Houses &
Buildings
Carpet Layer
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Job or Working with these Jobs
  
Floor finishers and coverers install and repair floor coverings such as
carpet, vinyl, rubber, cork,
 parquetry and timber flooring. They may
specialise as hard floor finishers, textile layers or resilient layers.
ANZSCO description:
3321: Measures,
cuts, installs and repairs soft and resilient floor coverings. Registration
or licensing may be required.
Alternative names: Floor Coverer
Specialisations:
-
Carpet Layer: A carpet layer fastens the edges and seams of the carpet, then stretches and
fixes it along walls and borders, using gripper strips.
-
Hard Floor Finisher:
A hard floor finisher lays and finishes timber, cork and parquetry floors in
mosaic and block patterns. They also sand, stain and apply finished coatings
to timber floors.
-
Resilient Layer:
A resilient layer specialises in laying and finishing vinyl, linoleum and
rubber in sheet or tile form. They may lay these materials on bench tops and
walls as well as floors.
Knowledge, skills and attributes
Relevant knowledge, skills and attributes include:
- good mathematics and
problem solving
- the ability to determine the most appropriate
equipment to undertake the task
- good communication skills.
- You'll need to enjoy dealing with people as
it's a job that involves contact with the public, as well as builders,
retailers and other tradespeople.
Duties and Tasks
Floor finishers and coverers may perform the following tasks:
- make sure floors are firm, dry and clean, and repair minor defects before
laying coverings
- measure areas to be covered, and estimate and order quantities of floor
coverings
- fix underlays of hardboard sheets, rubber or felt
- lay covering materials over the floor, match patterns, cut shapes around
fixtures and trim edges
- fix floor coverings and fit edge trims in doorways
- preparing surfaces for covering and removing
baseboard trims
- laying, fitting and securing coverings, such as
carpets, linoleum, parquetry blocks, cork tiles and other flooring
materials
- sanding, staining and applying finishing
coatings to timber floors
- may also install wall, ceiling, counter and
bench coverings.
Working conditions
Floor finishers generally work indoors in small teams. The majority of these
tradespeople are employed in the construction industry. A number of
positions exist in the retail trade; however, a large number are
self-employed and work as sub-contractors. Typically, floor finishers work a
40-hour week with some overtime required to meet construction deadlines.
Conditions can be dusty and because
the work requires a great deal of kneeling, twisting and lifting of heavy
carpets and furniture, there is some risk of knee and back injury. Risks can
be significantly reduced through the use of correct lifting techniques.
Tools and technologies
Depending on the specific task or specialist area, floor finishers will use
a variety of tools and technologies, such as sanders, abraders, staplers,
hammers, knives, knee kickers, seaming cutters, seam irons, wall trimmers,
safety glasses, knee pads and hammer tackers.
Education and training/entrance requirements
To become a floor finisher, you usually need to complete an apprenticeship.
The floorcovering apprenticeship takes 36 months to complete and is
available as a school-based apprenticeship.
Did You Know?
Australian Carpet Classification Scheme (ACCS)
The yellow and blue labels identify
carpets that have been graded for residential use. Residential ratings
can have a maximum of six
stars.
The gold and black labels identify carpets graded for contract or
commercial use. Contract ratings can have a maximum of four stars.
Some carpets will carry both Residential and Contract gradings.
Be sure to look for the numbered ACCS label – these carpets have been
tested by NATA accredited laboratories and assessed
by the ACCS Panel of carpet experts.
(Source:
Carpet
Institute of Australia)
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