Printed Bedsheets Can Be Used To Cover Cracked Or Damaged Walls

My wife and I would like some tips on covering our walls with fabric or sheets. Can you help?

Using fabric to cover walls is a great way to redecorate and also cover a badly damaged or cracked wall.

Unless you have something else in mind, you might want to consider using printed bedsheets. These are usually fairly inexpensive, and you can buy as many as you need. Most are permanent-press.

To get started you must determine how many sheets you will need. Measure the length of all walls to be covered and total this up. Divide the total by the usable width of the sheet. This will give you the number of sheets to buy. If the number doesn't come out exactly even, buy an extra sheet.

I'm sure you can whip up some neat pillows or a tablecloth or something. Measure the height of the walls minus the baseboard you'll be using and then add a few inches onto the height to make handling easier.

You may wish to pad the wall first. Quilt batting or very thin sheets of foam rubber should be stapled in place before the fabric is applied. Padding helps give the fabric a smoother look and makes the finished project plusher.

It's a good idea to snap a vertical chalk line on each wall to keep your work plumb. I like to cut and seam the fabric for each entire wall before attaching it. This gives you fewer staples to hide. Tack the fabric in place with push pins and then attach with a staple gun.

Staple every 2 or 3 inches along the side, starting at the top and keeping the fabric pulled tight. If you'll be stapling the seams instead of sewing them together, staple both sides down. Then place the next panel facing the first. After tacking and stapling its edge, pull the fabric back right-side up, overlapping and covering the staples. If you wish, place a strip of cardboard along the inside of this seam to make it look sharper and be better hidden.

If you make a mistake, staples are easy to remove. Use molding or welting to hide the staples at the top and bottom and in the corners.

We recently inherited an old cabin, which has the older-type fuses that are round. How do you tell if they are bad?

If the lights don't come on, that's a clue. If they are blown, the glass front will be blackened. To replace these, turn them counterclockwise. There will be a number on the front also indicating the replacement fuse to buy. Be sure to use only fuses of the same amperage.