Condolences to those with lost, sick, or angeled toynappers...
 
suzi lambert wrote:
>I have a dilemma that I hope someone could help me with. I recently
>purchased a new mattress and box spring...
 
Easy way to fix this, if you don't mind the look.  Get a sheet (or two) of
plywood, measure (from side to side on the plywood sheet) the height of
your box spring.  Measure the length (top to bottom on the plywood sheet)
of your box spring.  If you are lucky, your box spring will be a bit
shorter than the sheet of plywood is long.  Finally, measure across the
box spring (again, from top to bottom on the sheet of plywood).
 
Cut the plywood so that you have a total of four pieces.  You will be
cutting from top to bottom on the sheet of plywood.  When finished (you
may need two sheets to get what you need), you should have a total of four
pieces of plywood--two sheets will be a bit longer than your box spring
when measured along the side and the other two will be slightly longer
than your box spring is wide.
 
Now, get a 2 X 4 board and cut it into four pieces, that are just as tall
as your box spring.  Taking a short piece of plywood and a long piece, put
them together at one end, so that you have an "L" shape.  Put a length of
2 X 4 on the inside corner and nail in place through each piece of plywood
Next, take the other long piece of plywood, fit it to the other end of the
short piece of plywood, put a piece of 2 X 4 inside the corner, nail in
place.  Repeat until you have a plywood box around the outside of your box
spring.
 
Now, you will have at least an inch or so of space between the plywood and
the box spring.  You can cut cardboard to the same height as the plywood,
and put the pieces inside the box spring and the inside wall of your
plywood shield.  Another option it to cut the cardboard to twice the
height of the plywood, then fold the cardboard in half.  To make folding
easier, cut a slit on the inside of the fold, but don't cut too deeply,
as it will cause the other side to split open.  After folding, insert the
cardboard into the gap, edges down and fold facing up.  This will keep
your furkids from shredding it and pulling it back out so easily.  You
will probably need at least two strips to fill the gap.
 
Another way to do this (though it is more expensive, it could be easier
on you in the long run) is to use heavy-duty hinges on the outside of the
corners, instead of the 2 X 4 pieces on the inside.  By using hinges, you
can cut the shorter pieces a little shorter, so the boards all fit much
closer to the box spring.  If/When you want to remove the plywood box
protection, you only need to remove the hinges on diagonal corners and
fold up the plywood box pieces to move it, then set it up somewhere else.
 
The advantage of using this box idea over anything else (such as a heavy
cloth, or thick plastic sheets, etc.) is that it is less expensive that
some other options, its easy to construct, it's portable (after a fashion)
and there aren't any seams where the ferts can get to the box spring.  You
can also put foam padding on the outside, then nail carpeting over that.
The ferts can dig at it if they wish, but won't scratch or splinter the
wood, it looks nicer than ordinary plywood and it can cushion your toes in
the middle of the night when your eyes are closed and the lights are out
and you forgot where you put the bed last.
 
Todd and the Fuzzbutt Rodeo Clowns!
 
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[Posted in FML issue 3594]