Wall & Floor Tiler

Categories: General/Trade Assistant, Wall & Floor Tiler

Also known as: Floor Tiler, Ceramic Tiler.

Wall and floor tilers lay ceramic, clay, slate, marble, glass and other types of tiles on external and internal walls and floors to provide protective and decorative finishes. Much of the work is undertaken on new buildings, such as houses, shops, offices, factories and swimming pools, but wall and floor tilers also renovate existing buildings.

Wall and floor tilers sometimes work in confined spaces where bending and kneeling are required. They lift and carry cement and stacks of tiles. Most tilers work in small teams and move frequently from one job location to another.

To be a Wall & Floor Tiler you need to enjoy practical, manual work and have good hand-eye coordination. You also need to be able to make simple calculations and work accurately and neatly. Wall & Floor Tilers work independently and at heights.

Typical Duties

• Interpret plans, measure and mark surfaces to be covered, and lay out work,
• prepare wall and floor surfaces by removing old tiles, grout, cement and adhesive, fill all holes and cracks, and then clean surfaces,
• attach tiles to surfaces, using correct adhesive, making sure that patterned tiles match,
• use tile-cutting tools to cut and shape tiles needed for edges, corners, or around obstacles such as fittings and pipes,
• space and even the tiles using tools such as spirit levels, squares and plumb-lines,
• prepare and apply grout, remove excess grout, clean and polish tiles,
• lay floors of cement, granolithic, terrazzo or similar composition, and
• apply waterproofing systems for bathrooms.

All construction workers need a White Card and Asbestos Awareness Training to work on a construction site in the ACT.

Check with your RTO to see if you are eligible for an ACT Training Fund Authority Subsidy, or if you are eligible to do a Tiling Apprenticeship.

RTOs that deliver training for Wall & Floor Tiling in the ACT:

Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT)