Microcement gives you a seamless bathroom with no grout lines, but it is not automatically the better choice, and it is rarely the cheaper one. Here is how it compares with tiling on cost, durability and upkeep in the kinds of homes we see around Chelmsford.
Microcement is a polymer-modified cement coating, trowelled on by hand in several thin coats to a total thickness of about 2 to 3mm, then sealed. It can run continuously across floors, walls, shower enclosures and even built-in shelves, so there are no joints to break up the room.
Tiles are a factory-made product fixed with adhesive and grouted. The finish is consistent and predictable, and the quality depends on the setting out and the preparation behind it. With microcement, the finish is made on site, so the skill of the person holding the trowel matters far more. Slight movement in tone and trowel marks are part of the look, not a defect.
Prices vary with the state of the room, but these ranges are realistic for the Chelmsford area at the moment. Treat them as a guide, not a quote.
A typical family bathroom has roughly 15 to 20 square metres of wall and floor to cover. On that basis microcement often comes out a few hundred to over a thousand pounds dearer than a mid-range tile job. The gap narrows if you were planning on large-format porcelain or natural stone, which are slow to fix and costly to buy. Small rooms also cost more per square metre with either finish, because the fiddly work around the WC, basin and window does not shrink with the floor area.
Neither finish should be relied on as the only waterproofing in a shower. Tiled wet areas should be tanked behind the tiles, and microcement needs a proper waterproof system beneath it plus a good sealer on top. Done correctly, both cope well with daily showers.
Chelmsford has very hard water, and that affects the choice more than people expect. Limescale shows clearly on dark, matt microcement and it cannot be attacked with acidic descalers, which damage the sealer. You need pH-neutral cleaners and a habit of squeegeeing down after showers. Glazed porcelain tolerates stronger cleaners, although grout lines discolour and collect scale over time.
Microcement also needs resealing, typically every few years in a busy shower. A chipped tile can be swapped out. A damaged patch of microcement is harder to repair invisibly.
The substrate decides a lot. Microcement is thin and bonded, so it follows whatever is underneath. On the suspended timber floors found in Victorian terraces in Old Moulsham or 1930s semis in Springfield and Great Baddow, any flex will show as hairline cracks unless the floor is stiffened and overboarded first. Tiles need a rigid base too, but a decoupling membrane gives a little more forgiveness.
On the concrete floors and newer walls of homes in Beaulieu Park or Chelmer Village, microcement is a much easier fit. It can also sometimes go over sound existing tiles, which saves the mess and cost of stripping them and adds very little thickness, useful where door thresholds are tight.
Allow for time as well. Microcement usually takes four to six days because each coat must dry, and the shower should then be left for around a week before use. A straightforward tile job is often quicker.
If you are still undecided, ask to see and touch a sealed sample board in your chosen colour before committing. It tells you more than any photograph.
Usually not. Locally it tends to cost roughly £90 to £150 per square metre applied, which is more than a mid-range tile job, though it can be similar to or less than large-format porcelain or natural stone.
Often yes, provided the tiles are firmly bonded, the wall or floor behind is dry and stable, and the grout lines are filled and primed first. Loose, hollow or damp tiling needs to come off.
It can if the surface beneath moves, which is a risk on suspended timber floors in older Chelmsford homes. Stiffening and overboarding the floor, and using a reinforcing mesh in the base coat, greatly reduces the chance.
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