Construction and extraction
Floor sanders and finishers
Scrape and sand wooden floors to smooth surfaces using floor scraper and floor sanding machine, and apply coats of finish.
Median pay
$50,440
Growth to 2035
+1%
little or no change
Openings a year
300
Time to qualify*
6 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Floor sanders and finishers
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Floor sanders and finishers: 23% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Buff and vacuum floors to ensure their cleanliness prior to the application of finish.
- Scrape and sand floor edges and areas inaccessible to floor sanders, using scrapers, disk-type sanders, and sandpaper.
- Inspect floors for smoothness.
- Attach sandpaper to rollers of sanding machines.
- Guide sanding machines over surfaces of floors until surfaces are smooth.
- Apply filler compound and coats of finish to floors to seal wood.
- Remove excess glue from joints, using knives, scrapers, or wood chisels.
Also called: Finisher · Floor Finisher · Floor Mechanic · Floor Refinisher · Floor Sander · Floor Sander and Finisher · Hardwood Floor Finisher and Sander · Hardwood Floor Refinisher
Outlook and AI
Floor sanders and finishers held 4,700 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 4,700 by 2035 (+1%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
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- Floor sanders and finishers vs. Furniture finisher
- Floor sanders and finishers vs. Carpet installer
- Floor sanders and finishers vs. Terrazzo workers and finishers
- Floor sanders and finishers vs. Tile and stone setters
- Floor sanders and finishers vs. Drywall and ceiling tile installers
- Floor sanders and finishers vs. Cement masons and concrete finishers
- Floor sanders and finishers vs. Grinding and polishing workers, hand
- Floor sanders and finishers vs. Helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters
- Floor sanders and finishers vs. Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall