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After making it through four hurricanes, 14 days without power and three weeks without phone service, Bailey and Son Woodworking is due for some good news. So it is with great pleasure that CWB announces the Thonotosassa, FL, company as the winner in the architectural millwork category, as well as the overall winner of the 2005 Design Portfolio Awards Contest.



The winning entry was a home office that included bookcases, a computer desk, paneled walls and paneled ceiling details, all done in hard maple. "The geometry of this room in particular was challenging," says Kent Bailey, who runs the company along with his son, Wesley. "The room has 16 separate vertical wall sections that meet at 90- or 45-degree angles. The angled corner bookcases and the vertical surfaces were wrapped with baseboard and a complex crown moulding assembly."

Because the room was not symmetrical, the angled bookcases have different depths to create a uniform appearance. The home office project included a bookcase, computer desk, paneled walls and paneled ceiling details, all done in hard maple.>

With such an unusually shaped room, pre-planning was as important as the production itself. "Time spent drawing and revising on the front end came back with dividends later on," Bailey says. "With the dimensions of the room and the location of electrical, A/V, HVAC, security and other sub-outs carefully mapped into the computer, surprises were avoided. We used a Momentum laser to establish level, plumb and square lines in the room and map it into the computer."



To further complicate matters, Bailey and Son had to make the finished room appear uniform and symmetrical, when the bare wall room was neither. To compensate, the depths of the angled bookcases vary.



One of the room's notable features is a moveable bookcase. Bailey says that the client has a special-needs child, and the bookcase opens into a short hall that leads directly to his bedroom. He adds that while moving bookcases are becoming more commonplace in upscale homes, their operation often leaves something to be desired. In this situation, "the pivoting hardware balances most of the weight of the case and its contents from an off-center pivot point, allowing for a smooth movement with little effort and no scuffed arc on the finished floor from a dragging corner," Bailey explains.



Production was done using a Jet 15-inch planer and 5-horsepower shaper, Ticar table saw, Powermatic 8-inch joiner and a Williams and Hussey moulder with Charles G.G. Schmidt knives. Hand routers from Bosch, Makita, Hitachi, Porter-Cable and Freud also were used. Custom mouldings and components from Raymond Enkeboll and White River added to the high-end look of the project. The room was finished on-site with a distressed painted finish of several layers.



Bailey adds that one of the most valuable tools was his laptop computer. "While we carry detail sheets into the field, we rely on the laptop computer," he explains. "On most days, the laptop is one of the first tools out and the last to be put away. The computer allowed us to work confidently, knowing how the last piece of trim was going to finish before we drove the first nail."