Carpet fitter and floor layer
Carpet fitters and floor layers fit carpets and vinyl tiles, and lay laminate and solid timber floors.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
As a carpet fitter or floor layer, you'll:
- measure floor space to be covered and estimate the materials needed
- remove old flooring and prepare the work area
- fit underlay, carpets, tiles, vinyl or wooden flooring
- spray floor coverings with protective coatings
- put furniture back and trim and re-hang doors if removed
- follow safety guidelines when working with glues, solvents and other chemicals
Working environment
You could work at a client's home or at a client's business.
Your working environment may be physically demanding.
You may need to wear protective clothing.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could become a flooring team supervisor, estimator or contracts manager.
You could move into related areas like training, buying or product sales.
You could also set up your own business, laying carpets and installing floors in domestic and commercial properties.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to work well with your hands
- customer service skills
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to use your initiative
- the ability to work on your own
- knowledge of maths
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
Restrictions and Requirements
You may need a driving licence for some jobs.
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
- training with a professional body
You can apply for a place on a Floorlayer Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.
This can take up to 3 years to complete and is a mix of on-the-job training and off-site study.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More Information
You could apply directly to work as a carpet fitter and floor layer.
Employers will expect you to:
- have practical skills
- be good with numbers for making measurements and working out quantities
- have good customer service skills, especially for working in people's homes
You could take a training course through a professional industry body like the Flooring Industry Training Association or the Contract Flooring Association.
This may help you to find work as a trainee with a carpet fitting and floor laying company.
Career tips
You may need to travel to other parts of the country for some jobs, especially on commercial and industrial contracts.
Further information
You can find more details about training and working in carpet fitting and floor laying from:
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This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.