Upcycled mattress nucleus of essential foam elements

A foam core mattress, comprising:

• a cushion layer comprising a foam having an IFD of between about 6 to about 18 and a density of between about 1.8 lb./ft3 to about 3 lb./ft3, wherein the cushion layer has a thickness of between about 2 and 4.5 inches;
• a core that is coupled with a bottom surface of the cushion layer, the core comprising a matrix of rebond foam pieces that includes foam pieces having volumes of less than about 0.5 in3, foam pieces having volumes of between about 0.5 and 2.0 in3, and foam pieces having volumes of greater than 2.0 in3, wherein the core has an IFD of between about 28 and 65, wherein the core layer has a thickness of between about 3 and 8 inches and a density of between about 3 lb./ft3 to about 3.8 lb./ft3;
• and
• a base layer coupled with a bottom surface of the core, the base layer having an IFD of between about 28 to about 70 and a density of between 1.5 lb./ft3 to about 2 lb./ft3, wherein the base layer has a thickness of between about 0.5 and 2 inches.

A method of constructing a foam core mattress, comprising:

• combining a plurality of rebond foam pieces with a binder, wherein the plurality of rebond foam pieces comprise foam pieces having volumes of less than about 0.5 in3, foam pieces having volumes of between about 0.5 and 2.0 in3, and foam pieces having volumes of greater than 2.0 in3, wherein the binder comprises a polyurethane formed from a combination of at least one polyol and at least one aromatic isocyanate that fills in voids between the foam pieces;
• compressing the combined plurality of rebond foam pieces and the binder in a mold to form a loaf having an IFD of between about 28 and 65, a thickness of between about 3 and 8 in., and a density of between about 2.0 and 5.0 lb./ft3;
• applying heat to the loaf to cure the binder;
• cutting the loaf to form a core;
• and
• assembling the foam core mattress by attaching a base layer to a bottom surface of the core and attaching a cushion layer to a top surface of the core, wherein:
• the cushion layer has an IFD of between about 6 to about 18, a density of between about 1.8 lb./ft3 to about 3 lb./ft3, and a thickness of between about 1 and 4 in.;
• and
• the base layer an IFD of between about 28 to about 70, a density of between 1.5 lb./ft3 to about 2 lb./ft3, and a thickness of between about 0.75 and 1.5 in.