You're married to the engineer, I'm married to the builder. Go to your local HD or Lowe's. Buy the sheet of plywood and ask them to cut it to the size you want. While you're there get a piece of 1x2" stock and have them cut it into 6 pieces, each 6" long. I set the plywood on the floor, put the ironing board on it upside down, placed a block at each end (narrow side down), one on each slanted edge and one on each straight side. Glue them down with wood glue, gorilla glue, whatever and let them dry. Turn the plywood over and put drywall screws (in abundance here) thru it into the blocks you glued. You might want to predrill your holes to make it easier if you're using a hand screwdriver. Grab a carpenter's stapler and upholster your new 'big board' with batting and cotton. Mine stays secure on top of the ironing board and lives behind the door when not in use. Get independent, girl......and don't show him your project til it's done. :D