Buyer guidance
How To Judge A Microcement Installer
Microcement is an unregulated finish applied by hand, which means the gap between the best and worst work on the same product is enormous. These are the checks that tell you which one you are talking to.
What buyers want to know before appointing
Ask what happens before the finish goes on
The most revealing question is not about the finish at all. Ask how they will assess the substrate, what moisture testing they do, which primer they will use and where they will put reinforcing mesh. An experienced applicator will answer immediately and in detail, because preparation is most of the job and all of the risk.
Vague answers here are the warning sign. If preparation is described as cleaning the floor and getting started, the quote is for a coating rather than a system, and the difference will show up within the first year.
Make the quote comparable
Two quotes for the same room can differ by thousands and both be honest, because they include different work. Put them on the same footing by asking each one to state the same things explicitly, and the gap usually explains itself.
- Which system and which manufacturer, named
- Number of base coats and where mesh is used
- Number of finish coats
- Number of sealer coats and the sealer type
- Whether tanking is included in wet areas and which membrane
- Preparation, protection, waste removal and making good
A quote that is far below the others is nearly always missing one of these lines rather than being better value.
Look at work in the right conditions
Photographs are shot in flattering light. Ask to see a finished installation in person if possible, and specifically ask to see a large wall lit from the side and a floor in a busy area rather than a styled corner. That is where trowel control and set lines reveal themselves.
Sample panels are the other useful test. A serious applicator will prepare samples in your colour, at a meaningful size, and will be relaxed about you viewing them in the actual room at different times of day. Reluctance to produce samples tells you something.
Check the fit with the rest of the programme
On anything beyond a single room, the applicator needs to work with the joiner, the plumber, the electrician and the glazier. Ask how they sequence around first fix and second fix, what they need in place before they start and how long the area must be protected afterwards.
For developers and designers, this coordination competence matters as much as trowel skill. The best finish in the world is worthless if it is applied before the shower former is set or scratched the following week by a trade with no protection instructions.
It is also worth asking how they handle the point where their work meets somebody else's. A finish that stops at a door lining, a skirting detail or a glass channel needs a decision made by someone, and an applicator who raises those junctions before starting is telling you they have been on a complicated job before. Those who say it will be fine on the day generally have not.
- Ask what must be complete before they mobilise
- Confirm curing and protection requirements in writing
- Establish who is responsible for protecting the finish afterwards
- Agree how any remedial work would be handled and by whom
Questions we are happy to answer
Every check on this page is one we would expect a client to put to us. Ask about substrate assessment, coat counts, sealer schedules and sequencing, and we will answer them in writing so you can compare us fairly with anyone else.