What does a microcement bathroom cost?
Three worked examples, from the project minimum to a primary ensuite — plus the number that surprises everyone, explained.
Nobody in this trade posts prices, which makes comparison impossible and a discovery call mandatory. We do the opposite. Here's the rate card, then three real projects costed end to end.
- Floors$16/sq ft
- Walls$20/sq ft
- Showers$30/sq ft
- Ceilings$28/sq ft
- Counters$150/lin ft
- Stairs$200/step
Why a small bathroom costs more per square foot
This is the number that surprises people, and it deserves explaining rather than hiding. The cost of a microcement job isn't driven by material — it's driven by crew days. A bathroom needs the same number of passes as a large floor — primer, two base coats, two finish coats, sanding between each, then the sealer — except every pass happens in six square feet of cuts around a toilet, a drain and a shower kerb. Cure time between coats is identical whether the room is 40 sq ft or 900.
The result: a project is almost always a minimum of three crew days regardless of size. That's where the project minimum comes from, and it's also why the rate drops to $16/sq ft at 500 sq ft — the same mobilization spreads across far more area.
Three worked examples
Plex bathroom, 45 sq ft of floor and 60 sq ft of shower walls. At the small-area rate the raw arithmetic lands below the project minimum — so the minimum is what applies, and that's the number we write down. Three to four days on site.
Primary ensuite, 90 sq ft of floor, 110 sq ft of shower floor-to-ceiling, plus the vanity top. That's comfortably above the minimum, in the 200–500 sq ft band, and the total reads straight off the rate card above.
Bungalow basement, 650 sq ft over the slab. The rate drops to $16/sq ft, there's almost no cutting, and it's by far the best value on our card. It's the job we most like doing, and the only case where we suggest expanding the scope rather than trimming it.
What can get added
- A floor that isn't level: self-levelling underlayment before application. We measure the variation on the visit, never remotely.
- A basement slab transmitting moisture: a barrier before application. We test on site, and skipping it leads to blistering.
- Debonded tiles: re-bonded before we start. A few is minor; half the floor means demolition.
- Removing carpet or floating floor, if the substrate underneath has to be exposed.
- Taxes. GST and QST are added to the quoted amount.
All of it appears on the quote, line by line, before you agree to anything. We don't bill extras discovered mid-job without calling you first.