Yes. Microcement over tile is one of the most common renovations we supply, and in most cases the old tile stays exactly where it is. At a finished thickness of 2 to 3 millimeters, the coating adds almost nothing to your floor height, so doors, thresholds, and fixtures usually stay put. What decides the outcome is not the microcement. It is whether your existing tile is sound enough to build on.
Key points
- Microcement is applied directly over tile when the tile is sound, clean, and firmly bonded.
- The finished thickness is 2 to 3 millimeters, so the floor height barely changes.
- Grout joints must be filled first, or they telegraph through the finish.
- Installation generally takes 3 to 14 days, and the surface is ready for use about 48 hours afterwards.
- Loose, hollow-sounding, or moving tile has to come out. No coating fixes a failing substrate.
Can microcement go over tile without removing it?
It can, and avoiding demolition is the reason most homeowners choose it. Tearing out a tiled bathroom means skips, dust, noise, and days of disruption before anything new goes in. Applying microcement over tile skips that entirely.
The coating goes on in thin layers over a primed substrate, so the tile becomes the base rather than the waste. You keep the renovation to days instead of weeks, and you keep the debris out of your driveway. You also avoid the risk of demolition, which is discovering damage to the underlying substrate that was never part of your budget.
When is your tile a suitable substrate?
Four conditions have to be met before anyone starts priming.
The tile must be firmly bonded with no hollow or drummy areas. Tap across the surface. Anything that sounds hollow is no longer stuck down, and a coating over it will crack where it moves.
The surface must be clean and free of grease, soap residue, and old sealers. It must also be stable, with no structural movement in the floor or wall behind it. Finally, grout joints need to be filled and leveled because a 2-millimeter coating will follow the contours of whatever is underneath it.
When does the tile have to come out?
Some substrates cannot be saved, and an honest installer will tell you before quoting, not after demolition.
Tile comes out when it is loose across a meaningful area, when the subfloor flexes underfoot, or when there is an active moisture problem behind it. Rot, failed waterproofing, and movement all keep working after the new finish goes on. Microcement is a finish, not a repair, and it inherits every fault in the surface below it.
How does the installation work over tile?
The sequence is the same as any microcement installation, with extra attention paid at the preparation stage.
- Preparation: The tile is cleaned, repaired, and leveled, and grout joints are filled.
- Priming: A bonding primer is applied to give the coating its grip on a glazed surface.
- Base coats: Two base coat layers are applied to floors, with fiber mesh for added stability. Wet areas receive an additional layer.
- Finishing layers: These carry the color and texture, chosen from over 120 colors and four textures.
- Smoothing: Light sanding brings the surface to an even finish.
- Sealing: A protective sealer matched to the room closes the surface.
Expect 24 to 48 hours of drying between layers, and 3 to 14 days for the whole installation depending on project size, substrate condition, the number of layers and the system being installed. The surface is generally ready for use about 48 hours after installation, and reaches full cure at roughly 28 days.
What about showers and other wet areas?
This is where preparation matters most, and where corners get cut.
Microcement is water-resistant in itself. In a shower or wet room, it becomes a waterproof system when installed over a waterproofing membrane and under a sealer specified for that environment. Applying microcement over existing shower tile without a membrane behind it leaves the framing and board unprotected, regardless of what the finish looks like at handover.
Drainage still matters too. The floor needs proper falls to the drain because water standing on a sealed surface will eventually find a weak point. Tiled shower trays are often the worst offenders here, since the original falls were set for a grouted surface and never corrected. Our microcement application process sets out the wet area build-up in full.
What goes wrong when microcement is applied over tile?
Almost every failure traces back to preparation rather than the material.
Unfilled grout joints show as faint lines when light hits the finish at an angle. Hollow tiles left in place crack the coating above them within months. A glazed surface primed with the wrong bonding agent releases, and a wet area built without a membrane fails behind a finish that still looks intact.
None of these are expensive to avoid. They require a day of preparation and an installer trained on the system. That is why Craftex certifies every applicator who buys our products, and why technical support stays available while a job is on site.
Request a certified Craftex installer and get your substrate assessed before anyone quotes the finish. If you would rather see the colors first, order a color sample and check the shade against your own lighting.
Read next: Is microcement good for floors?
Frequently Asked Questions
Will applying microcement over tile raise my floor height?
Barely. The finished coating is 2 to 3 millimeters thick, so thresholds, door clearances, and fixture heights almost always remain unchanged. This is one of the main reasons microcement is well-suited to renovations where height is constrained.
Can I apply microcement over tile myself?
We do not recommend it, and Craftex products are sold only to certified installers. Priming a glazed surface, filling joints, mixing to the correct ratio, and sealing to the right thickness all decide whether the finish lasts. Most DIY failures start at preparation.
How long before I can use the room again?
The surface is generally ready for use about 48 hours after installation, with full cure at around 28 days. Installation itself takes 3 to 14 days, depending on project size, substrate condition, the number of layers and the system being installed.
Does microcement over tile crack?
Not when the substrate is sound. Cracking comes from movement below the finish: hollow tiles, a flexing subfloor, or joints that were never filled. A stable, properly prepared base and a trained applicator remove almost all of that risk.
