Laying sheet vinyl over ceramic tiles

[Wingedharpy]

Looking for advice from those that know..
Can you lay sheet vinyl over ceramic floor tiles if you apply a levelling compound first?
Has anyone done this and, if so, have any issues developed since?
All advice gratefully received.
Many thanks.

Why not just remove the tiles, then level it? They are easy to get up with a hammer and chisel. It will raise your floor level if you do as you suggest, and there is always the chance of a tile breaking beneath anyway, which could leave you with unevenness. Our kitchen floor tiles came up so easily, although it's a dusty job.
(I had, prior to this, put vinyl straight on top of the tiles, but the grid pattern of the tiles showed through after a while. One of my diy quick fixes that didn't work!)

The tiles are in very good condition, albeit ugly!
Raising the floor level wouldn't cause any major issues due to location of tiles and house layout.
This work would be part of a kitchen refurbishment (not replacement) for an elderly couple with health issues, so looking for the least disruptive option for them.
I was hoping that levelling compound would prevent the issue of grid pattern showing through.

It could work, but it's a bit of a botch job that could cause issues later.
If a jobs worth doing, it's worth doing well...

Can you get vinyl tiles instead? They maybe more suitable for this.

I also came across a composite vinyl tiles the other day which had multi layers and I think this would work. The company was parador but i am in france but think it is an international brand.

I'm thinking this through myself at the minute for our kitchen. I found online someone who said they had painted their ceramic floor tiles and hasn't had any issues with paint peeling or anything after six months. They had used pads under all furniture and had sanded down the tiles a bit before painting. I think I'm going to try it and if it's doesn't work it's only a few quid for the paint wasted.

This is what I found... www.younghouselove.com/how-to-paint-bathroom-floor-tile/

I used to work in flooring and we really would have advised people not to do this
However, if levelled properly and as a short term solution it might be ok

I have Karndean laid over tiles in the kitchen looks fine two years later, did the same in the bathroom using sheet vinyl but was advised that the tile may show though eventually again two years later fine

Very grateful for all responses/views.

@user1471505356, how were the floor tiles prepared prior to laying the Karndean?

I don't think that painting them would be suitable in this instance due to location of their kitchen - it's the main thoroughfare into the house.
They also need to sit a lot so scraping of chairs around the floor wouldn't help.

@Hoppinggreen : when you say short term, what sort of time frame would we be looking at?
What would be the reasons you would advise against it?

I appreciate that this is not ideal.

Movement/cracking of the tiles.
Difficulty in getting the floor smooth enough
Getting the vinyl to stick to ceramic
The lines showing through
I don’t think painting would be a good idea either
At a guess and depending on how well it was done and how picky you are it might look ok for 6-12 months max

I've just laid vinyl on top of floorboards with a plywood layer. Quick and easy, looks great.
Removing the old tiles shouldn't take too long

We had tiles in our conservatory. Last autumn we got the floor screeded and vinyl sheeting put down. Worked wonderfully - you wouldn’t know it was there and the vinyl is much warmer underfoot. Safer for the kids too.

Floored was smoothed with a levelling compound, fairly standard method.

It depends what is underneath the tiles as to whether they are easy to remove.

If they have been laid properly it should be fine, but we have some that have been attached to a wooden floor with something that looks like tile cement. Some of them have broken and cracked so they have a tendency to lift up and have to be put back into the gaps. Removing them is not a simple job.