Floor sanders and finishers scrape and sand wooden floors to smooth surfaces using floor scraper and floor sanding machine, and apply coats of finish.

  • Inspect floors for smoothness.
  • Scrape and sand floor edges and areas inaccessible to floor sanders, using scrapers, disk-type sanders, and sandpaper.
  • Guide sanding machines over surfaces of floors until surfaces are smooth.
  • Attach sandpaper to rollers of sanding machines.
  • Apply filler compound and coats of finish to floors to seal wood.
  • Remove excess glue from joints, using knives, scrapers, or wood chisels.
Work Context

Work Context information for this career will be available soon.

Work Activities
  • Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
  • Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
  • Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
  • Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
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Detailed Work Activities
  • Inspect completed work to ensure proper installation.
  • Smooth surfaces with abrasive materials or tools.
  • Smooth surfaces with abrasive materials or tools.
  • Load materials into construction equipment.
  • Apply sealants or other protective coatings.
  • Remove excess materials from finished construction projects.

Knowledge

Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills

Active Listening
  • Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Operation and Control
  • Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Abilities

Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Multilimb Coordination
  • The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Control Precision
  • The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Trunk Strength
  • The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing.
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Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Persistence
  • Initiative
  • Leadership
  • Cooperation
  • Concern for Others
  • Social Orientation
  • Self Control
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Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Computer aided design CAD software
  • Floor planning software Hot Technology
Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel Hot Technology
Project management software
  • FloorCOST Estimator for Excel
  • Measure Square
  • Saltire Software FloorRight
Data base user interface and query software
  • Flooring Technologies QFloors