Thanks to YouTube this has become a growing list for me. From changing out flooring and carpet on my own to making repairs to cars. I'm sure I've saved thousands in dollars by being lucky enough to find a good instructional video. Of course it takes me 10x the amount of time a professional would but the moral victory makes it worth it.
I got tired of the super firm bed I inherited and went looking for a water bed. At one time one out of four new beds was a water bed. the trouble is every peddler thought he had to invent something new to get business. The result is that now nobody knows what a "water" bed is any more and they are bewildered by the variety offered.
It took me a while to locate one actual water bed with a wood frame and heater. The price was pretty good, 500 bux. I didn't buy because I was having trouble accepting that it was going to leak eventually.
While poking around I ran across a recommendation for an air mattress. It was cheap enough, so I bought one just to see how it was. Well, there are several things you learn right away. The first is that the temperature of the bed is the temperature of the floor. The second is that you can pick it up. So you pick it up and spread an electric blanket underneath. Heaven! The third thing you learn is that it's rather uncomfortable trying to get out of a bed that is only 18 inches above the floor. I looked in the storage shed and found a double bed size foundation. Since most mattresses have internal springs now, they make a foundation to raise the bed to normal height. They also call that "bunkie board".
The air mattress is typically a lot thicker than a normal mattress, so fitted sheets don't fit. You have to invent some way to tie the bedding in place. Also, a queen size mattress is a few inches bigger than a double size. I eventually realized that the difference was exactly the width of a 1x4 board all the way around the Bunkie board, so I added a shelf with sides to keep the mattress from sliding off. Then I attached venetian blind cleats to the boards so I could tie the bedding on. Then I moved the cleats to the insides of the boards so they wouldn't snag my shins as I stumbled around in the dark.
Did I mention that fitted sheets don't fit? I bought fuzzy blankets to use for sheets and added buttons so I could tie elastics to the buttons.
Along with everything else, you learn that an air mattress does not last very long. But they are only 60 bux at Walmart, so you can buy two at a time and always have a spare. If your mattress lasts a year it costs five bux a month. Any other kind of mattress has to last ten or twenty years to get your monthly cost that low.
Nanoose 