Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings. Apply or mount acoustical tiles or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings and walls of buildings to reduce or reflect sound. Materials may be of decorative quality. Includes lathers who fasten wooden, metal, or rockboard lath to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings to provide support base for plaster, fireproofing, or acoustical material.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $38,460 | $18.49 |
| 25th | $47,440 | $22.81 |
| 50th · Median | $58,930 | $28.33 |
| 75th | $74,230 | $35.69 |
| 90th | $102,010 | $49.04 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (31)
Typical tasks
- Read blueprints or other specifications to determine methods of installation, work procedures, or material or tool requirements.
- Measure and mark surfaces to lay out work, according to blueprints or drawings, using tape measures, straightedges or squares, and marking devices.
- Cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways.
- Hang drywall panels on metal frameworks of walls and ceilings in offices, schools, or other large buildings, using lifts or hoists to adjust panel heights, when necessary.
- Fit and fasten wallboard or drywall into position on wood or metal frameworks, using glue, nails, or screws.
- Measure and cut openings in panels or tiles for electrical outlets, windows, vents, plumbing, or other fixtures, using keyhole saws or other cutting tools.
Expand more tasks (18)
- Cut metal or wood framing and trim to size, using cutting tools.
- Cut fixture or border tiles to size, using keyhole saws, and insert them into surrounding frameworks.
- Coordinate work with drywall finishers who cover the seams between drywall panels.
- Trim rough edges from wallboard to maintain even joints, using knives.
- Install horizontal and vertical metal or wooden studs to frames so that wallboard can be attached to interior walls.
- Fasten metal or rockboard lath to the structural framework of walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using nails, screws, staples, or wire-ties.
- Install blanket insulation between studs and tack plastic moisture barriers over insulation.
- Assemble or install metal framing or decorative trim for windows, doorways, or vents.
- Scribe and cut edges of tile to fit walls where wall molding is not specified.
- Hang dry lines to wall moldings to guide positioning of main runners.
- Apply or mount acoustical tile or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings or walls of buildings to reduce reflection of sound or to decorate rooms.
- Remove existing plaster, drywall, or paneling, using crowbars and hammers.
- Suspend angle iron grids or channel irons from ceilings, using wire.
- Seal joints between ceiling tiles and walls.
- Inspect furrings, mechanical mountings, or masonry surfaces for plumbness and level, using spirit or water levels.
- Install metal lath where plaster applications will be exposed to weather or water, or for curved or irregular surfaces.
- Nail channels or wood furring strips to surfaces to provide mounting for tile.
- Mount tile, using adhesives, or by nailing, screwing, stapling, or wire-tying lath directly to structural frameworks.
Skills used in this work
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Expand more skills (29)
- 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.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
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