Microcement Bathroom Cost | UK Prices Per m²

01 The short answer

£120 to £180 per square metre, fitted

That is the UK range for a microcement bathroom, installed. Most contractors also have a minimum charge of £3,200 to £5,000, because a small room takes almost as long as a big one.

Everything below explains where the number comes from and what moves it, so you can tell whether a quote you have been given is fair.

We put the figure at the top because nobody else does. Search for this and Google currently shows a Reddit thread and a Mumsnet thread above most of the trade, which tells you how rare a straight answer is.

Our own price

Every quotation is fixed in writing before we start, itemised into preparation, materials, labour and protection. The number does not move once it is signed.

02 Why a bathroom

A bathroom costs more than a floor

A plain microcement floor in a living room is usually £85 to £120 per square metre. A bathroom is £120 to £180. The difference is not the microcement, it is everything underneath and around it.

Tanking

A wet room has to be waterproofed properly before anything decorative goes on. That is a separate system, separately installed.

Edges and fixtures

A floor is a rectangle. A bathroom is a basin, a toilet, a bath, a tray, a window reveal and a dozen internal corners, every one worked by hand.

Slip resistance

A shower floor needs a different finish from a wall. That is another layer and another decision.

03 Room size

Why small bathrooms cost more per square metre

This is the part that surprises people, and it is the reason for the minimum charge.

A 4m² cloakroom and a 40m² kitchen floor need almost the same setup. The same protection goes down, the same primer, the same number of return visits while each layer cures. Microcement is five to seven layers over four to seven days, and you cannot compress that however small the room is.

So the labour barely changes while the area collapses. A cloakroom can work out at double the per-square-metre rate of a big open floor. A quote that looks expensive is often just a small room being priced honestly.

What you are paying for

Materials are about £40 to £50 per square metre. The rest is labour: primer, fibreglass mesh through the base so it cannot crack along a joint, two base coats, two trowelled finish coats, sanding between, then two or three coats of sealer.

Between most of those is a wait. Anyone quoting two days is leaving layers out.

04 Questions

What people ask before they commit

Is microcement waterproof?

The finished, sealed surface is waterproof. The microcement on its own is not a waterproofing system. In a shower or wet room the waterproofing is the tanking membrane that goes on before the microcement, and both are needed. If a quote does not mention tanking, ask why.

Can you put microcement over tiles?

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons people choose it. The tiles have to be sound: firmly stuck down, not drummy, not moving. They are cleaned, keyed and primed, and the mesh in the base coat stops the grout lines telegraphing through. What it will not fix is a loose tile, a wet wall or a substrate that moves.

Is microcement cheaper than tiles?

Usually not on the invoice, often yes on the job as a whole. Mid-range tiling lands in a similar place per square metre once you count tiles, adhesive, grout and labour. Microcement wins where it saves other work: it goes over existing tiles, so you skip the rip-out, the skip and the days of mess.

Can microcement be used in a shower?

Yes, on walls, floor and tray, with no grout lines anywhere. It is one of the finishes microcement does best, because a shower is exactly where grout normally fails. The shower floor takes a more textured finish than the walls for grip.

Does microcement work with underfloor heating?

Yes. It is thin and conducts heat better than a thick tile and adhesive bed. The heating needs commissioning and cycling properly before the microcement goes down, and the screed needs to be fully dry, but there is no conflict between the two.

How long does a microcement bathroom last?

Fifteen to twenty years before it needs anything, installed and sealed properly. The wearing part is the sealer rather than the microcement. On a heavily used shower floor, a re-seal every five to ten years keeps it right, which is a cheap day's work rather than a refit.

How do you clean microcement?

Warm water and a pH-neutral cleaner. Avoid bleach, limescale removers and anything abrasive, because they attack the sealer, and once the sealer has gone the surface starts marking. No grout means no scrubbing, which is most of the appeal.

Can you do microcement yourself?

You can buy kits and people do, but be honest about what you are taking on. The material is not difficult to understand; the trowel work is difficult to do. It sets on a clock, it shows every hesitation, and there is no sanding out a bad wall afterwards. Most DIY microcement goes wrong on the finish coat, after the money and the week are already spent.

How much does a microcement bathroom cost?