Microcement and Stucco in Dubai
Continuous microcement walls, bathrooms and floors with no grout lines, plus stucco and texture finishes. Applied over what you already have, so in most cases nothing gets demolished.
No grout lines anywhere
Microcement goes on as a continuous surface. In a shower that means no grout to discolour and no joints to fail, which is the single most common reason people move to it.
Straight over existing tiles in most cases
Where the tiles are sound and firmly bonded, we go over them. No demolition, no skip, no re-screeding, and a fraction of the disruption of a full bathroom strip-out.
Priced by the square metre, in writing
Surface area, substrate condition, number of coats and the sealer specification, all itemised before anything starts.
What microcement actually is
Worth understanding before you commit, because it is sold under a lot of names and confused with two other products.
Microcement, also written micro cement, is a thin polymer-modified cement coating applied by hand in layers of roughly two to three millimetres in total. It bonds to the surface underneath rather than replacing it, which is why it can go over tile, screed, plasterboard and render without demolition. The colour runs through the material, so it is not a paint sitting on top.
It is not polished concrete, which is a structural slab ground and polished in place. It is not epoxy flooring, which is a resin system with a very different look and a harder, more plastic surface. Epoxy suits garages, warehouses and workshops. Microcement suits living space, and the two are quoted separately because they are not alternatives to each other in most rooms.
The finish carries subtle tonal movement and trowel character. That is the material behaving as intended, not a defect. If you want a surface with no variation at all, microcement is the wrong choice and we will say so before quoting rather than after installing.
Where we apply it
Microcement bathroom and shower installation
The most common request, and the one where an unbroken surface earns its money. Walls, shower enclosures, floors, niches and benches in one continuous finish. Wet areas get a waterproofing layer and a sealer specification suited to constant water contact, which is not the same specification we would use on a feature wall.
Feature and full walls
Living rooms, bedrooms, hallways and media walls. Applied over plaster or plasterboard, with the substrate flattened first, because microcement follows the surface underneath rather than hiding it. Prefer a timber-led feature instead? See our wall panelling page for the joinery alternative.
Microcement flooring
Continuous floors with no grout lines, over existing tile or screed. Floor specifications use a harder sealer and more coats than walls, because the wear is completely different.
Kitchens and splashbacks
Worktop surrounds, splashbacks and island fronts, sealed for cleaning and heat around the hob area.
Stucco and texture finishes
Where you want depth and relief rather than a flat surface. Stucco and textured render finishes are built up and worked by hand, and are quoted separately from microcement because the application and the material are different.
Stairs, plinths and built-in joinery
Stair treads and risers, bench seats, plinths and built-in units, finished continuously with the surrounding floor or wall where the design calls for it.
What goes wrong with microcement, and why
Search for microcement and you will find cracked floors, peeling shower walls and people who say it looks permanently dirty. Those failures are real. Almost none of them are the material.
Cracking, usually in the first year
The coating is thin and rigid, so it follows whatever is underneath. A floor that flexes, a drummy tile bed, or a junction between two different materials with no reinforcement will telegraph through. We sound out the existing surface before quoting and mesh the movement-prone junctions at base-coat stage.
Peeling near baths and showers
Almost always an air pocket or a bond failure from inadequate priming, or a wall sealer used where an immersion-grade one was needed. Wet zones need waterproofing beneath the coating and a sealer rated for constant wetting above it.
Looking dirty within months
This is under-sealing. Bare or thinly sealed microcement is porous and takes up every mark. The sealer coats are not the optional finishing touch, they are what makes the surface cleanable, and skipping one is how a job that looked good on handover looks grubby by month three.
Mould, despite the no-grout promise
Removing grout removes the usual lodging point, but a poorly sealed surface in an unventilated wet room can still hold moisture. Losing the joints helps. Sealing and ventilation are what actually decide it, and we will say so rather than pretend the finish is immune.
Being told it is your fault afterwards
The most common complaint online is not a defect, it is a company that will not own one. Our 6-month workmanship warranty is written on the quote, and the substrate check that decides whether we take the job at all happens before you pay anything.
Expecting a finish it does not give
Microcement carries tonal movement and trowel character. If you want a flat, uniform, machine-made surface, this is the wrong product and no applicator can make it behave otherwise. We show you a sample in your own room before you commit.
The manufacturers say the same thing in their own technical guidance: cracking, fissures and delamination come from surface preparation, product quality and application, not from microcement being unsuitable. Which means the only variable that matters is who you hire.
What is different about doing this in Dubai
Most microcement advice online is written for European homes. Three things here are not the same.
Your community will probably want an NOC
Microcement is internal finishing, so a Dubai Municipality permit rarely applies. Your developer or community is the one to satisfy. Emaar, DAMAC, Nakheel, Meraas, Wasl and Dubai Properties communities commonly ask for a working-hours NOC and a protection deposit before a contractor starts, and a wet-area job is the kind they look at most closely. Tell us your community at the site visit so the paperwork runs alongside the work rather than delaying it.
AC condensation is a Dubai-only risk factor
In European bathrooms the moisture load is showering. Here you also have condensation around AC outlets and cold surfaces through a long summer, in rooms that are sealed rather than ventilated. A bathroom that sits damp between uses is a different specification to one that dries out, and it changes the sealer choice and the edge detailing rather than the look.
Heat and humidity change the curing windows
Each coat has to cure before the next goes on, and coastal humidity plus a 45 degree summer moves those windows in both directions. We build the schedule around the actual conditions rather than a European datasheet, which is why a Dubai wet-room job runs over several days and cannot be compressed into a weekend.
Microcement against re-tiling
The comparison most people are actually making.
On a renovation, microcement is often close to the cost of re-tiling and sometimes below it, because the existing surface stays where it is. You are not paying for demolition, skip hire, rubble removal, re-screeding, or the days of noise and dust that come with stripping a bathroom back. What you are paying for is a hand-applied finish with no joints, rather than tiles plus grout plus the labour to lay every piece.
Where re-tiling still wins: if the substrate underneath has failed, or the bathroom needs re-planning anyway, you are opening it up regardless and microcement loses its main advantage.
On time, expect a wet room to be out of use for several days rather than overnight. Each layer has to cure before the next, and the waterproofing and sealer have their own curing windows. That wait is not padding, and it is the one part of the job that cannot be compressed.
How a microcement job runs
Site visit and substrate check
We sound out the existing surface for hollow or loose areas, check for movement, and confirm what can be covered and what has to come off.
Sample panel
Colour and texture prepared for you to see in the actual room and light. Microcement carries tonal variation, so a sample matters more here than it does with paint.
Written line-item quote
Square metres, substrate preparation, waterproofing where needed, number of coats and the sealer system, each on its own line, and the figure is fixed.
Preparation and priming
Surfaces flattened, repairs made, and the correct primer for the substrate. Wet areas are waterproofed at this stage.
Base and reinforcement
Base coats applied with mesh reinforcement where the specification calls for it, particularly across junctions and changes of plane.
Finish coats
Fine coats applied and worked by hand to the agreed texture, then cured.
Sealing and handover
Sealer coats applied, then we walk it with you and tell you exactly when the surface can take water and what to clean it with.
How to audit any microcement quote, including ours
Microcement quotes are hard to compare because the cheap ones leave out the layers that cost money. Ask every company for these seven lines in writing.
- Substrate check. Has anyone sounded the existing surface for hollow areas, and what happens to the ones they find?
- Primer. Which primer, specified for which substrate. "Primer included" is not an answer.
- Reinforcement. Mesh at junctions and movement-prone areas, or none, and why.
- Coats. How many base coats and how many finish coats.
- Waterproofing. For any wet area, a membrane beneath the coating, named. A sealer on its own is not waterproofing.
- Sealer and slip. Which sealer system, how many coats, and whether an anti-slip texture is included on shower and floor zones.
- Aftercare. What to clean it with, and when it needs resealing.
If a quote is materially cheaper than the others, one of those seven is usually missing. Ours lists all seven, and we would rather you held it against a competitor line by line than took our word for it.
Microcement questions
Can you really apply it over my existing bathroom tiles?
In most cases yes, and it is the main reason people choose it. The tiles have to be sound and firmly bonded. We tap the surface at the site visit to find hollow areas, and anything loose comes off and gets made good first. Where a bathroom is largely drummy, going over it would be storing up a crack, and we will tell you that rather than take the job.
Is it waterproof enough for a shower?
The system is, when it is built correctly. Waterproofing goes on beneath the microcement in wet areas, and the sealer above it is specified for constant water contact. Microcement on its own, without the waterproofing layer underneath, is not a shower specification, whatever anyone quotes you.
How long before I can use the bathroom?
Longer than a repaint, because the sealer has to cure before it meets water. We give you the exact wait for the system used on your job at handover. It is the one part of the process that cannot be compressed, and using the shower early is the most common way the finish gets damaged.
Will it crack?
Not on a sound, stable substrate. It cracks when what is underneath moves, which is why the substrate check comes before the quote rather than after. Hairline movement at junctions between different materials is managed with reinforcement at the base coat stage.
Is this the same as epoxy flooring?
No. Epoxy is a resin system with a harder, more plastic surface, suited to garages, workshops and warehouses. Microcement is a cement-based finish suited to living space. If a garage or industrial floor is what you need, our epoxy flooring page covers it.
Do you do venetian plaster?
Not at present. We apply microcement, stucco and textured render finishes. If venetian plaster is specifically what you want, we would rather tell you now than take the job and approximate it.
Is it slippery when wet?
A smooth sealed finish is slippery wet, the same as a smooth tile is. For shower floors and wet areas we specify a fine anti-slip texture so grip is built in, while the walls keep the smooth finish. Tell us at the site visit if anyone using the bathroom is unsteady on their feet and we will specify accordingly.
Is it cheaper than re-tiling?
Often comparable, sometimes less, on a renovation where it goes over what is already there. You save the demolition, the rubble and the re-screeding. If the bathroom is being re-planned or the substrate has failed, you are opening it up anyway and the saving disappears. We will tell you which situation you are in at the site visit.
Why do I read about microcement looking dirty after a few months?
Under-sealing. The sealer is what makes the surface cleanable, and a job finished with too few coats is porous enough to hold every mark. We state the sealer system and the number of coats on the quote so you can see what you are getting, and we tell you the maintenance interval at handover.
How do I clean and maintain it?
Warm water and a pH-neutral cleaner. Avoid abrasive pads and anything acidic or bleach based, which attack the sealer rather than the microcement. The sealer needs refreshing periodically rather than never. For a residential surface that is typically measured in years rather than months, and we give you the interval for your specific system and traffic at handover.
Written by the Samra Facilities painting team, Dubai. Last reviewed August 2026.
Get a microcement quote
Send photos of the room on WhatsApp with rough measurements and tell us whether it is a wet area. For microcement we always visit and check the substrate before quoting.
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Get a microcement quote
Send photos of the room on WhatsApp with rough measurements and tell us whether it is a wet area.
