Microcement vs tiles: which suits your bathroom?

The look

Tiles come in every colour, glaze and pattern, but they all have grout lines. Microcement goes on in continuous coats, so walls and floors run without a break.

Because it's trowelled by hand, microcement has a soft, cloudy variation across the surface rather than a printed pattern.

Demolition and mess

Retiling a bathroom means the old tiles come off first, which means noise, dust and a skip bin.

Microcement usually goes straight over firmly stuck tiles, so most of that is skipped. Loose tiles still come out first, and a new tile the same size and shape goes in.

Floor height

New tiles replace the old ones, so the floor stays about the same height.

Microcement sits on top of the old tiles, so the floor goes up a few millimetres. It's usually 2 to 3 mm thick.

Cleaning

Grout is the hard part of a tiled bathroom. It stains, it cracks and it needs scrubbing, especially in the shower.

Microcement has no grout lines, so it's a wipe down with a gentle cleaner.

Repairs

Tiles win here. If one cracks and you kept spares, you swap that one tile.

A damaged spot of microcement can be re-trowelled and resealed where it is, without redoing the whole surface. The patch may not match the rest exactly.

Cost

It depends on the room for both. With microcement over tiles, you're not paying to strip the old tiles out and cart them away.

For microcement, the price depends on the size of the room, what's underneath and how many surfaces you're covering. We give you the price after we've seen it, and the quote is free.

When tiles are the better choice

Microcement isn't right for everyone. New tiles make more sense if:

• you want a pattern, a mosaic or a particular tile
• being able to swap one damaged piece matters more to you than having no grout

Questions