Buy Microcement & Venetian Plaster, from the people who install it.

Yes. Microcement bonds directly to tiles, which is one of the main reasons people choose it. The tiles stay where they are, the grout lines are filled and levelled during preparation, and the finished surface is continuous with no joins.

The tiles do need to be sound. Anything drummy, loose or lifting has to come up first, and the surface needs degreasing and priming before the base coats go on.

On walls and ceilings, yes, and it suits vanity walls and powder rooms particularly well. Lime plaster is naturally breathable, and sealed or waxed correctly it handles humidity and occasional splashing.

Shower alcoves, splash backs and floors are a different question, and our position is that Venetian plaster does not belong in them. It is a decorative lime finish, not a hard wearing one. Those surfaces are better served by Microcement. Using both in the same bathroom, Microcement in the wet zone and Venetian plaster on the dry walls, is a common and much more reliable specification.

Venetian plaster is priced per bucket, and coverage varies by finish, from about 8 to 25 square metres per bucket, so the finish you choose affects your cost as much as the size of your room does. Microcement is priced as a system rather than a single product. A 20kg pail of Diamond Floor covers approximately 16 to 20 square metres at two coats, and the Diamond system also requires a primer set and a sealer set. It is a higher upfront spend than lime plaster, and it buys a surface rated for floors and wet areas.

The coverage calculator on each collection page does the maths properly. Select your product, enter your area and coat count, and it returns quantities for every stage with a waste allowance built in, which you can price directly from the product pages.

Microcement is water resistant once sealed, but it is not a waterproofing membrane and it does not replace one. In any Australian wet area a compliant membrane must be installed underneath in accordance with AS 3740 before the Microcement system goes on.

You will see Microcement described elsewhere as completely waterproof. Sealed correctly over a compliant membrane it performs extremely well in showers and bathrooms, but the membrane is what waterproofs the room, and a certifier will look for it. Get the sealer wrong and the surface will stain.

Every Microcement and Venetian plaster collection page has a coverage calculator. Enter your square metreage and it returns quantities for each stage of the system, primer through to sealer, which you can price directly from the product pages.

Coverage varies more than people expect. A rough or heavily textured substrate can absorb noticeably more than a flat one, and stairs and curved walls consume more again. If the job is unusual, send measurements and photos and we will work it out with you rather than have you order twice.

It depends on what you are going over and what the surface has to survive afterwards. Non absorbent substrates like tiles, terrazzo and marble need a different primer to porous ones like render or plasterboard. Sealer choice is driven by exposure, so a bathroom floor, a bench top and a feature wall each call for something different.

This is the single most common reason an order goes wrong, and it is the easiest to avoid. Tell us the substrate and the room and we will specify the system.

No. We supply applicators, builders, designers and homeowners doing their own projects. There is no trade account requirement and no minimum order.

We would ask that you talk to us before ordering, for the reason above. Five minutes on the phone saves the wrong primer arriving.

Both are applied by hand and the result depends heavily on technique. Small projects like a bench top, a shelf, a laundry or a single feature wall are realistic for a confident DIYer. Bathroom floors, showers and large open areas are not the place to learn.

Venetian plaster is less forgiving than it looks, because the depth and sheen come from how the layers are burnished rather than from the product itself.

We run Decora certified training from the Baringa showroom, and we take technical calls during a job whether you trained with us or not.

We ship Australia wide with the exception of Victoria, including New South Wales, and freight is calculated by weight at checkout.

You are also welcome to collect from the Baringa showroom, open Monday 7am to 11am, Tuesday to Thursday 7am to 12pm, and Friday 7am to 11am. Tinted product is made to order, so allow additional time on colour matched orders.