A home builder laborer keeps new houses ready for the next trade by hauling material, clearing scrap, setting up tools and helping framers and other crews. They often work several lots in a day, cleaning one house while the next one waits for its crew.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Serves as a key support role on home construction sites by assisting trades, managing materials, and ensuring clean and organized work areas. Contributes directly to project efficiency and quality by providing hands-on support to skilled tradespeople. Upholds safety standards and best practices to maintain a productive work environment. Plays an integral part in meeting project timelines and quality goals.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Assist various trades by providing labor support and ensuring tools and materials are readily available.
Handle, transport, and organize construction materials safely and efficiently.
Maintain clean job sites by routinely sweeping, removing debris, and managing waste disposal.
Comply with all safety protocols and guidelines to ensure a safe working environment.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Load and unload materials from delivery trucks and storage areas.
Prepare job sites by setting up equipment and ensuring all materials are in place before work begins.
Assist tradespeople by performing basic construction tasks and following detailed instructions.
Monitor job site cleanliness continuously and perform routine inspections to ensure high standards.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Material handling accuracy: 98% correct inventory management.
Job site cleanliness: Achieve a 95% satisfaction rating during daily inspections.
Task completion within designated shift: 90% adherence to scheduled deadlines.
Safety compliance: 100% adherence to required safety protocols and no recordable incidents.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent.
Ability to follow verbal and written instructions accurately.
Strong work ethic with excellent team collaboration and communication skills.
Basic understanding of tool handling and safety procedures in a construction environment.
6. Preferred Experience
1+ years of experience in a construction, home building, or related field.
Proven track record of working on active job sites and assisting skilled tradespersons.
Familiarity with hand and power tools used in construction environments.
Experience in material handling and site maintenance tasks.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift and carry loads up to 50 pounds safely.
Capability to work in varying outdoor weather conditions (heat, cold, and rain).
Stamina to stand and walk for extended periods throughout an 8-hour shift.
Adeptness in performing physically demanding tasks including bending, crawling, and climbing.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Work is performed on active home construction sites with exposure to outdoor elements.
Typical schedule consists of an 8-hour shift, Monday to Friday, with occasional overtime.
On-site work requires adherence to project schedules and deadlines.
Possibility of on-call duties based on project needs and timelines.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly wage range of $15.00 - $20.00 per hour, commensurate with experience.
Eligibility for performance bonuses based on meeting key project milestones.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance benefits provided.
Access to 401(k) plan with company matching, paid time off, and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-focused company that values teamwork, integrity, and continuous improvement.
Our collaborative environment empowers employees to develop their skills and advance in their careers.
We invest in our team members with ongoing training and mentorship programs.
Our commitment to quality and customer satisfaction drives our success and sets us apart in the industry.
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
A laborer at a home builder moves between houses at every stage in one neighborhood. The work follows the order the trades come in, and much of it is getting each house clean and safe for the next crew.
Scrap off the stairs and walkways
OSHA's housekeeping rule for construction says scrap lumber with nails sticking out, and all other debris, has to be kept out of work areas, walkways and stairs, inside and around the building. On a house, that means sweeping the stairs and doorways, dealing with nails in scrap before it's piled, and keeping the path from the driveway clear before the next trade shows up. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.25, housekeeping.
Ladders up to the second floor
Before the stairs go in, a ladder is often the only way up to the second-floor deck. OSHA requires a portable ladder used to reach an upper level to extend at least 3 feet above the landing, or, when it's too short, to be secured at the top to a rigid support, with something to grab such as a grab rail. Teach this before a new laborer sets up their first ladder. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.1053, ladders.
Clean in stages the buyer will see
Plan cleaning in stages. After framing and after drywall, the goal is scrap and dust out so the next trade can start. Before the buyer's walkthrough, it's windows, floors, cabinets and fixtures wiped down and stickers off. Ask candidates which stage they've done, and show them your checklist for each one.
One house in the morning, another after lunch
A laborer at a home builder rarely stays on one house all day. The supervisor may send them to unload a truck on one lot, sweep another for the painters and help a framer on a third. Give new laborers a map of the community with lot numbers so they end up at the right house.
How much home builder laborers make
The closest BLS group for home builder laborers is Helpers--Carpenters. Helpers--Carpenters who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $21.64 an hour ($45,010 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $43,780 median for Helpers--Carpenters in all industries. About 8,030 of the 21,680 Helpers--Carpenters in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
Hourly, often with overtime in busy months. The pay shown is for carpenters' helpers, the trade most home builder laborers support, and the template's range sits below that group's BLS median.
Residential builders and remodelers
$45,010$45,010 median Middle half $36,750–$51,530 10th–90th $31,940–$58,670
All industries
$43,780$43,780 median Middle half $36,730–$49,400 10th–90th $31,660–$57,670
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Residential builders and remodelers
$31,940
$36,750
$45,010
$51,530
$58,670
All industries
$31,660
$36,730
$43,780
$49,400
$57,670
BLS reports home builders and remodelers 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
Shows up on time and ready at the start of the shift
Listens to directions and asks when something isn't clear
Notices hazards like loose boards, open holes and exposed nails
Works alone on a lot without close supervision
Handles brooms, shovels, wheelbarrows and hand trucks safely
Teach these on the job
Your community map, lot numbers and plans
Ladder setup and fall protection basics
Framing help, like cutting blocks and carrying trusses with the crew
How each trade wants a house left
Your debris sorting and dumpster rules
Laborers use brooms, shovels, wheelbarrows, a hammer, a tape measure and a utility knife, and in time a circular saw and nail gun under a lead's eye. List the tools you provide in the ad.
Home builder laborer interview questions
Two of the 6 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 · Staying clear of loads
You're helping unload lumber from a delivery truck, and the driver asks you to stand right beside the load while they unstrap it. What do you do?
A strong answer: Stays out of the area where the load could shift or fall, waits until it's unstrapped and stable, and asks the supervisor how they want it unloaded.
Behavioral · Reliability
Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when others counted on you to show up. How did you make sure you did?
A strong answer: Gives a real example with specifics: planned ahead, arrived on time, let people know early when something came up.
The template's targets are examples. Start with the supervisor's daily checks, and set targets once you know what a normal week looks like on your sites.
Material handling accuracy
Count material that went to the wrong lot, got damaged in handling or went missing from the laborer's loads, using the supervisor's notes and delivery tickets.
Job site cleanliness
Have the supervisor score each house the laborer cleaned against a short checklist on the morning walk, and note anything the next trade had to clear first.
Task completion within designated shift
Check the supervisor's morning task list against what got finished before quitting time, one simple list per day.
Safety compliance
Track missing safety gear, unsafe ladder setups and reported injuries from the supervisor's walks, and review each one with the laborer within days.
Career path
Laborer / helperCleans, hauls and helps the trades on every house.
Where does a home builder laborer start each morning?
Some builders meet at the shop to load a truck, and others send laborers straight to a lot the supervisor names the night before. Say which in the ad, and whether the laborer needs their own way to get to the shop or between communities.
How much does a home builder laborer make?
Helpers--Carpenters who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $21.64 an hour ($45,010 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $36,750 and $51,530 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Who checks a laborer's work at a home builder?
The field supervisor, usually on the morning walk or before a trade starts in a house. A good check takes minutes: are the stairs and floors clear, is the scrap in the dumpster, are tools put away and doors locked. Short feedback the same day works better than a review at the end of the month.
How long before a home builder laborer can move into a trade?
It depends on the person and how much you teach. Pair a laborer who wants to learn with a framer or trim carpenter, add one skill at a time, and set a date when they show the supervisor what they can do. Tell candidates in the interview that the path exists.
What do the laborer template's stamina, crawling and climbing lines mean on a home site?
They describe the work. The shift is spent on foot: carrying lumber and bags of trash, crawling under a house or up in the attic to pull scrap, climbing ladders to the second floor, and bending to sweep and shovel. Rain, heat and cold come with outdoor work. Name each task in the ad, then judge candidates on whether they can do the work, with a reasonable accommodation if needed.
