Microcement for Homeowners and DIY

You found the finish on somebody's bathroom, worked out what it was called, and then hit a wall: every supplier wants a trade account and a certification you do not have. That is the whole reason Microvella exists. You can buy this and put it on yourself.

What you are actually buying

Microcement is not one product, it is a set of coats that go on in order. Which coats you need depends on what is underneath and whether it gets wet.

Be honest with yourself about where to start

This is the advice we would give a friend.

Start on a wall. A dry interior wall in a room that is not your primary bathroom. Walls are vertical, nobody walks on them, and if you are unhappy with a patch you can work it again. A feature wall or a fireplace surround is a genuinely good first project.

Do not start on a bathroom floor. Wet areas are the least forgiving version of this job. The waterproofing sequence matters, the drain detail matters, and a mistake there is expensive in a way a mistake on a wall is not. Do a wall first, then do the bathroom.

Do a sample board before the room. Same substrate, same coats, same sealer. It costs you an afternoon and it tells you more than any photograph.

What it costs

Swipe to see the whole table

Look at the first two rows, because this is the most important thing on the page. A 40 sq ft shower floor and a 100 sq ft shower surround cost exactly the same, because both need one unit of each product and you cannot buy half a pail.

So: do the whole room, not one surface, and do rooms together. If you are planning a bathroom now and a hallway next year, one order for both is dramatically cheaper than two. The material calculator works out the exact products and quantities for your area.

What you need that you probably do not own

• A stainless trowel
• A mixing paddle and a drill that can turn it
• Sandpaper
• A roller for the primer and sealer

A couple of hundred dollars, once. After that you own them.

What tends to go wrong

• Skipping prep. There is no grout line to hide anything. Every lump, hollow and loose patch shows in the finished surface.
• Wrong system. Core in a wet area, or Core over tile. The mesh and build coat are what stop movement and old grout lines reaching the surface. They are not an upsell.
• Rushing the sealer. The sealer is what makes the surface washable and stain-resistant. It is the last step and it is the one people hurry. Do not.
• Expecting it to look machine-made. It is trowelled by hand. It moves, it has variation, and that is what people are paying for when they buy it. If you want perfectly uniform, you want a different material.

If you would rather not do it yourself

Completely reasonable. Our sister company Microcement USA runs a network of certified installers across the country and can connect you with someone near you. Or see our page on both routes.

Common questions

See the full product list and what each coat does.