There’s only one thing worse than folded plans—plans rolled the wrong way so that the edges curl up, not down. IMHO, of course. However, the folded variety is not very far behind when it comes to aggravation.

With this set, I decided to try using my wife’s flatiron to get the creases out. Working on my relatively flat workbench, I pushed back and forth and watched the folds disappear. I also noticed the ink on the plans smearing. And then my wife showed up, and she noticed, with great consternation, ink smeared on her iron.

After I got it off with some solvent, I tried ironing through a thin tea towel, well past its more dignified usefulness. That worked, but didn’t flatten the creases as well. So, on to Plan C, ironing the unprinted side. The heat was just right to take out the wrinkles but not hot enough to transfer the print to the surface under it.


These plans are definitely wrinkled!


First attempt resulted in smeared plans, a dirty iron, and an upset wife.


Using a tea towel. Better result, not perfect but a happy wife.

Of course, I forgot to photograph the best way to do it. Suffice it to say that the plans were finally ready for construction use.