Microcement in Wet Areas: How Bathrooms Are Built

The uncomfortable truth

Microcement is a decorative finish. Properly sealed, it is water-resistant and handles daily water exposure well. But the surface is not what protects a bathroom. That job belongs to the wet-area membrane under the surface, installed by a licensed contractor before the finish goes on. There is no point applying a new surface over a shower that has no membrane underneath. The finish would look perfect right up until it didn't.

What a properly built microcement bathroom has, bottom to top

• •Sound substrate (tile, screed or sheeting, verified, not assumed)
• •A compliant wet-area membrane in wet zones, installed by a licensed contractor
• •Base coats building strength
• •Hand-trowelled microcement finish coats
• •A sealer system rated for wet areas

Why this is where cheap jobs fail

Steps one, two and five are invisible in the finished photos. Which makes them the easiest steps to skip and the hardest corners to catch until it's too late. Microcement cannot tolerate the small mistakes a tiled bathroom forgives: there are no grout lines to hide behind.

The one question that sorts every quote you get

'What happens under the microcement. And is it in writing?' We quote the whole system: membrane, build-up, finish, seal. In writing, every time. Thinking about a seamless bathroom? Start with photos of yours.