Can you put ceramic tile over the commercial grade hard plastic vinyl tile? It would be really hard to break up off the floor. It is stuck on there really good.
We had our kitchen redone with ceramic tiles. The company we hired (very good reputation) used a couple thousand floor screws, leveled the floor, applied the adhesive and tiled over top. After 3 years, there is not a crack in the grout - and no tile has moved. So - yes
No. Unless you put concrete backer board over the vinyl first, then the tiles onto the backer board. The only problem with this is that you would be raising your floor by an inch or so, and could run into problems with door jambs, molding, transitions, etc.
Technically this is not the best way to do it, but I did this at my last house and it was a hell of lot easier then tearing up the floor and having to put boards underneath and then tile. I would recommend just tiling the vinyl if the floor is 100% level.
It wouldn't hold up very well if you put it right on top of the vinyl floor, but if you screw down some thin wonder board it would work just fine. If you are tiling the kitchen or bathroom you run into problems with raising the floor such as doors not opening and appliances being raised above the counter tops. And if you tile in front of the appliances it will be a pain to get them out if you ever needed to replace them (dishwasher)
Yes, as long as the sub floor of the VCT is thick enough. Is it over wood or concrete? If it is over concrete, then all you have to do is score the VCT with a razor knife, and apply regular thin-set. I would recommend the one with additive, but it is not necessary. It will say on the bag which sub floors are acceptable. If it is over wood, the wood needs to be at least 3/4 of an inch thick outdoor grade plywood. The best option would be to place cement board over the VCT before setting the tile. This may make your floor height much higher than desired, however. Again, you can go right over it, but you need to score the VCT. In either case, you have to make sure there are no loose vinyl tiles. If there are, you must remove them, or else the ceramic tile might crack.
