You may need to move plumbing and ductwork as you finish your basement. Be careful! Finding a plumbing contractor or heating & cooling contractor may be a wise decision.

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Moving ductwork

The next thing I needed to address was moving the plumbing and ductwork to make room for the ceiling. I decided to have contractors handle this piece of the project. I ran into the same type of issues in trying to find someone to do the job as I ran into in trying to get estimates on the complete basement.

The first company to come out promised to call me with an estimate in a couple of days. Still haven't heard from them. I guess they're too busy to handle my small job!

The next company gave me an estimate of $985 to move the plumbing and ductwork. I thought that was a bit high, and although I found a $100 coupon online I thought I could do better.

If I would have left this duct (and the two like it) 'as is', I would
have either had to build a soffit, or lower my ceiling by 3-4 inches.
Neither option sounded good to me!

I received a coupon in the mail for a plumbing company in my area. Their estimate was $375-$425 for just the plumbing. I followed up with a heating & cooling company that I've used in the past- unfortunately they don't do plumbing. (However, I found out they DO install electrical. I had their electrician out for an estimate. More on that later.)

They quoted me $395 to move the ductwork. That seemed reasonable to me. They came out a few days later to complete the job. It took two guys about 2 ½ hours to complete the job. Now I have more clearance for my ceiling!

Shopping around, and splitting the job between two companies saved me over $100.