Should I Tank My Wet Room Before Applying Microcement?

This is a question that we are often asked, in the short video below, Richie gives you all the answers and explains a few things to look out for when working on the prep.

Is Tanking Required?

As long as there is no risk of movement, tanking is not required.

If the tanking system is already in place or you want to use one for extra piece of mind. You’ll need to make sure the tape is firmly fixed to the wall – especially along internal corners.

You’ll also need to flush it out so that you have a flat surface to microcement onto, as the microcement will follow the contours of the surface that it’s going onto.

And then, you’ll just need to check if the products that you’re microcementing onto are absorbent or non-absorbent so that you can choose the right primer. If it’s half and half, then let us know and we can figure out the best way of you getting what you need.

If you are still at the planning stage, then this is the ideal set up for microcement wet room:

Use a hard shower tray that is suitable for microcement and vinyl floors. Firmly fix the shower tray in place to eliminate the chance of movement.

Board shower area walls right down to the shower tray. Ensure boards are firmly fixed in place.

Silicone the joint between the boards & the shower tray/floors. Do not smooth out the silicone, leave to dry overnight and razor scrape off the excess. No silicone should be left on the surface.

There should be no gaps in any of the surfaces that are to be microcemented.

Ideally walls will be Aqua4ma panels or plaster boarded and skimmed. But you can go onto other surfaces with microcement, just let us know what you are planning and we can send you the relevant guidance on prep.