller sheets of foam together. Hobby Lobby has 1"-3" thick cheap foam if you use a 40% off coupon, although I wouldn't use it for anything where you needed a lot of durability or comfort.

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