1. Home: Explore careers
  2. Carpet fitter and floor layer

Carpet fitter and floor layer

Alternative titles for this job include Flooring fitter

Carpet fitters and floor layers fit carpets and vinyl tiles and lay laminate and solid timber floors.

Average salary (a year)

£17,000 Starter

to

£30,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

45 to 47 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends as customers demand

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become a carpet fitter and floor layer

You can get into this job through:

  • an apprenticeship
  • applying directly
  • training with a professional body

Apprenticeship

You can start by doing a floorlayer intermediate apprenticeship.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

More Information

Direct Application

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 things like measuring and working out quantities
  • have good customer service skills if the job involves visiting customers in their own homes

Other Routes

You can do courses through a professional body such as The Flooring Industry Training Association. This may help you to find work as a trainee with a carpet fitting and floor laying company.

More Information

Further information

You can find more details about training and working in carpet fitting and floor laying from:

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

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 on your own
  • customer service skills
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • physical skills like movement, coordination and dexterity
  • knowledge of maths
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

In this job you could work on domestic and commercial jobs and will:

  • measure floor space and estimate the amount of materials needed
  • clear away furniture and take off doors
  • remove old flooring
  • clean, level and seal the work area
  • glue or nail underlay and floor coverings
  • stretch carpet over spiked gripper rods and taping
  • heat-seal joins and edges on vinyl flooring
  • spray or wax floor coverings to give them a protective coating
  • use fast-track flooring systems
  • put furniture back and trim and re-hang doors

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

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could become a team supervisor, estimator or contracts manager.

You could move into other areas like buying and product sales.

You could also set up your own business, laying carpets and installing floors.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

Apprentice Floorlayer

  • Wage: £156.00 Weekly
  • Location: Pontefract

Flooring Operative Apprentice

  • Wage: £156.00 Weekly
  • Location: London
Find apprenticeships near you

Courses In England

Are you interested in becoming a carpet fitter and floor layer?

Search for training courses near you.

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Search further careers

Related careers

Skills assessment

Take an assessment to learn more about your skills and the careers that might suit you.

Speak to an adviser

Call 0800 100 900 or use webchat

  • 8am - 8pm Monday - Friday
  • 10am - 5pm Saturday

Is this page useful?

Yes No

Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for your feedback. Click here if you'd like to let us know how we can improve the service.