Highest Paid Trades in Construction

Our Top 10 Highest Paid Trades in Construction Industry

Last Updated: 2022-02-16By

There is a huge debate about studying for corporate job versus going into trades right away to make a construction career. There are many studies that show both sides benefitting financially along the way and today we wanted to underline best paid construction trades.

It is personal decision which path to make though life and our team can only help provide enough information to make that choice. Remodel On Point is involved in estimating, hiring and taking part of many construction projects. Based on our experience we created a top 10 list of best earners in renovations and home construction.

Our selected list of highest paid trades within construction:

  • Welder
  • Plumber
  • HVAC Technician
  • Electrician
  • Concrete Finisher
  • Carpenter
  • Mason
  • Roofing Installer
  • Landscape Professional
  • Drywall Tapers

Describing each trade we are trying to show average wages for each. Comment and let us know if your city or state has different salaries for this list.

Higher end positions like project managers, architects and engineers are not included in our discussion topic.

How Much Best Paid Trades Actually Make?

To make it more clear for readers, Remodel On Point is giving national average wages for beginners or helpers, union rates and regular subcontractor wages. Every trade has options and ways to grow and while independent contractors may make more money, union jobs provide stability and benefits.

Welder – The job seems to be not to technical or complicated. It’s simply two pieces of metal attached together.

Education is not required and certificate is optional for welders in construction industry. It is our top 1 choice for highest paid trades list due to high salaries and minimal requirements.

Apprentice or Helper Welder Makes $18 per hour

Average Union Rate for Welders is $33 per hour

Welding Contractors Charge from $60 per hour

Plumber – One of most technical and hardest trades to learn. To become a plumber one needs to complete years of apprenticeship and pass necessary exam.

Statistic show that that plumbers are in high demand since 2010. New generation took path of technology and economics instead of licensed trades and experienced plumbers are retiring every day.

Apprentice or Helper Plumber Makes $16 per hour

Average Union Rate for Plumber is $34 per hour

Plumber Contractors Charge from $50 per hour

HVAC Technician – Every house renovation and upgrade requires HVAC professional to install ducts, radiators or exhaust fans.

They deal with gas, heat systems and AC on daily basis. The responsibility for this type of work is through the room and they are getting paid for exactly that. HVAC professionals require license for operation.

Apprentice or Helper HVAC Technician Makes $16 per hour

Average Union Rate for HVAC Technician is $36 per hour

HVAC Technician Contractors Charge from $46 per hour

Electrician – used to be one of the most popular licensed trades in America and now slowly declining in supply of professional workers.

Electrical work is so dangerous and technical, they have their own code and bylaws. Wiring a light or a switch seems easy to do, but to properly rough in large house, connect appliances and install electrical panel takes a professional to finish. Rough materials cost a fortune as well.

Apprentice or Helper Electrician Makes $18 per hour

Average Union Rate for Electrician is $37 per hour

Electrician Contractors Charge from $47 per hour

Concrete Finisher – directly work on concrete surface at homes or driveway. Commercial jobs mostly cover sidewalks and roads and these guys pour concrete with exceptionally smooth finish.

It takes years to perfect the trades and when watching concrete finishers it looks easy. But there is absolutely nothing easy about working with concrete. It is one of the hardest labours out there and working on the street makes it super dangerous.

Apprentice or Helper Concrete Finisher Makes $22 per hour

Average Union Rate for Concrete Finisher is $34 per hour

Concrete Finishing Contractors Charge from $54 per hour

Carpenter – They are making the shape of the house, levelling floors with walls and set the tone for other trades.

Every day for carpenter is physically tough, full of complicated structures and very dangerous. No matter what is the weather, carpenters have to finish framing the house for others to be protected within.

Apprentice or Helper Carpenter Makes $20 per hour

Average Union Rate for Carpenter is $30 per hour

Carpenter Contractors Charge from $45 per hour

Mason – installing bricks and natural stone as a façade for the house is very difficult and should be highly paid.

Everyday all day long masonry workers make concrete mix, get it up on scaffolds with bricks and install one on top of each other. Work becomes an intense routine and most of installers forget about safety.

Apprentice or Helper Mason Makes $22 per hour

Average Union Rate for Mason is $38 per hour

Masonry Contractors Charge from $60 per hour

Roofing Installer – associated with most falls at work and skin cancer. Types of roofing materials used for jobs is increasing every day, but all workers perform almost the same tasks.

No one would argue that roofing on top of the list of most dangerous occupations on America. More people are getting familiar with safety and their rights at work.

Apprentice or Helper Roofer Makes $22 per hour

Average Union Rate for Roofers is $38 per hour

Roofing Contractors Charge from $53 per hour

Landscape Professional – Seasonal heavy labour that involves carrying stones, digging with shovel and tons of intense labour outside.

Many immigrants and students work in landscape business as helpers. The market is oversaturated with cheap labour buy lack of highly professional companies. Therefore helpers earn a little while contractors can charge a lot more for completed projects.

Apprentice or Helper Landscaper Makes $16 per hour

Average Union Rate for Landscapers is $30 per hour

Landscape Contractors Charge from $40 per hour

Drywall Tapers – make interior walls and ceiling look perfectly smooth. Of course drywall installers before them cannot be savages and leave large gaps or uneven connections.

Just like many other highest paid trades, drywall tapers are not required to have any certification or licensing. Their work is very linear and all they do is put mud on the walls and smooth it out. Dust is everywhere and most of tapers work in masks.

Apprentice or Helper Drywall Taper Makes $15 per hour

Average Union Rate for Tapers is $28 per hour

Drywall Taping Contractors Charge from $40 per hour

High Rise and Commercial Highest Paid Trades

It made sense separating two completely different fields and creating a separate top 5 list of best earning trades specifically for high rises.

  • Crane Operator
  • Elevator Installer
  • Inspectors
  • Machine Technician
  • Sheet Metal Worker

In commercial and high rise industry there are less subcontractors and individual companies that are not part of the union. For these 5 best paid trades we are just underlining rates that union guarantees.

Crane Operator

In high rise industry the highest earners and single most important people on entire jobsite that control complicated operations. Crane operator is definitely one of them. There is usually one crane or sometimes two per high-rise building construction.

Average Union Rate for Crane operator is $56 per hour

Elevator Installer

Unpopular trade or profession in construction is elevator installer. It could involve small residential elevators, commercial loading elevators or even temporary lifts for condo buildings. Many lives depend on safety of elevator and they should be highly experienced to work as master installer.

Average Union Rate for Elevator Installer is $45 per hour

Inspectors

There are several types of inspectors that you can find on jobsite. Some of them are responsible for ensuring the quality of work, some manage and inspect safety aspects and some are the regulator of building codes.

Average Union Rate for Inspector is $44 per hour

Machine Technician

Large construction sites involve heavy equipment and machinery for transport of material and operations. When something breaks down, we call a technician directly on jobsite to fix it without being towed to shop.

Average Union Rate for Machine Technician is $42 per hour

Sheet Metal Worker

The last our list are workers that cut, install, prepare and simply deal with sheet metal. Material to be handled is sharp and heavy. It may cause lots of work related injuries and workers are compensated to take the risk.

Average Union Rate for Sheet Metal Worker is $38 per hour

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:
  • Asphalt
  • Concrete
  • Paver Stone
  • Crushed stone
  • Brick
  • Seashell
  • Gravel
To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway
  • Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
  • Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
  • Patches and small holes can be fixed fast
Cons of Asphalt Driveway
  • Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
  • Almost everyone else has same surface
  • Oily surface and chemicals used in mix
Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway
  • Durable material for large weights
  • Long lifespan if installed properly
  • Winter and summer friendly
Cons of Concrete Driveway
  • Has marks and stains over time
  • Hard to repair without replacement
  • Super hard to DIY
To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Creative designs can be done
  • Personal looks, can match the house
  • Can replace single stone in minutes
Cons of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Weeds growing through
  • Stone can move over time
  • Most expensive material
There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Low maintenance required
  • Fits rural area style
  • Can be reused for other purposes
Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Gets very hot during summer
  • Can be messy after many drives
  • Hard to remove snow and ice
Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway
  • Variety of selections in shapes and shades
  • Bricks are recyclable
  • Slip resistant with rough top part
Cons of Brick Driveway
  • Needs regular maintenance
  • Change color over time
  • Old fashion looking
Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway
  • Environmentally friendly
  • Has natural drainage
  • Creates worm vibe of beach house
Cons of Seashell Driveway
  • Break and crack under light weight
  • Sharp and very hard to walk on
  • Gets stuck in shoes and tires
To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway
  • Cheapest of them all
  • Easy DIY Job
  • Can install another material on top
Cons of Gravel Driveway
  • Needs to be graded very often
  • Will mix with dirt and leaves
  • Washes up with heavy rains
It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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