The type of flooring we choose for our home affects not only the aesthetics of our home but also its functionality. Some floors offer greater resistance to stains and general wear and tear and are also easier to maintain. Microcement, precisely, is a coating that has gained popularity in interior decoration thanks to its aesthetic qualities and easy maintenance, but it is not all good. Discover the pros and cons of microcement flooring!
What is microcement?
Advantages of microcement flooring
Microcement has become popular as a coating in recent years mainly due to the modern and avant-garde aesthetics it gives to interior spaces, but also for its many practical advantages. The most notable are the following:
Their appearance
The appearance of microcement is, without a doubt, one of its greatest virtues. This coating makes it easy to create continuous surfaces which provides great visual breadth to spaces and makes cleaning easier. This continuity together with the shine and the light waters that the microcement draws and that give it a handmade finish make it a very attractive material.
Adherence
Thanks to the manufacturing process, microcement acquires extraordinary adhesion, becoming a material applicable to floors, walls and ceilings, both interior and exterior. Thanks to this also does not generally require removing existing material to apply it, so it does not generate debris.
Thickness:
The approximate thickness of 2 millimeters Its application does not affect the structural load of the building. It also does not generally affect frames and doors, so it is not usually necessary to remove previous floors to apply it.
Waterproof character
Its waterproof character makes microcement highly resistant to water and humidity, which makes it suitable for humid areas such as bathrooms and kitchens and the coating of outdoor spaces such as terraces or porches.
Resistance and easy maintenance
Microcement is highly resistant to wear and tear and is easy to maintain, making it an ideal material for living spaces. To clean it, just vacuum it and clean it with a mop with warm water and neutral soap, well drained. It is also recommended to renew the protective layer of the material with certain periodicity by applying self-gloss waxes diluted in water.
Disadvantages of microcement flooring
The advantages are numerous, but what about the disadvantages? To know whether or not this material fits our needs as a covering, it is important to know the pros and cons of microcement floors. And although the drawbacks are less numerous, they can be decisive:
Labor and execution time
Microcement is delicate enough that we don't have to worry about applying it correctly. Therefore, the ideal is to stop experimenting and rely on qualified professionals with experience in the application of this coating. It is also necessary to take into account that in large areas the execution time can be up to a week to return home.
Thin and fragile
As it is a very thin material whose thickness is around 2 or 3 millimeters, it is fragile. It is very resistant to wear, as we have already specified, but It is not a friend of strong blows or sharp objects, as it can be marked or chipped quite easily.
Like any continuous material when applied on large surfaces on floors, in addition, may crack due to possible expansion that occur at the base. For this reason, it is sometimes advisable, always under the manufacturer's instructions, to correct the base and leave joints in strategic places to absorb possible expansion and prevent the appearance of cracks.
Repair
What happens if it chips or cracks? Since the floor is continuous without joints, repairing it is usually necessary act over a larger area to try to make the patch not noticeable. Even so, it is not usually easy to achieve the same color and finish as the rest of the floor that is in good condition, especially when it is dark.
Where to use microcement
Given the pros and cons, you are probably wondering where to put the microcement, where it is more appropriate to opt for these floors. Logic leads us to think about opting for this in small sized rooms to minimize risks , the bathrooms, toilets, studies, balconies... However, always under expert advice and in a format suitable for high traffic, it can be placed on any surface, looking especially good on large open surfaces where the lack of joints becomes more evident.