Microcement stairs are one of the most dramatic things you can do to an Irish home for comparatively little disruption. The finish is applied at 2–3 mm directly over an existing concrete or timber staircase — treads, risers, strings and nosings — turning a flight of separate parts into one continuous sculptural form. No demolition, no rebuilding, and the same colour can run straight into the floor at the top and bottom.
Over what is already there
Microcement bonds over sound concrete stairs and over rigid timber flights with the correct primer and a fibre-reinforced base coat. Carpet comes up, gripper rods and staples come out, and the existing steps become the substrate. Nothing structural changes, so the stairwell stays usable and the job is measured in days.
Timber stairs need more attention than concrete. Any tread that flexes, creaks or has a loose riser is fixed and screwed down first, and gaps are filled and reinforced, because a thin coating tracks whatever moves beneath it. Open-riser flights and glass balustrade fixings need their details agreed before work starts. Concrete stairs are the easiest case: prime, base coat, finish.
Microtraffic on the treads
Stairs concentrate wear in a way floors do not — the same 300 mm of every tread takes each footfall, and the nosing takes the impact. That is why treads are specified in Microtraffic, the high-abrasion system engineered for floors in homes, offices and retail, finished with a two-part polyurethane sealer. Risers and strings, which take no traffic, can be finished in the softer Microfinishing for a slightly finer surface, though most projects use one system throughout for absolute colour consistency.
Anti-slip and nosing details
A matt microcement tread is no more slippery than a tiled or varnished timber one, but stairs deserve a deliberate decision rather than an assumption. There are two straightforward options: an anti-slip additive broadcast into the sealer, which is invisible in the finished surface and adds grip across the whole tread; or a Micronoslip nosing band along the step edge, giving a textured R11 strip exactly where the foot lands. Both keep the seamless look — no metal strips, no bolted-on nosings. In family homes and anywhere the stairs are used barefoot or in socks, we recommend specifying one of them.
Colour matching to adjacent floors
The reason designers reach for microcement on stairs is continuity. If the hallway and landing are already microcement, the staircase can be finished in the identical shade from the same batch, so the floor appears to fold upward into the flight with no threshold, no trim and no change of material. Against timber or tiled floors, the more effective approach is usually deliberate contrast — a deep charcoal or slate stair against a pale floor makes the flight read as a piece of joinery.
All 73 KCBerry shades are available: 40 standard and 33 Pure lime-based, in matt, satin or gloss. Matt is the sensible default on stairs; gloss shows every scuff on a high-traffic surface at eye level. Because stairwells are often the darkest part of an Irish house, warm mid-tones tend to photograph and live better than very cold greys. Browse the palette on the colours page.
Living with a microcement staircase
Maintenance is the same as a microcement floor: vacuum or brush, then a mop or cloth with a mild pH-neutral cleaner. There is no carpet to hold dust, no grout to scrub and no timber to re-varnish. The sealer takes the wear, and a periodic reseal — a straightforward job on a small area — restores the surface. For households with allergies, replacing stair carpet with a wipeable seamless finish is a genuine practical win as well as an aesthetic one.
What a microcement staircase costs
Materially, a domestic flight is small: kits work out at roughly €37–€52 per square metre including 23% VAT, and a typical straight flight of thirteen steps covers only a few square metres once treads, risers and strings are added up. Labour dominates the price, and it is genuinely higher per square metre than a plain floor, because every internal corner, nosing return and string edge is worked by hand and the whole flight is viewed at close range.
The variables that move a stair quote are the substrate (concrete is cheaper to prepare than a tired timber flight), the geometry (winders and curved flights take longer than a straight run), and whether the adjacent hall and landing are being finished at the same time — doing them together is significantly better value than returning later. Professionally applied work is backed by our 5-year warranty, and we deliver and work nationwide.
Frequently asked questions
Can microcement go over existing stairs?
Are microcement stairs slippery?
Are microcement stairs durable enough for daily use?
What does a microcement staircase cost in Ireland?
Thinking about your stairs? Explore floor applications, the Microtraffic system, or request a free quote.