Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
Architecture and ConstructionO*NET 47-2042.00United States
Apply blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors.
- Median annual earnings
- $52,053
- Projected change
- +10.1%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 35.89K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
95.2% of the workforce
Growing to 39.51K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Sweep, scrape, sand, or chip dirt and irregularities to clean base surfaces, correcting imperfections that may show through the covering.
- Cut flooring material to fit around obstructions.
- Inspect surface to be covered to ensure that it is firm and dry.
- Trim excess covering materials, tack edges, and join sections of covering material to form tight joint.
- Form a smooth foundation by stapling plywood or Masonite over the floor or by brushing waterproof compound onto surface and filling cracks with plaster, putty, or grout to seal pores.
- Measure and mark guidelines on surfaces or foundations, using chalk lines and dividers.
- Cut covering and foundation materials, according to blueprints and sketches.
- Roll and press sheet wall and floor covering into cement base to smooth and finish surface, using hand roller.
- Apply adhesive cement to floor or wall material to join and adhere foundation material.
- Determine traffic areas and decide location of seams.
- Lay out, position, and apply shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors, walls, and cabinets, following guidelines to keep courses straight and create designs.
- Remove excess cement to clean finished surface.
- Disconnect and remove appliances, light fixtures, and worn floor and wall covering from floors, walls, and cabinets.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $30,864
- 25th percentile
- $39,931
- 50th percentile
- $52,053
- 75th percentile
- $72,760
- 90th percentile
- $104,947
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $52,053 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+10.1%faster than average
202535,889 jobs
2035 projected39,512 jobs
3,623 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 95.2%
- Certificate
- 4.4%
- Some college
- 0.4%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Flooring Installers2,578 postings
- 02Tile Installers682 postings
- 03Installers458 postings
- 04Subcontractors424 postings
- 05Floor Technicians292 postings
- 06Gutter Installers171 postings
- 07Flooring Technicians154 postings
- 08Ceramic Tile Installers152 postings
- 09Experienced Tilers143 postings
- 10Flooring Estimators124 postings
- 11Measure Technicians120 postings
- 12Subcontractor Installers120 postings
- 13Bathroom Fitters116 postings
- 14Carpet Cleaning Technicians107 postings
- 15Lead Installers107 postings
- 16Floor Covering Installers98 postings
- 17Installer Helpers95 postings
- 18Cleaning Technicians90 postings
- 19Tile Setters77 postings
- 20Siding Installers67 postings
Top employers
- 01Service Pros Installation Group191 postings
- 02Sherwin-Williams111 postings
- 03Carlson Building Maintenance107 postings
- 04Refloor74 postings
- 05Centimark Corporation70 postings
- 06Bath Concepts Independent Dealers69 postings
- 07Empire Today64 postings
- 08Aerotek37 postings
- 09Floor Interior Services Corp33 postings
- 10Tsr Concrete Coatings31 postings
- 11Jack Laurie Group29 postings
- 12Sunbelt Rentals29 postings
- 13Interior Logic Group27 postings
- 14National Floors Direct26 postings
- 15Bath Planet23 postings
- 16Sprague Floor Covering22 postings
- 17Flagship Facility Services19 postings
- 18Rite Rug18 postings
- 19ServiceMaster18 postings
- 20Dynamic Home Solutions17 postings
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