Microcement on the bathroom floor: advantages, colours, application and price
The floor is the surface in the bathroom that takes the most punishment: water every day, temperature changes, cleaning products and, over the years, grout lines that darken however hard you scrub them. Changing it with a traditional renovation means breaking up the old floor, removing the debris and leaving the bathroom out of use for days. Microcement solves the same problem on top of the floor you already have, without lifting it, with a continuous, seamless finish.
In this guide we explain what microcement brings to a bathroom floor compared with ceramic tiles, how to choose the colour and the finish, how it is applied step by step with ready-to-use products and how much it costs, with the real prices of the microcement kit for floors and stairs, which includes all the material calculated for your square metres and for the type of floor you have.
If what you want is to renovate the whole bathroom (walls, shower and sink as well as the floor), how to renovate the bathroom without building work gives you the complete plan zone by zone; here we focus on the floor, which has its own preparation, its own finishing microcement and its own kit.
6 advantages of using microcement on the bathroom floor
A bathroom floor has to meet four conditions before aesthetics come into play: resist water, withstand cleaning products, not crack with use and clean without effort. These are the reasons why microcement meets them, and what each one rests on.
1. A seamless finish that makes maintenance and cleaning easier
The grout lines between tiles are the weak point of any bathroom floor: they collect limescale and soap, they darken and they end up being the place where mould appears. Microcement is applied as a continuous layer a few millimetres thick over the existing floor, so the grout lines disappear under the coating and the surface is uniform from wall to wall.
Maintenance comes down to water and neutral soap, with no abrasive products or metal scourers, which would scratch the varnish. And if your project goes beyond the bathroom (living room, kitchen, hallway or stairs), the microcement flooring guide covers the substrates, the application and the prices of every size.
2. Resistant to water, stains and cleaning products
The protection of the floor comes from the last layer of the system: Smart Varnish, a water-based polyurethane varnish that is applied in three coats and that resists running water, stains and household cleaning products without yellowing. In bathrooms and high-traffic areas it is mixed with Smart Booster, which increases the hardness and the stain resistance of the film. The varnish reaches its full resistance after seven days; until then it is best not to wet the floor or clean it.
3. Apply microcement to the floor of your small bathroom and gain visual space
In a bathroom of only a few square metres, a continuous floor is the feature that adds the most sense of space. With no grout lines breaking up the surface, the eye travels across the floor without interruption and the room looks larger. If you also choose a light or mid tone, the light spreads better and the bathroom gains brightness, something that is especially noticeable in internal bathrooms with no window.
4. Renovation without building work, in three days and with the bathroom in use
Changing the floor of a bathroom with a traditional renovation means breaking up the existing floor, removing the debris, levelling and laying a new one; the bathroom is out of use for several days and the budget rises with the labour. With ready-to-use microcement the current floor stays where it is: the system is applied on top, with no demolition, no debris and without touching doors or skirting boards, because the final thickness is only a few millimetres.
Because it comes ready prepared, there is no need to measure out or mix components: you open the container and apply it. The complete job takes about three days, counting the drying times between coats, and it does not require a professional applicator: the kit includes the instructions and there is a step-by-step video.
5. Limitless design with a floor that adapts to any style
The bathroom floor should not dictate the rest of the decor. With twenty colours in the range, microcement fits any style: light neutrals for a minimalist or Nordic bathroom, greys for a hotel feel, sands and earth tones for a warm bathroom, and greens or grey-blue if you want the floor to take centre stage. Further down we set out which colours work best in a bathroom and why.
6. Renovate the bathroom floor with microcement without spending a fortune
In a floor renovation, the largest item is not the material but the labour and the disposal of the debris. With ready-to-use microcement both disappear: the kit is the complete material and you apply it yourself, so the cost is fixed from the start. For a 4 m² (about 43 sq ft) bathroom floor, the kit costs $238 (shown in your currency at checkout) on cement or mortar ($250 on tiles), compared with the $1,260–1,680 the same surface would cost with a professional: in the US, a professional applicator charges around $315–420 per m² (roughly $29–39 per sq ft), labour included. The complete figures, by size and substrate, are in the last section.
RENOVATE YOUR FLOOR WITH MICROCEMENT
Neutral tones or colours with character for the microcement floor of the bathroom
The Smartcret range has twenty colours, split into three whites (Blanco, Blanco Roto and Porcelain), three tinted lights (Blush, Moss and Liquen), five sands and beiges (Bone, Champagne, India, Mojave and Spike), four greys (Universe, Papyrus, Shale Grey and Breeze) and five earth tones and colours with character (Cafe, Salmon, Coral, Khaki and Wasabi). The colour does not change the price of the kit.
There are two criteria worth bearing in mind for a bathroom floor. The first is light: most bathrooms are small and lit artificially, and in them the warm whites and the sands (Bone, Porcelain, Blanco Roto) gain a sense of space without feeling cold, while pure white in a bathroom with no window can look cold. The second is water: on a floor the colour is seen across a large area and in raking light, and the mid tones (Universe, Papyrus, Bone, Mojave) blend the natural variation left by the trowel better and hide limescale drops better than the very light or the very dark ones.
If you prefer a floor with personality, the greens (Moss, Liquen, Khaki, Wasabi) go with wood and with white in a bathroom like few other colours; Breeze, a grey-blue, works well on the floor with light-coloured walls; and Coral or Salmon add warmth if the rest of the bathroom is neutral. One practical tip: if you are going to keep part of the wall tiling, choose a neutral for the floor that does not compete with it. All the colours, with their samples and their combinations, are in the microcement colour chart.
Matt or satin finish for the microcement on your bathroom floor
The final finish is given by the varnish, not by the microcement. All Smartcret kits include Smart Varnish in a matt finish, which is the one we recommend for the bathroom floor: it reduces reflections, softens the texture and hides water marks and footprints better. If you prefer a touch of sheen, Smart Varnish also comes in a satin version; it is bought separately and replaces the varnish in the kit, with the same number of coats and the same drying times. The satin finish reflects a little more light and gives a more polished look, in exchange for showing dried droplets slightly more.
How to apply microcement to the floor of your bathroom step by step
The system for floors has six steps and all the products come in the kit: grout filler (only on tiles), primer, two microcements, varnish, hardener and the sanding discs for each stage. The tools (trowel, roller and tray) are separate, in the Smart Tools kit. No previous experience is needed: what matters is respecting the drying times between coats and sanding when required.
1. Choose the right microcement kit
The microcement kit for floors and stairs is configured by square metres and by type of floor. If the floor is ceramic tile, stoneware, porcelain, terrazzo or marble, the substrate is vitrified and does not absorb: the kit includes the Smart Jointer grout filler and the Smart Primer PLUS primer, of maximum adhesion. If it is cement, concrete or mortar, the substrate is porous and has no grout lines: the kit comes straight away with the Smart Primer ABS primer. The microcement and the finish are the same in both cases; what changes is the preparation.
2. Prepare the floor of your bathroom
Clean the surface thoroughly to remove dust, grease and soap residue, and check that the floor is sound, level and free of damp. If it is tile, marble, terrazzo or similar, fill and level the grout lines with Smart Jointer, an acrylic filler applied with a spatula in layers of up to 4 mm; without this step, the pattern of the grout lines would end up showing through the microcement. Leave it to dry for 12 to 24 hours and sand by hand with the 40-grit disc.
3. Apply a primer
The primer is what guarantees that the microcement adheres to the floor. On tiles, marble or terrazzo, Smart Primer PLUS is used; on cement, mortar or concrete, Smart Primer ABS, which also evens out the absorption of the substrate. Both are applied with a microfibre roller in a single coat, cover between 8 and 12 m² per litre and are touch-dry in 30 minutes.
4. Coat with Smart Base
Smart Base is the preparatory microcement, already pigmented in the chosen colour. It is spread with the roller in a thin layer, first vertically and then horizontally, and smoothed with the polycarbonate trowel at about 45º, with arcing movements in every direction. Two coats are applied, with 6 hours of drying between them, and each one is sanded with the 40-grit disc.
5. Repeat with Smart Medio
Two coats of Smart Medio are applied over the base, the finishing microcement specific to floors and stairs: its medium grain gives the floor more texture and more hardness than the wall microcement (Shore hardness 48, maximum layer of 0.5 mm). The same technique, 6 hours of drying between coats and sanding of each one, this time with the 80-grit disc. Before varnishing, leave the whole surface to dry for 24 hours.
6. Protect with varnish
The last step is the one that gives the floor its resistance to water and to use. Mix the Smart Varnish varnish with the Smart Booster hardener, leave the mixture to stand for 5 to 10 minutes and apply three coats with a brush or roller, 4 hours apart; the first and the second are sanded with the 400-grit disc. The floor can be walked on carefully after 48-72 hours and takes water and cleaning after seven days, when the varnish has cured completely.
How much does a microcement bathroom floor cost?
In the US, a professional applicator charges around $315–420 per m² (roughly $29–39 per sq ft), labour included; in a 4 m² bathroom that is $1,260–1,680, and the final amount depends on the square metres, the condition of the floor and the professional.
With the microcement kit for floors and stairs the price is fixed and depends only on the square metres and on the substrate: $238 for the 4 m² kit on cement, mortar or concrete and $250 on ceramic or other tiles; $395 and $417 for the 8 m² (86 sq ft) kit; $778 and $809 for the 16 m² (172 sq ft) one. Each size covers the surface its name indicates, counting the two coats of each microcement, and includes primer, Smart Base, Smart Medio, Smart Varnish with Smart Booster, the sanding discs and the instructions. (The bathroom kit covers walls, shower and sink; the floor needs a different preparation and a different finishing microcement, which is why it has its own kit.)
If you want to compare options and understand in detail where the price differences come from, check them out in our complete price guide before deciding.
Renovating the bathroom floor with microcement is no more complicated than choosing the kit according to your substrate, respecting the drying times and protecting the result properly with the varnish. All the material arrives in a single pack, ready to use, with the quantity calculated for your square metres.
Ready to transform the floor of your bathroom with microcement?
