UK AI Exposure · Skilled trades occupations
Floorers and wall tilers
Floorers and wall tilers lay composition mixtures (other than mastic asphalt) to form flooring, plan, fit and secure carpet, underlay and linoleum and cover and decorate walls and floors with terrazzo and granolithic mixtures, tiles and mosaic panels.
- Employees (UK)
- 9k
- Median annual pay
- £32,663
- Exposure score ?
- 0.1/10 Minimal 1.1/10 Minimal strict reading · with tools is 1.1/10 with-tools reading · strict is 0.1/10
- Wage exposure
- £3m £32m
Higher exposure than 11% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means
Most of this role's work is still genuinely hard for AI to do. Physical presence, bodily skill, high-context judgment, direct human care - the things that don't translate to text.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
You're not in the firing line today. But the frontier moves. Build enough AI fluency now that you can direct it for the parts of your work that could benefit. People in unexposed roles who understand AI become unusually valuable inside their organisations.
Most of this role's work is still genuinely hard for AI to do. Physical presence, bodily skill, high-context judgment, direct human care - the things that don't translate to text.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
You're not in the firing line today. But the frontier moves. Build enough AI fluency now that you can direct it for the parts of your work that could benefit. People in unexposed roles who understand AI become unusually valuable inside their organisations.
Where a project with Alex usually starts for this role
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgment, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where we start — flip the toggle to 'With tools' to see what AI plus the right context can compress.
-
Align and straighten tile using levels, squares, and straightedges.
-
Finish and dress the joints and wipe excess grout from between tiles, using damp sponge.
-
Cut and shape tile to fit around obstacles and into odd spaces and corners, using hand and power cutting tools.
These are the highest-importance tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around these — usually the difference between an LLM that can technically do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
-
Determine and implement the best layout to achieve a desired pattern.
-
Study blueprints and examine surface to be covered to determine amount of material needed.
-
Measure and mark surfaces to be tiled, following blueprints.
Every role has three or four wedges like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days. Talk to Alex about a project →
The full task breakdown
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can already do unaided versus what still needs a human. Importance is O*NET's 1–5 rating of how central each task is to the role.
Tasks via O*NET "Tile and Stone Setters" (47-2044.00).
What AI can already do
1 of 25 tasks · unaided
Prepare cost and labor estimates, based on calculations of time and materials needed for project.
Where humans still hold the line
24 of 25 tasks
Align and straighten tile using levels, squares, and straightedges.
Finish and dress the joints and wipe excess grout from between tiles, using damp sponge.
Cut and shape tile to fit around obstacles and into odd spaces and corners, using hand and power cutting tools.
Determine and implement the best layout to achieve a desired pattern.
Mix, apply, and spread plaster, concrete, mortar, cement, mastic, glue or other adhesives to form a bed for the tiles, using brush, trowel and screed.
Study blueprints and examine surface to be covered to determine amount of material needed.
Measure and mark surfaces to be tiled, following blueprints.
Lay and set mosaic tiles to create decorative wall, mural, and floor designs.
Apply mortar to tile back, position the tile, and press or tap with trowel handle to affix tile to base.
Mix and apply mortar or cement to edges and ends of drain tiles to seal halves and joints.
Apply a sealer to make grout stain- and water-resistant.
Level concrete and allow to dry.
Measure and cut metal lath to size for walls and ceilings, using tin snips.
Install and anchor fixtures in designated positions, using hand tools.
Prepare surfaces for tiling by attaching lath or waterproof paper, or by applying a cement mortar coat to a metal screen.
Spread mastic or other adhesive base on roof deck to form base for promenade tile, using serrated spreader.
Assist customers in selection of tile and grout.
Remove and replace cracked or damaged tile.
Cut tile backing to required size, using shears.
Remove any old tile, grout and adhesive using chisels and scrapers and clean the surface carefully.
Brush glue onto manila paper on which design has been drawn and position tiles, finished side down, onto paper.
Cut, surface, polish, and install marble and granite or install pre-cast terrazzo, granite or marble units.
Select and order tile and other items to be installed, such as bathroom accessories, walls, panels, and cabinets, according to specifications.
Build underbeds and install anchor bolts, wires, and brackets.
Tasks via O*NET "Tile and Stone Setters" (47-2044.00).
What AI can already do
4 of 25 tasks · with tools
Determine and implement the best layout to achieve a desired pattern.
Study blueprints and examine surface to be covered to determine amount of material needed.
Measure and mark surfaces to be tiled, following blueprints.
Prepare cost and labor estimates, based on calculations of time and materials needed for project.
Where humans still hold the line
21 of 25 tasks
Align and straighten tile using levels, squares, and straightedges.
Finish and dress the joints and wipe excess grout from between tiles, using damp sponge.
Cut and shape tile to fit around obstacles and into odd spaces and corners, using hand and power cutting tools.
Mix, apply, and spread plaster, concrete, mortar, cement, mastic, glue or other adhesives to form a bed for the tiles, using brush, trowel and screed.
Lay and set mosaic tiles to create decorative wall, mural, and floor designs.
Apply mortar to tile back, position the tile, and press or tap with trowel handle to affix tile to base.
Mix and apply mortar or cement to edges and ends of drain tiles to seal halves and joints.
Apply a sealer to make grout stain- and water-resistant.
Level concrete and allow to dry.
Measure and cut metal lath to size for walls and ceilings, using tin snips.
Install and anchor fixtures in designated positions, using hand tools.
Prepare surfaces for tiling by attaching lath or waterproof paper, or by applying a cement mortar coat to a metal screen.
Spread mastic or other adhesive base on roof deck to form base for promenade tile, using serrated spreader.
Assist customers in selection of tile and grout.
Remove and replace cracked or damaged tile.
Cut tile backing to required size, using shears.
Remove any old tile, grout and adhesive using chisels and scrapers and clean the surface carefully.
Brush glue onto manila paper on which design has been drawn and position tiles, finished side down, onto paper.
Cut, surface, polish, and install marble and granite or install pre-cast terrazzo, granite or marble units.
Select and order tile and other items to be installed, such as bathroom accessories, walls, panels, and cabinets, according to specifications.
Build underbeds and install anchor bolts, wires, and brackets.
Stay on top of this
One email a week, written for people who aren't AI nerds. What's actually real, what's hype, and what smart operators are doing about it.
Get the weekly note
One email a week from Alex on how AI is changing UK work, how to get ahead of it, and what smart operators are actually doing. Written for people who aren't AI nerds.
Free. Unsubscribe any time.
Or go deeper:
Methodology
This role's exposure score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 GPT task labels, aggregated by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 via ISCO-08 (ONS Vol 2 coding index) and US SOC 2010 (BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional. ASHE covers employees only, so self-employed workers are not counted.
Get the weekly note. One email on how AI is changing UK work.