It won't save you any effort. Without putting down a lot of SLC (takes some skill and no small expense) all of the grout lines will telegraph through the vinyl. If you put it down anyway, not only will you get those grout lines coming through, but that will stress the backing of the flooring, and you can get splitting in traffic zones.

The right way to do the job is to remove the tile, smooth the slab, and then put down the vinyl. There are never any good shortcuts to a well done job. Truly, it's not that difficult to do with an air chisel. It's just dirty.

First of all, your post is difficult to understand. "Peeling" ceramic?

The short answer is...yes you can do it, if the existing floor is tight, which from your post seems to say it is not: "...low quality ceramic tiles installed by the previous owner."

You could fill the grout depressions with an embossing leveler and then install one of those loose lay sheet vinyls and that would give you a clean and serviceable floor for a time. Won't be perfect, but good enough. But that all depends upon if the existing ceramic is tight, which...from what you say...it is not.

Thanks for your answers!

glennsfc,

Sorry I don't know the technical word for that. But with the word "peeling" ceramic, I meant the top coat of the ceramic tile is peeling off in a few spots on the tiles. There're not a lot of those but I just know they're there...

I read on this blog that a lady installed vinyl tile on top of the existing ceramic tiles. I wonder if anyone has that experience? The ceramic tiles I have right now is not in extremely bad condition, just a few "peeling" spots, very light color and stained yucky stained grout. http://www.sasinteriors.net/2012/10/installing-groutable-vinyl-tile-lowes/

So I wonder if there's anyway to work this out... with a baby in the house, I don't really want to make a big mess. Plus I don't have a lot of time to do that... :( .

glennsfc,

Thanks for your reply again. Is it hard to fill the grout flush? And what kind of product did you use to do that?

Thanks!

Lowes and Home Depot and any flooring retailer will sell powdered cementious floor filler to which you only need add water. However, you can increase their adhesion characteristics by adding the recommended additive. Brands to look for are Ardex Feather Finish, Mapei PlaniPatch, Armstrong and Henry.

Simple...mix small batches and apply with a straight trowel or putty knife as per directions. The product will stick to itself, so repeated applications can be done to get a flush with the tile surface and a smooth result.

All you need is some leveling compound and install right over it. I would NOT us the no glue sheet vinyl though. Save your money. Glue it down or use double sided tape.