Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles

Pay

Getting in

Typical entry education

No formal educational credential

On-the-job training

Moderate-term on-the-job training

Prior experience

None

Calculate your switch to floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles

What the work is like

Core tasks

• Cut covering and foundation materials, according to blueprints and sketches.
• Trim excess covering materials, tack edges, and join sections of covering material to form tight joint.
• Cut flooring material to fit around obstructions.
• Roll and press sheet wall and floor covering into cement base to smooth and finish surface, using hand roller.
• 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.
• Sweep, scrape, sand, or chip dirt and irregularities to clean base surfaces, correcting imperfections that may show through the covering.
• Measure and mark guidelines on surfaces or foundations, using chalk lines and dividers.
• Inspect surface to be covered to ensure that it is firm and dry.

Also called: Floor Covering Contractor · Floor Coverings Installer · Floor Installer · Floor Layer · Flooring Installer · Flooring Mechanic · Tile Installer · Tile Setter

Outlook and AI

Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles held 29,800 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 32,400 by 2035 (+9%, faster than average; all jobs: +3.5%).

Demand change - share increases as more consumers choose resilient floor coverings.

Compare with

• Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles vs. Tile and stone setters
• Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles vs. Carpet installer
• Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles vs. Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall
• Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles vs. Floor sanders and finishers
• Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles vs. Terrazzo workers and finishers
• Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles vs. Drywall and ceiling tile installers
• Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles vs. Brickmasons and blockmasons
• Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles vs. Helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters
• Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles vs. Insulation workers, mechanical
• Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles vs. Cement masons and concrete finishers