Great artisans are usually capable of:

• Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials.
• Performing precise and skillful manipulation of small objects.
• Being active and proactive in regards to physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Innovators will usually have four main goals:

• Developing or creating new applications, relationships, systems, or products.
• Providing creative ideas or artistic contributions.
• Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• Benchmarking, experimenting and testing novel approaches to solving problems.

• Aligning and straightening tiles using levels, squares, and straightedges.
• Determining and implementing the best layout for achieving a desired pattern.
• Cutting and shaping tiles for fitting around obstacles and into odd spaces and corners, using hand and power cutting tools.
• Finishing and dressing the joints and wiping excess grout from between tiles, using damp sponge.
• Applying mortar to the back of the tiles, positioning the tiles, and pressing or tapping with trowel handles for affixing tiles to base.
• Mixing, applying, and spreading plaster, concrete, mortar, cement, mastic, glues or other adhesives for forming a bed for the tiles, using brushes, trowels and screeds.
• Preparing cost and labor estimates, based on calculations of time and materials needed for the project.
• Measuring and marking surfaces to be tiled, following blueprints.
• Leveling concrete and allow for drying.
• Building underbeds and installing anchoring bolts, wires, and brackets.
• Preparing surfaces for tiling by attaching lath or waterproof paper, or by applying a cement mortar coat to a metal screen.