Rendered walls instead of tile — microcement

10b

Rendered walls instead of tile — microcement

The finish John picked out of Franci’s images is not a tile at all. Both like the idea; this is what it would cost and where it is risky.

The picture is an AI mock-up, not a photograph and not a design. It was generated to show the idea and nothing in it has been drawn, quoted or approved. It is not laid out to the real room; that is measured, to scale, in section 10c.

Franci, the same morning: “This is a beautiful high end architectural finish. It is either venetian plaster or microcement… The pros are it is seamless, no grout lines therefore less cleaning. Cons would be: labour intensive and probably expensive… There would be waterproofing underneath, but I don’t know how durable it will be in comparison to tiles.”

What it costs: $200–500 per square metre plus GST installed, and bathrooms sit at the top of that because of the corners, wastes and fixtures — roughly two to three times tiled. It is not waterproof: the membrane goes underneath exactly as it would under tile, so the waterproofing is paid for either way and the render is the finish on top of it.

The colour is the decision, not the concept. Two mock-ups came back at noticeably different warmths, and that is the difference between looking expensive and looking like a rendered wall.

John, to Franci

Out of all of the images we have — I like this one the best which is not tiles at all — just some sort of render.

I wonder what the pros and cons of doing something like this?

To confirm or price

Price the separate downstairs vanity room only in render (2.86 × 1.91 overall, measured in 10c), against the same room tiled. That room has no shower in it, which is what makes it the cheap place to try this.
Who applies it? It is a specialist plasterer, not the tiler. Does Mastacon have one, or is it a direct trade? The photograph Franci sent is Protex Plastering’s Flinder Park job, here in Adelaide.
Will the waterproofer certify over it, and on which system? X-Bond is the one with Australian wet-area certification; if the applicator uses something else, that is a question for Paul before anything is priced.
Ceiling painted, not rendered. It is area nobody looks at and it is charged by the square metre.
Re-sealing. A rendered wet area wants a fresh sealer roughly every two years — on a short-stay property that is a room out of service on a cycle. Who does it and what does it cost?
Cracking. A new slab and frame move most in the first year or two, and a seamless finish has nowhere to hide it. What is the movement allowance, and who carries it if it cracks inside the warranty?

The idea, mocked upAn AI-generated mock-up, not a photograph or a design: the separate vanity room in microcement, with the tiled shower through the second door — seamless render where it is dry, tile where the water is. The design's floor is Life Bianco tile, not the timber look shown