A drywall finisher tapes, muds and sands the joints after the hangers leave, so walls and ceilings are smooth enough for paint. At a drywall and plaster contractor, the same person may also skim old walls, apply veneer plaster or patch plaster in a remodel.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, drywall and insulation contractors · BLS, May 2025
[Lead Finisher / Master Plasterer or Field Supervisor]
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
Responsible for high-quality drywall and plaster finishing using industry-standard techniques to ensure exceptional surface finishes and customer satisfaction. Contributes to the overall operational success by preparing, mixing, applying, and smoothing materials in residential and commercial projects.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Handle drywall mudding, taping, sanding, and finishing with precision and attention to detail.
Apply plaster to a variety of surfaces ensuring durability and aesthetic appeal.
Collaborate with team members and project supervisors to meet project deadlines and quality standards.
Maintain a clean and organized work environment to promote safety and efficiency.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Prepare and mix materials for drywall mudding and plaster application.
Execute taping and sanding of drywall joints to achieve smooth finishes.
Inspect work areas for any imperfections and perform necessary touch-ups.
Communicate directly with customers to understand project requirements and provide status updates.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Quality of Finish: Achieve a customer satisfaction rating of above 4.8 stars on completed projects.
Efficiency: Complete tasks within scheduled hours with a target waste reduction rate of <5%.
Productivity: Process an average of 1,000 square feet of finished surface per day.
Safety: Maintain a 0% record of work-related incidents and accidents.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent required.
At least 2 years of experience in drywall finishing or plaster application.
Proficient in mixing, applying, and finishing various plaster and drywall compounds.
Strong attention to detail and ability to work efficiently in a team environment.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working on both residential and commercial drywall and plaster projects in the home services industry.
Familiarity with advanced plastering techniques and materials.
Previous work experience in a fast-paced construction or renovation setting.
Proven track record of delivering high-quality, precise finishes.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift and move materials up to 50 lbs.
Capable of standing, bending, and kneeling for extended periods.
Comfortable working in various indoor and outdoor environments.
Must be able to work in confined spaces and on scaffolding when required.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Regular full-time position with standard daytime hours (Monday-Friday).
Occasional overtime may be required to meet project deadlines.
Minimal travel between job sites within the local area.
May be required to work on-call for urgent customer projects.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay Range: $18 - $25 per hour, based on experience and qualifications.
Performance bonuses based on project completion quality and efficiency.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans provided.
401(k) retirement savings plan and other fringe benefits offered.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a growth-oriented environment that values craftsmanship, innovation, and customer satisfaction.
Our team is committed to continuous learning, collaboration, and supporting each other to advance professionally.
We celebrate diversity and encourage every team member to contribute their unique skills to our collective success.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Hangers get the board on the wall. The finisher decides how that wall looks once it's painted, and on a plaster job, whether a patch blends in or shows.
The paint decides the finish level
National Gypsum's summary of the Gypsum Association's GA-214 lays out levels of finish for drywall. Level 4 means tape plus two coats on flat joints, one on inside corners and three on screws and bead, and it suits flat paint. Level 5 adds a skim coat over the whole surface, for glossy or dark paint and harsh lighting. A finisher should know each room's level before the first coat. Source: National Gypsum: summary of GA-214 levels of finish.
Sanding dust needs controls
NIOSH says joint compounds are made from ingredients such as talc, calcite, mica, gypsum and silica, and some contain silica. The dust irritates eyes, nose and throat, and where silica is present it raises the risk of silicosis. In a NIOSH study, vacuum sanding systems cut dust exposure by four-fifths or more, and pole sanders keep the finisher's face farther from the wall. Check each compound's safety data sheet for silica. Source: NIOSH: Control of drywall sanding dust exposures (99-113).
Ceilings mean stilts and rolling scaffolds
O*NET lists working on high ceilings from scaffolds or stilts among a taper's tasks. On a rolling scaffold, OSHA wants the casters locked while it's used in one spot, and any push applied no higher than five feet up. Workers may ride it during a move only when every condition in the rule is met, among them a floor within 3 degrees of level with no holes, a height no more than twice the base width unless the scaffold meets tested stability standards, and nobody standing past the wheels. Source: 29 CFR 1926.452: Mobile scaffolds, paragraph (w) (eCFR).
Lime in plaster can burn skin
California's plastering license class lists quicklime and hydrated lime among plaster's ingredients. NIOSH lists eye and skin burns and blistering among the effects of hydrated lime. It advises keeping it off skin and out of eyes, washing skin when it gets on you and again before heading home, changing out of wet clothes, and having an eyewash on hand. Gloves, sleeves and safety glasses go on before the first batch is mixed. Source: NIOSH Pocket Guide: Calcium hydroxide (hydrated lime).
How much drywall finishers make
The closest BLS group for drywall finishers is tapers. Tapers who work for drywall and insulation contractors earned a median of $34.05 an hour ($70,830 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $68,270 median for tapers in all industries. About 10,000 of the 12,840 tapers in that survey work for drywall and insulation contractors.
The Drive template quotes an hourly range, plus bonuses for finish quality and efficiency. BLS files drywall finishers under tapers, whose median at drywall contractors is well above the template's range. Plasterers have their own code, with a lower median that still tops that range, so check local pay before you post.
Drywall and insulation contractors
$70,830$70,830 median Middle half $52,730–$84,460 10th–90th $43,140–$107,150
All industries
$68,270$68,270 median Middle half $52,730–$88,540 10th–90th $43,670–$107,110
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Drywall and insulation contractors
$43,140
$52,730
$70,830
$84,460
$107,150
All industries
$43,670
$52,730
$68,270
$88,540
$107,110
BLS reports drywall and insulation contractors together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Beds tape and coats joints flat enough to pass a work light
Runs corner bead and inside corners straight
Sands without scuffing through the paper face
Mixes compound and plaster to the right thickness for each coat
Works from stilts, benches and rolling scaffolds safely
Covers a homeowner's floors and furniture before mixing
Teach these on the job
Automatic tapers and flat boxes
Level 5 skim coating
Veneer plaster over blueboard
Matching knockdown and orange peel textures
Your vacuum sanders and dust control setup
Finishers use taping knives, a hawk and trowel, corner tools, mud pans and a pole sander, and many crews add automatic tapers and flat boxes. List the tools the company provides, note if you sand with vacuum systems, and say whether the work includes plaster or only drywall.
Drywall finisher interview questions
Two of the 7 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Fixing defects
Light from a big window shows ridges in a wall you finished yesterday. What do you do?
A strong answer: Fixes it before paint with a skim and sanding, checks with a work light, and tells the lead if the wall needs a higher finish level.
Behavioral · Matching texture
Tell me about a time you had to match an existing wall or ceiling texture.
A strong answer: Describes testing the mix and tool on a sample and blending the edges.
The Drive targets are a starting point. A tract home on a builder's schedule and a plaster patch in a 1920s house finish at very different speeds, so set numbers once you've tracked a few months of jobs.
Quality of Finish
Customer ratings on jobs this finisher worked, checked against your own walk with a work light for ridges, shiny patches and screws showing through the paint.
Efficiency
Hours on each job against the hours you bid, plus how much compound, tape and bead got thrown out or came back unused.
Productivity
Square feet finished per day, counted apart for new board, skim coats and plaster, since a Level 5 room takes far longer than a garage.
Safety
Count injuries and near misses, such as falls from benches or stilts, cuts and eye splashes, and spot-check that dust controls were in use.
Career path
Laborer / helperStocks board, mixes mud, cleans up and learns to tape beside a finisher.
Drywall finisherTapes, coats and sands whole jobs, and patches or skims plaster.
Lead finisherTakes Level 5 and plaster work and trains newer finishers.
Field supervisorChecks quality and pace across several crews and job sites.
Your state's contractor board sets the rules, and they differ from place to place. California shows how narrow the classes can get: drywall work, including taping and texturing, is one class, and lathing and plastering is another. A company that does both there should confirm its license covers each kind of job before a finisher starts on plaster.
How much does a drywall finisher make?
Tapers who work for drywall and insulation contractors earned a median of $34.05 an hour ($70,830 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $52,730 and $84,460 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
What's the difference between a drywall hanger and a finisher?
Hangers measure, cut and fasten the board. Finishers take over from there: tape, bead, coats of compound, sanding and touch-up. Some workers do both; other crews keep the two jobs apart. BLS counts them apart too, as drywall installers and tapers, so a hanger's pay data won't tell you what a finisher earns.
Can a drywall finisher do plaster work?
Some can, and many can learn part of it. Veneer plaster goes on in thin coats over blueboard and uses the same hawk and trowel. Three-coat plaster on lath, and repairs to old plaster, take longer to learn. Ask candidates which plaster systems they've done and have them show you a small patch.
How can I test a drywall finisher before hiring?
Pay the candidate for a half day on a few sheets of board. Have them tape a butt joint, run an inside corner and coat a strip of bead, then come back for the next coats. Shine a work light along the wall once it's dry. Watch how they mix, how much they sand, and whether drips and dust stay off the floor.
Which physical tasks belong in a drywall finisher ad?
Write them as tasks: carrying mud buckets and boxes of up to 50 pounds, as the template lists, ceiling work overhead, using stilts or rolling scaffolds, and kneeling for bottom joints. Say that sanding is dusty and that you provide masks and eye protection. Keep the wording on the work itself, not the worker's body or age.
