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Forty-three percent of all carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers are self-employed, compared with 19 percent of all construction trades workers. Most workers learn on the job. Carpet installers, the largest specialty, should have the best job opportunities. The employment of carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers is less sensitive to fluctuations in construction activity than that of other construction trades workers.
Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers measure, cut, and fit materials to cover a space. Workers in other occupations involving similar skills, but using different materials, include brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons; carpenters; cement masons, concrete finishers, segmental pavers, and terrazzo workers; drywall installers, ceiling tile installers, and tapers; painters and paperhangers; roofers; and sheet metal workers.
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Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers generally work indoors and have regular daytime hours. However, when floor covering installers work in occupied stores or offices, they may work evenings and weekends to avoid disturbing customers or employees.
Installers and finishers usually work under better conditions than do most other construction workers. By the time workers install carpets, flooring, or tile in a new structure, most construction has been completed and the work area is relatively clean and uncluttered. Installing these materials is labor intensive; workers spend much of their time bending, kneeling, and reaching—activities that require endurance.
Carpet installers frequently lift heavy rolls of carpet and may move heavy furniture. Safety regulations may require that they wear kneepads or safety goggles when using certain tools. Carpet and floor layers may be exposed to fumes from various kinds of glue and to fibers of certain types of carpet.
Although workers are subject to cuts from tools or materials, falls from ladders, and strained muscles, the occupation is not as hazardous as some other construction occupations.
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Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers held about 164,000 jobs in 2002. Forty-three percent of all carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers were self-employed, compared with 19 percent of all construction trades workers. The following tabulation shows 2002 wage and salary employment by specialty.
Carpet installers 82,000
Tile and marble setters 33,000
Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles 31,000
Floor sanders and finishers 17,000
Many carpet installers worked for flooring contractors or floor covering retailers. Most salaried tilesetters were employed by tilesetting contractors who work mainly on nonresidential construction projects, such as schools, hospitals, and office buildings. Most self-employed tilesetters work on residential projects.
Although carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers are employed throughout the Nation, they tend to be concentrated in populated areas where there are high levels of construction activity.
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In 2002, the median hourly earnings of carpet installers were $15.67. The middle 50 percent earned between $11.39 and $21.03. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $8.90, and the top 10 percent earned more than $27.15. In 2002, median hourly earnings of carpet installers working for building finishing contractors were $16.09, and in home furnishings stores, $14.64.
Carpet installers are paid either on an hourly basis, or by the number of yards of carpet installed. The rates vary widely depending on the geographic location and whether the installer is affiliated with a union.
Median hourly earnings of floor layers were $16.15 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $11.42 and $20.81. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $8.58, and the top 10 percent earned more than $26.87.
Median hourly earnings of floor sanders and finishers were $13.22 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $10.38 and $16.97. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $8.96, and the top 10 percent earned more than $22.51.
Median hourly earnings of tile and marble setters were $17.20 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $12.96 and $22.39. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $10.21, and the top 10 percent earned more than $28.22. Earnings of tile and marble setters also vary greatly by geographic location and by union membership status.
Apprentices and other trainees usually start out earning about half of what an experienced worker earns, although their wage rate increases as they advance through the training program.
Some carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers belong to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Some tilesetters belong to the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen, while some carpet installers belong to the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades.
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