# The 5-dot method...



## Ethos (Feb 21, 2012)

So working for another company I ran into a guy who used 5 globs of thinset (one in each corner and one in the center) on his wall tile. He claimed it was to make the leveling easier. Then he said he did it on floors too!  I just backed away after that.

I had never heard of it before this guy. Has anyone else seen or heard of this method? I suppose it might work on a wall, but I wouldn't want to trust it. Doing it on a floor is just dumb in my opinion.


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## GO Remodeling (Apr 5, 2005)

Yes the 5 dot helps to level an out of plumb wall. But it has bigger drawbacks IMO. First, I read on another forum that liquid coatings need a larger number of dots so the coating won't be stressed to the point of failure. Second, you really need to push that grout in. Any crack or pinhole will allow water to get behind the tile. That water will find any missed waterproofing, corrode nails/screws and saturate the tile, especially stones.

On a floor. I knew a guy that dotted a marble floor. His helper was a hefty 270 lbs. The helper cracked every corner when he grouted! It's better to level the floor before you start than to dot it.


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## ChimneyHill (Apr 10, 2011)

When I first started, I watched an old school tile setter as he was using the 5 dots on the shower walls. The tile was a light travertine I think and the next day all the thinset telegraphed through the tile and you could see every dot. He was convinced that it would fade away over time. Needless to say it was all ripped out and set with a notched trowel. Can't imagine it on the floor.


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## HS345 (Jan 20, 2008)

How about the "how ever many dots it takes to achieve proper coverage" method? :biggrin:

I dot my wall tiles sometimes, it does help with leveling.


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## aptpupil (Jun 12, 2010)

i like the 5 dot method, it helps with demo. :laughing: last backsplash i replaced was installed this way, so i wasn't complaining when it came time to take it out.


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## Groutface (Jan 20, 2011)

We call it the old 5 Dab and pull method, lots of science behind the name.....comes in handy while back trowelling a wall thats out of wack.....


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## charimon (Nov 24, 2008)

I have used the 5 blob method installing some 1 1/4 thick marble around a pool. . . but never on a floor using "tile".


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## Evan1968 (Dec 5, 2010)

Here is the "dot" method. Didnt work out so well. They did it for leveling the floor. Made for a easy tear out. The job was in my thread "Hacks on the Loose"
Funny thing is that some tiles were "dotted" and some were not.


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

Evan1968 said:


>


You know there's some interior designer looking at that and thinking, 'oh tres chic! I need to figure out how to make a wall like that in the loft we're doing", hammer and all.


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## Taurus Flooring (Jun 1, 2006)

There are two ways to install a job. The cheap affordable way and the right way. Seems every year, we see more and more hacks selling themselves as pros and offering their services at a bargain basement price. The consumer has to take partial blame for this because they fail to realize that if a contractor is selling his "skills" at a much reduced price, something has to suffer.
Obviously, this job required a levelling and somehow was neglected for expediency. :sad:


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

Taurus Flooring said:


> Obviously, this job required a levelling and somehow was neglected for expediency.


I've seen a lot of mex--I mean workers dot as a means of just working. They did it when there was no reason (if you can think of one) to do it.
It's just hacks and/or training hacks.


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## TileLady (Apr 8, 2008)

The 5 dot method was created as a way of back buttering larger tiles once the floor or wall thinset was already applied in the proper way. So basically you properly apply thinset to the floor or wall. THEN as 'insurance' you backbutter the tile with the 5 dots of thinset.

Any other variation of the process noted above is just wrong. 

For the proper method of applying thinset, (if you're interested), take a look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyt2US_SSBM&feature=youtube_gdata_player


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## Groutface (Jan 20, 2011)

5 dot shouldn't be needed if you are going over a level....or flat substrate....have used it in the past on "walls only"


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