A microcement bathroom cost in Ireland is driven less by the room's floor area than by its total surface area — because in most bathrooms the walls, not the floor, are the bigger job. Below is how Irish bathrooms typically measure up, which kit that points to, and the bathroom-specific work (tanking, prep, shower-floor slip resistance, sealing) that a plain floor project never has to pay for.
How big is a typical Irish bathroom — in surface area?
A standard Irish bathroom has roughly 4–6 m² of floor. The walls are what change the number: full-height microcement on all four walls plus the shower enclosure usually adds around 20–30 m². So a full bathroom — floor, walls and shower area treated as one seamless surface — typically lands in the 20–30 m² total surface range.
That is why the two kits bathrooms almost always come down to are the 20 m² Complete Kit at €867.15 and the 30 m² Complete Kit at €1,186.95, VAT included. Smaller scopes — a single feature wall behind a freestanding bath, or a very small ensuite done floor-only — are the exception rather than the rule, and are where the 10 m² kit at €516.60 fits.
Every other kit size, individual product and consumable is listed on our full transparent price list, and the broader supply-and-application picture is set out in our general Ireland cost guide. This page stays on bathrooms.
Measuring your own bathroom
Measure each wall you intend to coat (width × height), add the floor, and add the inside faces of the shower enclosure. Don't deduct small openings. If the total sits between the two kit sizes, size up — running short mid-project is the most expensive mistake in a bathroom.
What a full bathroom installation includes that a floor job doesn't
A microcement floor in a hallway is essentially prep, base, finish and seal. A bathroom adds wet-zone work on top, and that is where the real cost difference sits.
- SubVap tanking of the wet zone. Microcement sealed with 2K polyurethane is already waterproof at the finished surface, so a standard bathroom does not automatically need tanking. For wet rooms and walk-in showers, KCBerry specifies the two-part SubVap system — the SubVap 10L flexible liquid mixed with the SubVap 20Kg cementitious mortar — applied beneath the microcement build-up as a vapour-tight layer. That is an additional material and labour line a dry-room floor never carries.
- Substrate prep over existing tiles. Bathrooms are the most common over-tile scenario in Ireland. Sound, well-fixed tiles need a specialist primer and a fibre-reinforced base coat and little else. Loose, drummy, cracked or damp tiling has to be made good first, and that prep is the single most variable cost in a bathroom quote. See can microcement be applied over tiles?
- Micronoslip on the shower tray floor. The shower floor is the one area where slip resistance matters more than texture preference. Micronoslip is the R11 anti-slip system for showers, terraces and pool decks, and it is normally specified for the tray or wet-room floor while the surrounding surfaces stay in the standard finish. Details on the Micronoslip page.
- PU sealing throughout. Every coated surface in the room — walls, floor, shower, splashback — is sealed with 2K polyurethane. A bathroom has far more sealed square metres per m² of floor than any other room, which is why sealer consumption, not base coat, often surprises people costing a bathroom for the first time.
Supply-only or professionally applied — in a bathroom specifically
Supply-only means you buy the kit at the fixed price above and you or your tiler apply it. Professional application is quoted per project, because it depends on the actual surface area, the condition of the substrate, the systems specified and the finish chosen. Applied work is backed by our 5-year warranty.
The bathroom-specific point is where the risk sits. A feature wall or a downstairs WC is a reasonable DIY project. A wet room is not a forgiving first attempt: the tanking layer, the fall to the drain, the junctions at the tray and the continuity of the seal all have to be right, and none of them are visible once the finish goes on. Wet-room waterproofing is where DIY risk concentrates — if any part of the room is a walk-in shower or true wet room, that is the argument for professional application.
What moves a bathroom quote up or down
- Total coated surface — walls floor-to-ceiling versus half-height changes the number far more than the floor does.
- Whether the wet zone needs tanking — a standard bath-and-screen bathroom often doesn't; a walk-in wet room does.
- Condition of the existing tiles or plaster — sound substrate is cheap to prepare, failing substrate is not.
- Micronoslip in the shower — a separate system for the tray or wet-room floor.
- Finish — matt is the most forgiving in a bathroom; gloss demands more of the applicator.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a microcement bathroom cost in Ireland?
Most Irish bathrooms total 20–30 m² of surface once walls and the shower area are included, so the usual supply-only kits are the 20 m² kit at €867.15 and the 30 m² kit at €1,186.95, VAT included. Professional application is quoted per project.
Do I need tanking under microcement in a shower?
Not always. Microcement sealed with 2K polyurethane is waterproof at the finished surface, so a standard bathroom does not automatically need it. For wet rooms and walk-in showers KCBerry specifies the two-part SubVap system beneath the microcement as a vapour-tight layer.
Can microcement go over existing bathroom tiles?
Yes, and it's the most common bathroom scenario in Ireland. Over sound, well-fixed tiles it needs a specialist primer and a fibre-reinforced base coat with no rip-out; loose, cracked or damp tiling has to be made good first, and that prep is the most variable cost in a bathroom quote.
Should I DIY a microcement bathroom?
A feature wall or a downstairs WC is a reasonable DIY project. A walk-in shower or wet room is where DIY risk concentrates, because the tanking, the fall to the drain and the continuity of the seal are all hidden once the finish goes on.
Want a figure for your exact bathroom? Request a free quote.