I'm planning a refresh on a ~400sqft space in my split level home. Its a walkout basement that currently has shiplap walls and a dated drop ceiling. Ideally I'd like to drywall both the wall and the ceiling. There is no plumbing in that section of the ceiling, but there are ducts. I would likely leave those partially exposed.
The part I'm not sure how to handle is how to prepare the ceiling for drywall. The home's breaker panel is in that room on an exterior wall. The wiring runs under the floor joists. Would the best course of action be to drill holes through the joists to re-run those cables? Would I need an electrician for that?
Diagram/pictures for reference
Another complication is that the floor joists from the room above are not level. There is about a 3/4 inch variance I'm trying to figure out how to level. Should I be looking to add strapping perpendicular to the joists and shim them to level? I've also seen suggestions to sister all the joists to level them, but that seemed like more work.
If I went with the option to add strapping, could I avoid the need to drill holes for the wiring and instead have run in the space between the strapping and the joists and add nail plates?
I'm going to outsource much of this work because I don't trust my electrical or drywall finishing abilities, but I'm trying to educate myself so I know what to advocate for.