Microcement Shower Walls, Floors and Wet Rooms

Where this works

• Walk-in showers and level-access wet rooms
• Shower walls over sound existing tiles
• Shower floors and microcement shower tray finishes
• Niches, benches and window reveals inside the shower
• Shower areas in en-suites, cloakrooms and compact flats

How we install it

1. 1
   Agree the drainage and falls first

   We tank and finish the shower. The waste, drain position and any change to the floor falls are confirmed at survey, and where that plumbing sits with your plumber or builder we work to the falls they set. A microcement finish follows the shape of the base, so the base has to drain correctly before the first coat.

2. 2
   Tank the shower zone

   The shower floor and walls to 1800 mm are tanked with a flexible cementitious membrane, with corners and pipe penetrations reinforced. This layer is the waterproofing. Microcement on its own is not asked to keep water out of the wall.

3. 3
   Mesh-reinforced base, then colour coats

   A base coat goes on with glass-fibre mesh embedded to resist hairline cracking, followed by two fine colour coats trowelled by hand. Internal corners are coved with the trowel so the shower reads as one surface with nowhere for grime to sit.

4. 4
   Seal for water and grip

   Two coats of 2K polyurethane seal the surface. On the shower floor an R11 aggregate is broadcast between coats, because a matt sealed floor without it is slippery under soap.

Waterproof microcement for showers: what actually does the work

Microcement is often sold as waterproof on its own, and that is where shower problems start. In a working shower two layers share the job. The tanking membrane behind is the waterproofing, and the microcement and polyurethane sealer above give a continuous, water-tolerant face that is easy to wipe down. Both are needed, which is why our microcement bathrooms specification tanks the shower zone before any colour goes on. The same logic applies whether the shower is a full wet room or a single wall over an existing tray.

Microcement wet room or tray, and how it compares with tadelakt

A level-access wet room needs a floor that falls to a linear or point drain, and the finish then runs across the whole room. A shower with a tray keeps the falls within the tray and we finish the walls and surround. If you are weighing a tadelakt shower, the cost and maintenance differ: tadelakt is a burnished lime plaster sealed with soap, while microcement is a sealed cement build. Our tadelakt vs microcement guide compares them fairly. If you want a resin floor rather than microcement, bathroom epoxy flooring is a different, harder-wearing build.

Common pitfalls we prevent