Microcement Bathrooms in South London

What Affects the Cost?

• •Wall and floor area to be coated, and whether existing tiles stay or come off
• •Substrate condition and the prep needed to get a sound, flat base
• •Waterproof membrane specification across the shower zone and floor
• •Finish chosen: matt or satin sealer, and the colour and texture you want
• •Curved or detailed areas, such as shower benches, niches and reveals
• •Access and whether you only have the one bathroom in use during the work

Areas We Cover

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a microcement bathroom actually waterproof?

The microcement itself is not what keeps water out. The waterproofing is the membrane underneath it. This is the point most people misunderstand, and it is where cheap installs fail. We lay a full tanking system across the shower zone, the floor and any splash areas first, and let it cure, exactly as we would under tiles. The microcement goes on top of that cured membrane in thin trowelled layers, and once it is built up we seal it with a two-coat polyurethane sealer that makes the surface itself water-resistant and wipeable. So you have two lines of defence: the membrane stops water reaching the substrate, and the sealer stops the cement drinking it. Applied that way a microcement bathroom holds up in daily-use showers. Applied straight onto plasterboard with no membrane, which is what some installers do to save a day, it will let go within a season.

Can microcement go over existing tiles?

Often, yes, and it is one of the reasons people choose it. Because the layers are only 2 to 3mm thick, microcement can go over sound, well-bonded tiles without the mess and disruption of a full strip-out. We check the tiles are solid first, tapping for hollow or drummy areas, then key the surface, fill the grout lines flush and prime so the cement has something to grip. If the tiles are loose, cracked or moving, that has to be sorted before anything goes on, because microcement follows the surface beneath it: a problem under the coating becomes a problem in the coating. Where the old waterproofing is suspect in a shower, we take it back and re-tank rather than trust what is there. On a sound base, going over tiles keeps the build shorter and the dust down.

Does microcement crack or show wear in a bathroom?

Microcement is a cementitious finish, so it moves with the building and is laid to absorb that. We apply it over a fibreglass mesh in the body coats, which spreads any movement across the surface rather than letting it concentrate into a crack. On a stable, properly prepared substrate it stays sound for years. The one honest caveat is that this is a hand-trowelled finish, so it carries subtle cloud and tonal shift across the surface. That is the look people want, but if you are after flat, factory-uniform colour, large-format porcelain is the better pick and I will tell you so on the site visit. The sealer is the wearing layer. In a heavily used shower it wants reapplying every few years, which is a wipe-down job, not a re-coat of the whole room.

How do you maintain a microcement bathroom?

Day to day it is easier than tiling, because there are no grout lines to scrub and discolour. You clean it with a pH-neutral cleaner and a soft cloth or mop, the same as a sealed stone floor. The things to avoid are bleach, strong acids and abrasive pads, because they attack the polyurethane sealer rather than the dirt. In the shower, squeegeeing the walls after use keeps limescale from building on the sealer, which matters in hard-water South London. The sealer is what protects the cement, so the long-term job is keeping that sealer intact. We hand over the product details and a maintenance note at the end so you know exactly what is on your walls. Resealing the wet zones periodically keeps it performing, and we can come back and do it.

Does a microcement bathroom suit a period home?

It can sit beautifully in a period home, but the detailing decides whether it reads as considered or as a slab of grey. In a Victorian or Edwardian house we tend to use it on a feature wall, a shower enclosure or the floor rather than wrapping every surface, so it works with original cornicing and joinery instead of fighting them. The continuous surface flatters the awkward, out-of-square walls these houses always have, because there is no grid of tile joints to expose where the wall runs off true. The colour and texture get sampled in the actual room light before we commit, since a sample that looks warm in a showroom can read cold under a north-facing sash window. Done with restraint, microcement is the on-brand finish that designers specify in these homes precisely because it is quiet.

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