How much does microcement cost in Malaysia?
It is quoted per square foot after inspection, and it is a premium finish: several hand-applied layers, a sealer and a sample board, by a skilled applicator. The room decides more than the material. A dry living room over sound tiles is the simplest case; a shower with old tiles to remove and a membrane to lay is the dearest per square foot. Rayson publishes no price list.
Send three photos and the area, in square feet or square metres, for a first idea; the Rayson-authorised applicator for your area quotes in writing after seeing the room, with the base work, the membrane, the finish and the sample board listed.
Is microcement cheaper than tiles?
Usually not per square foot: tiles are a factory product laid once, microcement is a multi-layer finish applied by hand. Two things narrow the gap. In a dry room over firmly bonded tiles, microcement skips the hacking, the debris and the new screed that new tiles need. And it runs onto walls and stairs as one surface, where tiling adds trims and labour.
In a bathroom both finishes carry the same membrane under them, so the difference is the finish itself. The guide to microcement or tiles sets out when each is the better choice.
How much is microcement per square metre?
Quotations in Malaysia run per square foot; 1 m² is 10.76 sq ft, so multiply a per-square-foot price by 10.76 for the metre. The material underneath is given per square metre on the data sheets: SealForce WB20 at about 0.56 kg/m² a coat in two coats, PrimeBond E20 at 6 to 8 m² per kg; the microcement’s own consumption is on the IFS system sheet.
Walls and stairs are measured as well as the floor, and small rooms carry more labour per square foot than one open floor, because the edges, corners and the sample board take the same time whatever the size.
What decides the cost of microcement?
Six things: the base (sound tiles that stay, hollow tiles that come out and are patched, or a new screed), walls and stairs against open floor, the membrane in a wet room, the sample board, the layers and the sealer the IFS system calls for, and the area, access and working hours. The base and the wet room are usually the two that move the price most.
That is why two quotations for the same room can differ: one has the old tiles out and a membrane in, the other coats over them. Compare the lists line by line, not the totals.
Does a bathroom cost more than a dry room?
Yes. In a bathroom or shower the microcement is only the finish: the waterproofing is SealForce WB20 underneath, in two coats on concrete, render or screed, with a 24-hour ponding test before any finish goes on. WB20 does not go on glazed tiles, so the old tiles come up, or a new screed bonded with SealForce RW1 goes over them, and the falls to the drain are corrected in that screed.
A dry room has none of that: the applicator checks the base, primes it with PrimeBond E20 on concrete or screed, or a bonding primer over sound tiles, and starts the layers. The membrane, the test and the screed are what a bathroom pays for, whichever finish goes on top.
Can I save by keeping the old tiles?
In a dry room, usually yes: over firmly bonded tiles the applicator taps every tile, takes out hollow ones, fills the grout lines and primes, so there is no hacking and far less noise and debris. In a wet room, no: the membrane needs render or screed under it, not glaze.
Hollow tiles count: the inspection taps them all before the quotation, and a floor with many loose tiles is better hacked and screeded. Keeping tiles that are not sound costs more later, when the finish shows the crack.
Is microcement expensive to install?
It is skilled work over several working days: the base checked and repaired, the primer or the membrane and its test, then thin layers that each cure before the next, and the sealer last. The sample board comes first, so colour and texture are agreed in the room’s light before any of it starts.
In a strata building the applicator plans the working hours, the lift and corridor protection and the renovation permit with the management, which is part of the programme and the price.
