# Microcement VS Tadelakt?



## PPD (Mar 19, 2018)

So I know the technical difference’s between micro cement & tadelakt but...

Is there really any major performance differenced when applied in a wet room situation (shower, sauna, etc)?

Need to convert mixed travertine tile shower to seamless tadelakt... thinkin it best to apply a base microcement & fiberglass mesh + top layers tadelakt but it got me wondering if theres really much advantage to the tadelakt since its SO expensive to do properly.


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

IMO, Tadelakt’s innate flexibility and water repellency “probably” makes for a better wet location plaster vs a micro-cementitious plaster. It also sounds fancier, fancy commanding more $$, and makes for a great conversation piece, stirring up quite a bit of buzz. It’s been spec’d out and used in shower enclosures on several of my projects, and has fared extremely well. I don’t see it being any more labor intensive than a micro-cement plaster installation.

Although I’ve never used micro-cement plasters in shower enclosures aside from a few ceilings, one of the more common cementitious plasters I’ve worked with has an acrylic resin which gets added to the mix, also calling for an impregnator and an emulsion wax when used in wet locations such as showers. In all fairness, having not used it on shower walls, I really couldn’t say which is better. The only potential drawback with Tadelakt, is hard water mineral scaling, lime plaster not being acid-friendly if needing to remove it with a mild acid such as vinegar. It really should be squeegee’d after every use to prevent mineral scale build-up, and maintained periodically in order to keep it looking pristine..


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