About This Career

Scrapes and sands wooden floors to smooth surfaces using floor scraper and floor sanding machine, and applies coats of finish.

This career is part of the Architecture and Construction cluster Construction pathway.

A person in this career:

• Buffs and vacuums floors to ensure their cleanliness prior to the application of finish.
• Inspects floors for smoothness.
• Scrapes and sands floor edges and areas inaccessible to floor sanders, using scrapers, disk-type sanders, and sandpaper.
• Attaches sandpaper to rollers of sanding machines.
• Guides sanding machines over surfaces of floors until surfaces are smooth.
• Applies filler compound and coats of finish to floors to seal wood.
• Removes excess glue from joints, using knives, scrapers, or wood chisels.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 50 lbs., sometimes up to 100 lbs. You will need a lot of strength at this level.
• Work in this occupation involves bending or twisting your body more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Work in this occupation involves kneeling, crouching, stooping, and/or crawling more than one-third of the time
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time
• Whole body vibrations, such as when operating a jackhammer
• Work in this occupation involves walking or running more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Using muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring
• Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching
• Seeing clearly up close
• Exerting oneself physically over long periods of time without getting out of breath
• Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Regular working hours and limited travel