What is a Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer?
Job Description: 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, fire-proofing, or acoustical material.
Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer Responsibilities
- 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.
- Cut metal or wood framing and trim to size, using cutting tools.
- Nail channels or wood furring strips to surfaces to provide mounting for tile.
- Apply cement to backs of tiles and press tiles into place, aligning them with layout marks or joints of previously laid tile.
- Cut fixture or border tiles to size, using keyhole saws, and insert them into surrounding frameworks.
- Seal joints between ceiling tiles and walls.
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Skills Needed to be a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer
Below is a list of the skills most Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers say are important on the job.
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.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Related Job Titles for this Occupation:
- Wood Lather
- Drywall Carrier
- Wire Lather
- Sheet Rock Layer
- Drywall Finisher
Job Demand for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 119,500 jobs in the United States for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 10,500 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer are Utah, Colorado, and Oregon. Watch out if you plan on working in Kentucky, Mississippi, or Vermont. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer Salary
The typical yearly salary for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers is somewhere between $27,490 and $83,010.

Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers who work in Hawaii, Minnesota, or Washington, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers in different U.S. states.
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $33,680 |
Alaska | $51,560 |
Arizona | $41,830 |
Arkansas | $39,780 |
California | $61,820 |
Colorado | $46,620 |
Connecticut | $54,830 |
Delaware | $42,890 |
District of Columbia | $48,070 |
Florida | $35,240 |
Georgia | $37,570 |
Hawaii | $79,500 |
Idaho | $35,800 |
Illinois | $56,010 |
Indiana | $44,300 |
Iowa | $35,110 |
Kansas | $42,770 |
Kentucky | $41,720 |
Louisiana | $35,520 |
Maine | $43,680 |
Maryland | $45,280 |
Massachusetts | $49,980 |
Michigan | $42,300 |
Minnesota | $58,530 |
Mississippi | $34,960 |
Missouri | $44,430 |
Montana | $41,840 |
Nebraska | $39,240 |
Nevada | $37,930 |
New Hampshire | $47,380 |
New Jersey | $54,200 |
New Mexico | $39,330 |
New York | $49,600 |
North Carolina | $37,060 |
North Dakota | $49,290 |
Ohio | $40,810 |
Oklahoma | $44,130 |
Oregon | $59,230 |
Pennsylvania | $47,690 |
Rhode Island | $40,720 |
South Carolina | $36,940 |
South Dakota | $33,600 |
Tennessee | $40,080 |
Texas | $37,870 |
Utah | $39,530 |
Vermont | $44,920 |
Virginia | $36,190 |
Washington | $59,990 |
West Virginia | $36,700 |
Wisconsin | $46,450 |
Wyoming | $42,030 |
What Tools do Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers Use?
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers:
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Windows
- Turtle Creek Software Goldenseal
- Palm OS
- On Center Quick Bid
- Job costing software
- Construction Software Center EasyEst
- Wilhelm Publishing Threshold
- DevWave Estimate Works
Becoming a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer
Individuals working as a Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer have obtained the following education levels:

How Long Does it Take to Become a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer?

Where Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers Work

Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers work in the following industries:

Similar Careers
Career changers with experience as a Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
References:
Image Credit: Margo Wright via Public domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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