I was able to un-mount the panel from the backing board and square it up, so at least is straight on the wall now. After doing that, I framed the rest of the way around it to eventually support the drywall.
I finished the drop on the other side of the duct run down the room. It's identical to the front side in construction.
I've run all the outlet wiring. I had originally submitted plans for using 12ga wire and running a single 20A circuit. I ended up splitting the room into two home runs and using a double 15A breaker. This allowed me to use standard 14ga circuit wiring. It also made the wiring runs easier. After wiring the panel, everything stayed on after I flipped the breaker. Yeah!
I started installing the lights this past week. The recessed fixtures are fairly simple. I'm going to use 3way switches and have a gang of switches at the bottom of the stairs and also at the door to the unfinished space. I'll put dimmers at the bottom of the stairs to let us control the lighting levels. I'll rip out the existing fixtures and wiring as soon as I get the new ones in.
