I'm in the planning stage of finishing my basement. I've got a general idea on the floor layout I would like, but I'm unsure on the best way to deal with pipes and conduit in several spots. 1) There is a lot electrical conduit running perpendicular to (and just under) the joists. The easiest solution seems to be running 2x4 furring perpendicular to the joists to provide a gap for the conduit? This cuts into my headroom by 2 inches, but i believe that will not be a problem based on the code in my town. 2) In several spots, electrical conduit runs lengthwise along the underside of a joist. I was thinking I will have to move those sections to the side of the joist to get them out of the way for my 2x4 furring strips. However, another idea just passed along to me is attaching 2x4 sections lengthwise to each side of this joist. The furring strip coming in perpendicularly would in this case attach to the 2x4 side strip and end, allowing the conduit to stay where it is. Any comments? 3) There is one pipe that I definitely want to move, but I'm not sure what it is. It runs down from first floor and into a pit similar to that of the sump pump, but it is not the sump. The output line from this pit merges into the large pipe (sewer, i believe) that eventually exits the basement. So, I'm thinking this might be a sewer overflow line or something. Does anyone know what this is and what i need to do before I open this pipe to move a section of it? One comment on the building permit. Reading several back through several threads on this forum, i found a good discussion on reasons for obtaining a permit. I really want to go the legal route -- i feel that the fee itself is not bad, and i need to see if these tax breaks apply in my area (that was a surprise to me!). My biggest complaint about the permit route is that, from my understanding, my real estate taxes will be affected by the increased value of my house. Am I wrong on this? I'm just surprised this cost wasn't brought up in the earlier discussion. Thanks for any ideas or feedback anyone can provide. Eric

Is it possible to have too much ventilation from soffit to ridge vent ? Have cape cod with almost finished living space upstairs. about 1350 sq.ft. Siding guy mentioned it looked like it was overkill for size of upstairs. If there is too much can I just block off a section along lenght of soffits ? Seems pretty windy behind kneewall and I have vented the slant walls along the whole length of home and it has a good airflow to ridge vent . I live in an open area in lower thumb of michigan. Thanx for any input, Bill