Per m2
How the work is priced
Prep
The largest variable
On Site
Every project quoted bespoke
3 Days
Typical quote turnaround
Factors Influencing Price
How much is micro cement? Adelaide plasterers quote it per square metre, but the rate alone settles very little. Substrate preparation, area size and the amount of detailing move the final figure far more than the material ever does, so every project needs a site visit first.
Before working out how much is micro cement going to cost on your project, it helps to know what you are actually paying for. Microcement is a hand-applied system of several thin coats and multiple sealer coats over a prepared substrate. However, the material is only a modest share of the total. The rest is preparation, time on the trowel and curing days on site.
01
Application
A wall, a floor, a benchtop and a full wet area are different jobs. Wet areas and horizontal surfaces carry more coats and more sealer.
02
Substrate
Sound tile or screed is straightforward. A moving, cracked or previously coated surface needs remediation before anything else.
03
Detailing
Niches, thresholds, coved returns, waterfall ends and integrated splashbacks all add hand time that flat area does not.
04
Access
Upper levels, tight bathrooms and occupied homes needing daily protection and clean down all take longer than an empty site.
Colour and finish, by contrast, have a smaller effect than most people expect. Standard pigments are straightforward, and a bespoke match to a stone, fabric or specification adds sampling time rather than a materially different rate.
Substrate Preparation Costs
This is the line item that surprises people, and the reason nobody can give a firm price from a photograph.
Sound Substrate
Well bonded tile, a flat screed or a sound concrete slab needs cleaning, de-glossing and priming. Preparation stays a modest share of the total.
Remediation Needed
Drummy tile, active cracking, previous coatings or a floor that flexes underfoot all need resolving first, and that work carries its own line.
Compliance Works
In wet areas the waterproof membrane must be sound and compliant. Where it is not, that is a separate trade and a separate cost.
On a straightforward renovation over sound tile, therefore, preparation stays a manageable proportion of the job. On a floor with movement or a bathroom with a suspect membrane, preparation can approach the cost of the coating itself. We would rather tell you that at the site visit than discover it halfway through.
Area Size and Complexity
Rate per square metre falls as area rises. Consequently, people are caught out when they compare a small ensuite against a large open floor and find the smaller room costs more per metre.
A four square metre ensuite carries the same setup, masking, sampling and mobilisation as a forty metre floor, spread across a tenth of the area.
Similarly, complexity works the same way. A single flat plane is quick. Break the same area into a shower base, a niche, a hob, a threshold and a coved return, however, and the job runs far longer, because every one of those details takes hand forming and hand coating.
This is why a single headline rate never answers how much is micro cement for a specific room. We quote line by line rather than handing over one number. You can see what the area costs, what the detailing costs and what any remediation costs, and decide where to spend.
How Costs Compare by Application
So how much is micro cement per square metre? We do not publish rates, because a published number would be wrong for most projects before anyone had seen the room. What we can set out is how the applications compare to each other, and what sits inside a square metre rate as against what carries its own line.
| Application | Character | Relative cost |
|---|---|---|
| Walls and feature areas | Vertical, standard detailing | Base of the range |
| Floors | More coats, more sealer, higher wear | Above walls |
| Bathrooms and wet areas | Detailed, coved, fully sealed | Top of the range |
| Benchtops and joinery | Small area, high detail, edge work | Quoted individually |
| Substrate preparation | Minor on sound surfaces, major on poor | Its own line |
Please note
We quote every project bespoke after a site visit rather than publishing a rate card. Small areas typically price higher per square metre, because setup spreads across fewer metres. Substrate remediation and any waterproofing works carry separate lines so you can see exactly what they cost.
For context on where each application sits, our microcement services page covers walls and ceilings, microcement flooring covers floors, microcement benchtops covers kitchen and vanity tops, and the microcement bathroom page covers full wet areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about microcement pricing in Adelaide, answered by our in-house team.
Why can you not quote over the phone?
Because substrate preparation is the variable, and nobody can assess it from a description. Two bathrooms of identical size can differ substantially once you see the existing surface, the access and the detailing. A site visit takes about twenty minutes.
Is microcement cheaper than tiling?
On a renovation over existing tile the totals often land close together, because demolition, waste removal, substrate repair and the tiling trade all leave the scope. On a new build with no demolition to avoid, tiling is usually the cheaper option.
Does a small bathroom cost more per square metre?
Yes, almost always. Setup, masking, sampling and mobilisation are much the same whether the area is four square metres or forty, so on a small job those fixed costs spread across fewer metres.
What is not included in a square metre rate?
Substrate remediation, waterproofing works, any joinery or plumbing adjustments and access equipment all carry separate lines. We itemise every quote so you can see exactly where the money sits.
