Microcement for the kitchen floor: advantages, finishes, application and price
The kitchen floor is the hardest-working surface in the home: constant traffic, chairs being dragged, grease splashes, spilled liquids and almost daily cleaning. When a ceramic floor ages, what shows most are the darkened grout lines and the damaged pieces, and replacing it with building work means breaking it up, carting away the rubble and losing the kitchen for days. Microcement for the kitchen floor solves the problem on top of the existing surface: a continuous, seamless surface a few millimetres thick, applied without lifting anything.
This guide explains what advantages it has over a ceramic floor, which finish and which colours work in a kitchen, how it is applied step by step with the real drying times of each product, how it is maintained and how much it costs. For a floor the system is different from walls and countertops: the microcement kit for floors and stairs includes Smart Medio, the hardest finishing microcement, and the preparation each type of surface requires.
Why choose microcement for your kitchen floor?
A kitchen floor has to withstand more than any other in the home. These are the seven reasons why microcement has become a common alternative to ceramic flooring, and what each one rests on.
1. A brand-new kitchen without building work, and without losing the room
What holds back most kitchen renovations is the time without being able to use the room. With microcement there is no need to remove the existing floor: it is applied on top, in a total layer of about 2-3 mm, so it does not raise the floor level or force you to trim doors or touch skirting boards. With no demolition there is no rubble, and without rubble one of the most expensive and disruptive items of any renovation disappears.
The complete job, counting the drying times between coats, takes about three days, and in most of the phases the kitchen is still accessible with care.
2. No grout lines: less dirt and faster cleaning
The grout lines of a ceramic floor are the point where grease and dirt build up and where cleaning stops being effective over time. Microcement is a continuous coating: there are no joints or cuts, the surface adapts to the shape of the kitchen and it cleans in one wipe. In a room that is mopped almost daily, that is the most visible difference in use.
3. Resistant to water and spills
Sealed with its varnish, microcement resists everyday water: splashes, spilled glasses and the mop do not affect it. The protection comes from Smart Varnish, a water-based polyurethane varnish which on floors is mixed with Smart Booster to increase its hardness and its stain resistance. It is not a floor for permanently standing water, but it is for the real use of a kitchen.
4. It withstands traffic and daily wear
The finishing microcement for floors, Smart Medio, has a coarser grain and greater hardness than the wall product (Shore 48 hardness and Taber abrasion of 199 mg according to its technical data sheet), and the varnish film with Smart Booster is what takes the rubbing from chairs, shoes and cleaning. With the right protection, it is a floor designed for heavy-traffic areas.
5. Twenty colours, and the same material on floor, walls and splashback
The Smartcret range has twenty colours, from white through greys and earth tones, with a matt finish. As microcement adheres to most surfaces, the same colour can continue from the floor to the walls and to the kitchen splashback, or be combined with another shade from the range. The countertop is a separate case, with its own precautions; we explain it in the guide to the microcement countertop.
6. Visual spaciousness
A continuous floor, with no grout lines to break up the surface, makes a kitchen look larger, and in light or mid tones it spreads the light better. It is the most effective resource in small kitchens or in kitchens with little natural light.
7. Apply it yourself, with the material calculated
Ready-to-use microcement comes prepared, with no mixing and no pigmenting: you open the tub and apply it. The kit includes the primer, the two microcements, the varnish with its hardener, the sanding discs for each phase and the instructions; the tools (trowel, roller and tray) come separately in the Smart Tools kit. No previous experience is needed; what is needed is respecting the drying times.
Microcement finish on the kitchen floor: matt or satin
The final finish does not come from the microcement, but from the varnish that protects it. All Smartcret kits include Smart Varnish in a matt finish; the satin version of the same varnish is bought separately and is applied with the same coats and the same times.
1. Matt finish
This is the one we recommend for the kitchen floor. It does not reflect the light, it gives a mineral, serene appearance, and it hides fingerprints, water marks and dust between cleans better, which is welcome in a room with a lot of traffic.
2. Satin finish
It reflects some light and adds a touch of soft sheen that visually enlarges the room. In exchange, it shows dried droplets and fingerprints slightly more. It is a good option in dark kitchens or when the rest of the home has satin finishes.
How microcement behaves on the kitchen floor
Moisture resistance
Varnished microcement is water-resistant and, as it has no joints, water finds no cracks to build up in: it dries in one wipe. That is why it works in kitchens and bathrooms. The varnish reaches its full resistance seven days after application; until then it is best not to wet the floor or clean it.
Durability and wear resistance
Durability depends on three things: the preparation of the surface (primer and, over tiles, filling the grout lines), the use of Smart Medio as the finish and the three coats of varnish with Smart Booster. If the system is followed, the floor withstands the heavy use of a kitchen; the varnish is checked every six months and renewed at most every two years in heavy-use areas, according to the instructions on the Smart Varnish data sheet.
Easy maintenance
With no grout lines to scrub, cleaning comes down to water and neutral soap or to the Smart Cleaner detergent. Abrasive products and metal scourers scratch the varnish and must be avoided.
6 ideas for using microcement on the kitchen floor
With twenty colours and a continuous finish, a microcement floor fits very different styles. These six combinations are the ones that work best in real kitchens.
1. A microcement kitchen floor to multiply natural light
In a small kitchen, or one with little light, a continuous floor in a light or mid tone (Bone, Porcelain, Universe) spreads the light and removes the lines that fragment the space. It is the combination that adds the most spaciousness with the least intervention.
2. Wooden furniture and microcement for kitchen floors
Wood and microcement balance each other well: the wood brings warmth and the microcement a neutral, mineral surface that does not compete with it. With light wood furniture, mid greys and sands (Spike, Universe) unify the space; with dark woods, a light floor balances it. That neutral base lets you change textiles, tableware or appliances without the floor clashing.
3. Combine microcement for the kitchen floor with the walls and the splashback
For a minimalist kitchen, the same microcement can continue from the floor to the walls and to the splashback between the countertop and the wall units, in the same colour or in two shades of the same family. The continuous surface on every face is what makes the kitchen read as a single volume. Walls and splashback go with the kitchen kit; the floor, with the floors and stairs kit.
4. Mediterranean style with microcement on the kitchen floor
Mediterranean style rests on white, artisanal finishes and natural materials. A floor in Blanco Roto, Porcelain or Bone, with accessories in natural fibres and touches of blue or green, fits that logic without needing to imitate any material.
5. Nordic style with microcement on the floor
Simple lines, light wood and soft colours: a microcement floor in light grey or warm white is the usual base of Nordic kitchens, because it provides the neutral background against which the wood and the textiles stand out.
6. Microcement on the floor combined with wallpaper
If you want patterned wallpaper on one kitchen wall, a continuous, light floor offsets the visual weight of the paper and keeps the sense of spaciousness. The rule is simple: the busier the wall, the more neutral the floor.
How to lay microcement on your kitchen floor yourself
The floor system has four phases: preparation and priming, two coats of Smart Base, two coats of Smart Medio and three coats of varnish. All the products and the sanding discs come in the kit; what matters is respecting the drying times and sanding when required.
1. Clean, repair and prime the floor
Clean the floor until all grease and dust are gone, with water and neutral soap or with Smart Cleaner, and repair cracks and chips before going any further: microcement copies whatever is underneath. If the floor is ceramic tile, stoneware or paving tile, fill and level the grout lines with Smart Jointer, leave it to dry for 12 to 24 hours and sand with the 40-grit disc; without this step, the pattern of the grout lines would end up showing through.
Then the primer, which is what guarantees adhesion: over cement, mortar or concrete, Smart Primer ABS; over tiles, marble or terrazzo, Smart Primer PLUS. Both are applied in one coat with a microfibre roller and are dry to the touch in 30 minutes.
Fibreglass mesh is not needed: ready-to-use microcement is an acrylic mortar that does not suffer shrinkage, so the kit does not include it. The reasons are explained in why you don't need mesh for microcement with Smartcret.
2. Two coats of Smart Base
Stir Smart Base, the preparatory microcement already pigmented in your colour, and spread it with the roller in a thin layer (less than 1 mm), first vertically and then horizontally. Smooth it with the polycarbonate trowel at about 45º, with arcing movements, until the surface is covered and free of burrs. Leave it to dry for 6 hours, sand with the 40-grit disc and apply the second coat with the same drying time and the same sanding.
3. Two coats of Smart Medio
The finish goes over the base: two coats of Smart Medio, the floor microcement included in the kit, thinner still (0.5 mm maximum each), with the same roller and trowel technique. Leave 6 hours of drying between coats and sand each one with the 80-grit disc. Before varnishing, leave the whole surface to dry for 24 hours.
4. Three coats of varnish with Smart Booster
Mix Smart Booster with Smart Varnish, leave the mixture to rest 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 with care after 48-72 hours and takes water and cleaning at seven days, when the varnish has fully cured.
How to clean and maintain a microcement kitchen floor?
Maintaining a microcement floor is simple if three rules are followed.
1. Daily cleaning
Sweeping or vacuuming and mopping with water and neutral soap is enough. For a deeper clean, without damaging the varnish, there is Smart Cleaner, the specific detergent for microcement surfaces. No undiluted bleach, no acidic products and no metal scourers.
2. Protect the floor with maintenance wax
Smart Wax is a maintenance wax that reinforces the protection of the varnish and revives the colour. It is applied every 6-12 months depending on how much the room is used.
3. Check and renew the varnish
The varnish is the layer that wears, not the microcement. It is worth checking it every six months in heavy-use areas and renewing it at most every two years, or sooner if duller patches, marks along the usual walking routes or water absorption appear. It is applied over the sanded surface, in a matt or satin finish.
How much does a microcement floor cost in a kitchen?
With a professional applicator, a microcement floor costs, in the US, around $315–420 per m² (roughly $29–39 per sq ft), labour included, depending on the condition of the surface. With the floors and stairs kit the price is fixed and depends on the area and the surface: $238 (shown in your currency at checkout) for the 4 m² (about 43 sq ft) kit over cement, mortar or concrete and $250 over ceramic or paving tile; $395 and $417 for the 8 m² (86 sq ft) kit; $778 and $809 for the 16 m² (172 sq ft) kit, that is, about $41–63 per m² of material depending on the size. An 8 m² kitchen comes to $395–417 with the kit, against $2,520–3,360 with an applicator. The full breakdown, with examples by area, is in the microcement price guide.
Frequently asked questions about microcement kitchen floors
Does a microcement floor stand up to water and moisture?
Yes. Sealed with its varnish, microcement is resistant to everyday water: mops, splashes and day-to-day spills do not affect it, and as it has no joints water finds nowhere to build up. Full resistance is reached seven days after varnishing.
When can you walk on it and get back to normal life?
During application you can walk on it with care between coats. After the last coat of varnish, the floor can be walked on with care after 48-72 hours and takes normal use, with water and cleaning, at seven days.
Can microcement be applied over underfloor heating?
We do not recommend it. Although there are ready-to-use microcements compatible with underfloor heating, this heating system requires a very precise switch-on and switch-off protocol that must be carried out by a professional; if it is not followed, the contraction and expansion caused by temperature changes can lead to cracks in the coating. You have the full explanation in the microcement flooring guide.
Can microcement be laid on a kitchen floor without removing the tiles?
Yes, that is the most common case. The kit for a tiled surface includes Smart Jointer to fill the grout lines and Smart Primer PLUS, the maximum-adhesion primer for glazed surfaces; the microcement is applied on top without breaking anything up.
Smartcret, the microcement to renovate your kitchen floor yourself
Renovating a kitchen floor with ready-to-use microcement does not demand experience or special tools: it demands choosing the kit according to the surface, respecting the drying times and protecting the result with the three coats of varnish. The material arrives calculated for your area and with step-by-step instructions.
If you are going beyond the floor, the zone-by-zone guide to a microcement kitchen covers walls, splashback and units with their kits and prices; and for the rest of the floors in the home, the complete guide to microcement flooring.
Reviewed by the Smartcret technical team.
