☕ THE EARLY SHIFT
A free weekly newsletter for contractors and the trades

Open bids in your state, every Monday

One email at 5:30am your time lists open bids you can answer, new tools and methods, and what working contractors found, each linked to its source.

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WHAT'S IN EACH ISSUE

Contracts Up for Bid

Open bids and quote requests from states, cities, school districts and utilities, with the closing date and time. Small jobs are included, such as doors, floors, roofs and fencing.

New Ways to Work

New tools, materials and methods a small shop can try, from contractors who used them on real jobs.

On YouTube

The most-watched contractor videos of the week, and what each one showed.

Tools and the Business

Tool tests and comparisons, labor and material costs, and state licensing and code changes.

Every item is a short summary, and its headline links to the original page.

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FROM ISSUE #1

The Science Museum of Virginia takes quotes on two new wood double-acting doors (Due Oct 9)

The Science Museum of Virginia wants two new wood, double-acting doors furnished and installed to match the dimensions and configuration of the existing doors (QQ 129000). Every bidder has to make a site visit. Quotes close Oct 9 at 5 pm on eVA, where the listing is tagged Small Priority.

The State of Tennessee takes bids to install a sidewalk awning at Western Mental Health Institute (Due Oct 9)

The state wants an awning installed over the employee entrance sidewalk at Western Mental Health Institute, with a covered spot for unloading food and delivery trucks, as a one-time purchase order contract. Bids close Oct. 9 at 4:30 p.m. Central. Bids over $25,000.01 must list a Tennessee contractor license number and classification.

Metabo HPT's $579 cordless framing nailer runs without a hose or compressor ($579)

AwesomeFramers, a Pacific Northwest framing crew, ran Metabo HPT's new 21-degree cordless pneumatic framing nailer for about three weeks and swapped its battery once, with no hose or compressor. The kit with battery and charger costs $579 at Acme. The crew prices a hose at $50 to $100 a year and a compressor that feeds one to three framers at $500 to $1,500. AwesomeFramers says a three-person crew could run one or two Max coil nailers alongside two of these, keeping the coil gun for wall framing, especially big rake walls.