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 hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Align and straighten tile using levels, squares, and straightedges.
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Finish and dress the joints and wipe excess grout from between tiles, using damp sponge.
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Cut and shape tile to fit around obstacles and into odd spaces and corners, using hand and power cutting tools.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Determine and implement the best layout to achieve a desired pattern.
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Study blueprints and examine surface to be covered to determine amount of material needed.
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Measure and mark surfaces to be tiled, following blueprints.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
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.
What still needs a person
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.
What still needs a person
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.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Skilled trades occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons