20 August 2026

With the war in Iran, prices of materials have jumped, forcing people to shop around. Commodities that worked at a price that were once acceptable, now become more grudge buys as prices increase. One of these commodity products is self-levelling screeds. These screeds are versatile in that they are easy to install, set rather quickly and cover a lot of ugly, uneven concrete to give a smooth, level, hard surface on which to apply a flooring finish of choice, from vinyl sheets to wood laminates, epoxy screeds to ceramic tiles.

Project images courtesy of Epoxy Connect, an MCCSA-approved installer.

Microcement has been around under different names for the last 50 years. Its development into a finished flooring application has grown in popularity since the extensive use of pigmented cementitious screeds, as well as developments in polymers used in these applications. The limitations have been the seamless use over extensive areas as a final finish. For this to be done successfully the microcement has to resist cracking, be exceptionally hard at skim on thickness (1-2mm), and be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Masonry Cement Composites (MCC) took up the challenge together with City Paint and Tool (Pty) Ltd to develop microcement into an even harder, more dense product that we have called Marble Cement. It is so hard that it is comparable to a tiled surface, needing only a penetrating surface sealer for stain and water resistance to make maintenance cleaning just as easy. Due to its thin skim-on application, Marble Cement has a support system of flexible waterproofing underlay, with a sandwiched in reinforcing flexible mesh, making the complete installation waterproof, extremely resistant to substrate movement, hard, easy to maintain and beautiful in appearance.

Marble Cement is now available from all City Paint & Tool outlets, as well as from MCC directly in Cape Town and is set to bring a new concept to floor and wall finishing that is uniquely original and very different to what is currently on the market.