Microcement floor

A seamless cement-based coating, applied a few millimetres thick over an existing substrate and protected by a sealer. With no joints or grout lines it surfaces floors, stairs and walls with an even, tactile finish, ideal in refurbishments because it adds almost no height. Being so thin it «copies» the substrate, so its success lies in the preparation: a sound base, a primer and an anti-crack mesh.

Microcement is a seamless cement-based coating, applied a few millimetres thick over an existing substrate and protected by a sealer. With no joints or visible grout lines, it surfaces floors (and walls) with an even, tactile finish: it is the «seamless» finish of contemporary architecture.

Its quality is the minimal thickness — two or three millimetres — that lets you refinish without demolition and without raising levels: ideal in refurbishments, even over old tiles. Continuous and jointless, it is easy to clean and lends itself to floors, stairs, worktops and walls in the same material.

Being so thin, microcement has no life of its own: it «copies» the substrate. If the screed cracks or moves, the crack telegraphs to the surface. So success lies entirely in the preparation: a sound, stable base, a bonding primer and an embedded reinforcing mesh that arrests the micro-cracks before they show.

It is applied in several thin coats, trowel-smoothed, which give the texture; then it is sealed with waxes or resins that protect it from water, stains and wear. Being cementitious it is porous: the sealer is essential and must be renewed over time, especially in wet, high-traffic areas. Care in the laying and the protection makes the difference between a floor that lasts and one that stains.