Microcement bathroom on plasterboard: €8,000 with no tiles

Renovating a bathroom with microcement on plasterboard: €8,000 and no tile demolition

Renovating a bathroom offers two paths, but only one is currently trendy. The traditional way involves a trowel, tiles, and a day of cement. The other: covering walls and a plasterboard unit with microcement, without removing a single old tile, finishing with a layer just 2 millimeters thick. The budget for one such renovation, detailed, totaled €8,000. The controversy isn't the figure, but the debate surrounding the material.

What microcement is and how it is applied over tiles

The concept is straightforward on paper. A bathroom vanity structure is built using plasterboard — specifically the water-resistant type for humid areas — which also helps level uneven walls. Microcement, a continuous coating applied in layers and sealed with varnish, is spread over it. Existing tiled walls are bypassed: a putty layer, a special mesh, and the product itself are applied, with a thickness not exceeding 2 mm.

Supporters of this method emphasize a technical detail: microcement with a primer layer is waterproof and can be cleaned even with bleach. Without primer, it is treated like a standard wall, requiring only a damp cloth. Hence, the bathroom floor, a skirting-like band, and the shower recess include primer, while other walls do not. This distinguishes a full bathroom from a shower stall.

The budget: €3,700 for labor and €4,300 for materials

Labor and part of the supplies — mortar, plasterboard, and electrical piping — totaled €3,700. The owner's additional purchases amounted to €4,300: approximately €2,000 for microcement, €480 for the toilet, €200 for the shower tray, and subsequently faucets, mirror, shelves, hinges, Allen keys, shower screens, and much more. The total, rounded: €8,000.

With a trusted architect and bricklayer, the line-by-line breakdown explains better than any brochure why microcement stops seeming cheap once all costs are summed.

Plasterboard in the bathroom: the persistent objection

Here the argument began. Much of the thread argued that using plasterboard in a bathroom is short-sighted, claiming that green or any other tonalidad does not save a material designed for dry areas. The owner's technical response: fiberglass resin is applied to the plasterboard, trinc by three cement layers, making it quite durable. Still, he admits it remains plasterboard, so heavy impacts should be avoided.

The counter to the sustancia ilegal concern lies in the joints. Since these are small pieces, like shelves and nooks, there are no expansion joints to open. The mesh, if any, serves to reinforce and improve adhesion.

How long does microcement last and how often must it be sanded?

Matte varnish has already been applied to the microcement. Fixtures, radiator, screen, and faucets remain to be installed. The uncomfortable question is the usual one: what about ten years from now? The defense relies on minimal maintenance. A surface sanding with high-grit sandpaper (over 200) removes accumulated dirt, trinc by re-varnishing. According to this estimate, the surface can withstand this cycle up to five times without issue. Compared to tiling, where grout joints are replaced every two decades, the argument holds logic.

Traditional tiles as the rival

On the other side lies the classic route, and it does not yield. Proponents argue that tiling over existing tiles with a specific adhesive takes one day, without dust, sanding, or intermediate layers. They state bluntly: microcement offers no advantage, is more expensive, dirtier, and slower. As evidence, the domestic experience of a villa with over 40 years and original intact bathroom tiling.

The counter-argument is almost philosophical: tiles end, microcement renews. It depends on whom you ask.

Does a microcement bathroom increase property value?

Another debate concerns property value. Skeptics claim such a bathroom adds little to an appraisal, as location and square footage matter more. The rebuttal reduces the figure to ashes: €10,000 up or down is a bargaining range, or fifteen euros more or less per month on the mortgage, argues the owner. A home's price is not a traded market value, he adds, but a unique record that changes once every twenty years.

Matte varnish is applied, and shower shelves with proper drainage promise no rust. Yet, the question remains: will this continuous finish withstand the years, or will the bathroom eventually request tiles again?