Tile and Marble Setters

Summary

Tile setters must match designs prior to installation.

Quick Facts: Tile and Marble Setters
2010 Median Pay	$38,110 per year $18.32 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Less than high school
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	Long-term on-the-job training
Number of Jobs, 2010	58,700
Job Outlook, 2010-20	25% (Faster than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	14,900

What Tile and Marble Setters Do

Tile and marble setters apply hard tile, marble, and wood tiles to walls, floors, and other surfaces.

Work Environment

Installing tile and marble is labor intensive, and workers spend much of their time bending, kneeling, and reaching. Although the occupation is not as dangerous as some other construction trades, workers still experience a high rate of injuries and illnesses.

How to Become a Tile and Marble Setter

Although some tile and marble setters learn their trade through a formal apprenticeship, most learn on the job, starting as a helper.

Pay

The median annual wage of tile and marble setters was $38,110 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of tile and marble setters is projected to grow 25 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all other occupations. Population growth and business growth, coupled with the increasing popularity of tile and marble, are the key factors in the demand for workers. Overall job prospects should improve in the coming decade as construction activity rebounds from the recent recession.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of tile and marble setters with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about tile and marble setters by contacting these additional resources.

What Tile and Marble Setters Do About this section

Some tilesetters create intricate designs.

Tile and marble setters apply hard tile, marble, and wood tiles to walls, floors, and other surfaces.

Duties

Tile and marble setters typically do the following:

• Clean and level the surface to be tiled
• Measure and cut tile and marble
• Arrange tiles according to the design plans
• Prepare and apply mortar or other adhesives
• Install tile and marble in the planned area
• Apply grout with a rubber trowel
• Wipe off excess grout and apply necessary finishes, such as sealants

Tile installers, tilesetters, and marble setters install materials on a variety of surfaces, such as floors, walls, ceilings, countertops, patios, and roof decks. Because tile and marble must be set on smooth, even surfaces, installers often must level the surface to be tiled with a layer of mortar or plywood. If the area to be tiled is unstable, workers must nail a support of metal mesh or tile backer board to create a stable surface.

To cut tiles, workers use power wet saws, tile scribes, or hand-held tile cutters to create even edges. They use trowels of different sizes to spread mortar or a sticky paste, called mastic, evenly on the surface to be tiled. To minimize imperfections and keep rows straight and even, they put spacers between tiles. The spacers keep tiles the same distance from each other until the mortar is dry. After the mortar dries and the tiles are set, they apply grout between tiles using a rubber trowel (called a float).

Marble setters may cut marble to a specified size with a power wet saw. After putting the marble in place, marble setters polish the marble to a high luster, using power or hand sanders.

Work Environment About this section

Tile grout is used to fill in the space between tiles.

Tile and marble setters held about 58,700 jobs in 2010, of which 38 percent were employed in the building finishing contractors industry. About 48 percent of tile and marble setters were self-employed.

Tile and marble are usually installed after most of the construction has been completed, so the work area for installers is typically clean and uncluttered. Still, mortar, adhesives, or grout may be sticky and messy.  

Installing tile and marble is labor intensive, with workers spending much of their time reaching, bending, and kneeling. As a result, workers must wear kneepads for protection. Tile and marble installers must also wear safety goggles when using grinders, saws, and sanders.

Injuries

Although the occupation is not as dangerous as some other construction trades, tile setters still experience a high rate of injuries and illnesses. Workers are subject to cuts from tools or materials, falls from ladders, and strained muscles from lifting heavy boxes of tile and marble.

Work Schedules

Most tile and marble setters work full time. In commercial settings, tilesetters may work evenings and weekends, often for higher wages, to avoid disturbing regular business operations.

About 48 percent of tile and marble setters were self-employed in 2010. Self-employed workers may have the ability to set their own schedule.

How to Become a Tile and Marble Setter About this section

These workers may grout tile in a shower.

Although some tile and marble setters learn their trade through a formal apprenticeship, many learn informally on the job, starting as a helper.

Training

Some tile and marble setters learn their trade through a 2- to 4-year apprenticeship. For each year of the program, apprentices must complete at least 144 hours of related technical training and 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training. Tile and marble setters may begin with 12-week pre-apprenticeship training at a training center to learn construction basics. Construction basics include mathematics, building code requirements, safety and first-aid practices, and reading blueprints.

After completing an apprenticeship program, tile and marble setters are considered to be journey workers and may perform duties on their own. 

Several groups, including unions and contractor associations, sponsor apprenticeship programs. The basic qualifications for entering an apprenticeship program are as follows:

• Minimum age of 18
• High school education or equivalent
• Physically able to perform the work

Some contractors have their own training programs for tile and marble setters. Although workers may enter apprenticeships directly, many first start out as helpers. 

Education

Some 2-year technical schools offer courses that are affiliated with unions and contractor organizations. The credits earned as part of an apprenticeship program usually count toward an associate’s degree.

Important Qualities

Color vision. Setting tile patterns involves determining small color variations. Because tile patterns often include many different colors, tilesetters must be able to distinguish between colors and patterns for the best looking finish. 

Customer-service skills. Working in customers’ homes is common. Therefore, tile and marble setters must be courteous and considerate of a customers’ property while completing tasks.

Detail oriented. Some tile arrangements can be highly detailed and artistic, so workers must ensure that the patterns are properly and accurately arranged.

Math skills. Basic math skills are used on every job. Besides measuring the area to be tiled, installers must calculate the number of tiles needed to cover an area.

Physical strength. Some marble setters need to be strong enough to carry and lift heavy marble countertops into position.

Stamina. Tile and marble setters must have the endurance to spend many hours on their feet. When setting tile or marble, installers also may be on their knees for hours at a time.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of tile and marble setters was $38,110 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half of the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $21,730, and the top 10 percent earned more than $68,980.

The starting pay for apprentices usually is between 30 percent and 50 percent of what fully trained tile and marble setters make. As they gain more skill, they receive pay increases.

Most tile and marble setters work full time. In commercial settings, tilesetters may work evenings and weekends, often for higher wages, to avoid disturbing regular business operations.

About 48 percent of tile and marble setters were self-employed in 2010. Self-employed workers may have the ability to set their own schedule.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of tile and marble setters is projected to grow 25 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Population growth and business growth, coupled with the increasing popularity of tile and marble, will be the major source of demand for tile and marble setters. Tile and natural stone are used heavily in shopping malls, hospitals, schools, and restaurants, as well as other commercial and government buildings, and this trend is expected to continue. Tiles, including those made of glass, mosaic, and other high-end tiles and marble, are also becoming more popular, particularly in new and remodeled homes. 

Job Prospects

Overall job prospects should improve over the coming decade as construction activity rebounds from the recent recession. As with many other construction workers, employment of tile and marble setters is sensitive to the fluctuations of the economy. On the one hand, workers may experience periods of unemployment when the overall level of construction falls. On the other hand, shortages of workers may occur in some areas during peak periods of building activity. 

Highly skilled workers with a good job history and work experience in construction will have the best opportunities.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For details about apprenticeships or other work opportunities in this trade, contact the offices of the state employment service, the state apprenticeship agency, local contractors or firms that employ tile and marble setters, or local union-management tile-and-marble-setting apprenticeship committees. Apprenticeship information is available from the U.S. Department of Labor's toll-free help line, 1 (877) 872-5627, and Employment and Training Administration.

For more information about tile installers and finishers, visit  

National Association of Home Builders

For more information about tilesetting and tile training, visit  

National Tile Contractors Association

Finishing Trades Institute International