AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 47-2042.00
Will AI replace Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles?
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 14 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 14 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lay out, position, and apply shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors, walls, and cabinets, following guidelines to keep courses straight and create designs. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inspect surface to be covered to ensure that it is firm and dry. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Sweep, scrape, sand, or chip dirt and irregularities to clean base surfaces, correcting imperfections that may show through the covering. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cut flooring material to fit around obstructions. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Trim excess covering materials, tack edges, and join sections of covering material to form tight joint. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Form a smooth foundation by stapling plywood or Masonite over the floor or by brushing waterproof compound onto surface and filling cracks with plaster, putty, or grout to seal pores. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Measure and mark guidelines on surfaces or foundations, using chalk lines and dividers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cut covering and foundation materials, according to blueprints and sketches. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Roll and press sheet wall and floor covering into cement base to smooth and finish surface, using hand roller. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Apply adhesive cement to floor or wall material to join and adhere foundation material. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Determine traffic areas and decide location of seams. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove excess cement to clean finished surface. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Heat and soften floor covering materials to patch cracks or fit floor coverings around irregular surfaces, using blowtorch. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Disconnect and remove appliances, light fixtures, and worn floor and wall covering from floors, walls, and cabinets. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 14 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 14 of 14. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 15% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 15% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 85% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 23,640
- Median annual wage
- $56,460
- Middle half of earners
- $45,660 to $73,840
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +9.5%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Carpet Installers 74% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure21
- Tile and Stone Setters 71% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure20
- Floor Sanders and Finishers 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure15
- Terrazzo Workers and Finishers 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure19
- Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure15
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles and AI
Will AI replace Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles?
Not on current evidence. None of the 14 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation reaches a task exposure of 60, the level at which JobRoute counts a task as handled by AI, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 18 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.
What is the AI exposure of Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles?
18 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 14 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 14 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles tasks can AI already do?
None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Lay out, position, and apply shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors, walls, and cabinets, following guidelines to keep courses straight and create designs, at 50 out of 100.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 15% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 85% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles, and what do they earn?
23,640 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $56,460 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +9.5% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/floor-layers-except-carpet-wood-and-hard-tiles
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