How to hire a maintenance carpenter

How to hire a maintenance carpenter, step by step

Here's a step-by-step maintenance carpenter hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a maintenance carpenter job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new maintenance carpenter
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a maintenance carpenter do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The maintenance carpenter hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A maintenance carpenter's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, maintenance carpenters from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of maintenance carpenters.

   Type of Maintenance Carpenter	Description	Hourly rate
   Maintenance Carpenter	General maintenance and repair workers fix and maintain machines, mechanical equipment, and buildings. They paint, repair flooring, and work on plumbing, electrical, and air-conditioning and heating systems.	$15-28
   Groundskeeping Maintenance	A Groundskeeping Maintenance Worker performs several skilled and semi-skilled tasks in grounds keeping and building trade areas. They maintain turf places, including weed control and Integrated Pest Management... Show more	$11-18
   Carpenter Foreman	A Carpenter Foreman supervises the work of a group of people engaged in carpentry, locksmith, or bricklaying work. They inspect buildings or other structures reported to be in need of repair and estimate the necessary time and materials for restoring them.	$20-37

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Hand Tools
   • Ladders
   • Plumbing
   • Scaffolding
   • Sheetrock
   • HVAC
   • Maintenance
   • Drywall Repair
   • Roofing
   • Demolition
   • OSHA
   • Snow Removal
   • Hazardous Materials
   • Switches

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Apprentice in plant HVAC group.
   • Trouble shooting HVAC and electrical problems.
   • Repair plumbing, flooring, windows, doors, lighting, install tile, locksmith, build furniture, & cabinets.
   • Repair or replace broken plumbing and/or electrical components.
   • Perform additional miscellaneous maintenance including high-end furniture deliveries
   • Manipulate rigging lines, hoists, and pulling gears to move or support materials such as heavy equipment and others.

   More maintenance carpenter duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the maintenance carpenter job description is a good way to get more applicants. A maintenance carpenter salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a maintenance carpenter in Georgia may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level maintenance carpenter. Additionally, a maintenance carpenter with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average maintenance carpenter salary

   $44,673yearly

   $21.48 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level maintenance carpenter salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 22, 2025

   Average maintenance carpenter salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Alaska	$61,886	$30
   2	Minnesota	$55,758	$27
   3	Virginia	$50,228	$24
   4	Pennsylvania	$49,945	$24
   5	Massachusetts	$49,634	$24
   6	Colorado	$47,960	$23
   7	Wisconsin	$47,929	$23
   8	California	$47,199	$23
   9	Nevada	$46,129	$22
   10	Ohio	$44,378	$21
   11	Michigan	$43,963	$21
   12	Maryland	$42,516	$20
   13	Kentucky	$42,213	$20
   14	Kansas	$42,175	$20
   15	Illinois	$42,141	$20
   16	Florida	$40,494	$19
   17	Alabama	$39,320	$19
   18	Texas	$38,885	$19
   19	Oklahoma	$33,481	$16

   Average maintenance carpenter salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Holton-Arms School	$55,178	$26.53
   2	Fluor Corporation	$53,923	$25.92	25
   3	Leidos	$53,337	$25.64	21
   4	Teledyne Technologies Incorporated	$52,855	$25.41	2
   5	Clear Channel Airport	$52,242	$25.12
   6	Northrop Grumman	$50,898	$24.47	15
   7	University of Alaska	$50,023	$24.05	10
   8	Fullerton Joint Union High School District	$49,301	$23.70
   9	Vectrus	$48,564	$23.35
   10	Foster Farms	$48,286	$23.21	9
   11	H&K Group	$47,189	$22.69	3
   12	Andover Public Schools	$45,993	$22.11
   13	Vail Resorts	$45,734	$21.99	104
   14	Henry Clay High School	$43,817	$21.07	2
   15	Westcal Management	$43,738	$21.03	2
   16	Leisure World of Maryland	$43,356	$20.84	2
   17	Masonic Villages of The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania	$43,070	$20.71
   18	Springbrook Software	$42,565	$20.46
   19	Tyson Foods	$42,452	$20.41	37
   20	County of Riverside	$42,418	$20.39	4

4. Writing a maintenance carpenter job description

   A job description for a maintenance carpenter role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a maintenance carpenter job description:

   Maintenance carpenter job description example

   SUMMARY DESCRIPTION:
   
   Under direction, performs skilled finish and rough carpentry and cabinetry work in maintaining, repairing, and constructing furniture, building fixtures and wooden frameworks for structures. Employees in this class perform carpentry duties necessary to construct and maintain structural woodwork and equipment by using standard carpenter tools and power driven woodworking machinery, and make or repair furniture and cabinets. Work assignments are received orally or in the form of sketches, blueprints or written instructions, and employees apply personal knowledge and skills in completing such assignments. Most positions in this class involve scheduled visits to an assigned number of schools to review requests for carpentry work. Work is checked through personal inspection by supervisor and through discussions on difficult problems encountered. Supervision may be exercised over one or more assistants of a lesser grade.
   
   CERTIFICATE LICENSE:
   
   Possession of a valid Maryland noncommercial class C driver's license, or equivalent.
   
   KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES:
   
   Completion of MCPS Carpenter Knowledge Test and MCPS Carpenter Skills Test at the required score. Considerable knowledge of standard methods, materials, and tools of the trade with particular emphasis on the maintenance of building fixtures or cabinetry; working knowledge of carpentry construction work. Ability to plan, lay out, and perform skilled carpentry work; ability to read and follow work diagrams in maintenance and construction projects and to make accurate estimates on time and materials. Skill in the use and care of hand and power tools of the trade. Completion of MCPS Carpenter Knowledge Test and MCPS Carpenter Skills Test at the required score. Knowledge of and the ability to meet the seven core competencies of the Supporting Services Professional Growth System (SSPGS).
   
   EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE:
   
   High School or GED diploma required. Minimum of five years proven experience in the carpentry and remodeling trades. Thorough knowledge of applicable building/safety codes, methods, materials, tools, and equipment used in both rough and finished carpentry in residential/commercial settings. Education, training and experience with blueprint reading, Maximo work order system or similar systems, indoor air quality and mold prevention/remediation required.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find maintenance carpenters for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any maintenance carpenters they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level maintenance carpenters with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your maintenance carpenter job on Zippia to find and recruit maintenance carpenter candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with maintenance carpenter candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new maintenance carpenter

   Once you've found the maintenance carpenter candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new maintenance carpenter. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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