Can you lay tile over carpet adhesive? The folks before me glued indoor/outdoor carpet down in an enclosed patio. I pulled some of the carpet up and it looks like removing all the adhesive will be almost impossible.
After a rather painful DIY attempt, I can tell you that a plywood subfloor will also cause the grout on your tile floor to crack because it has too much give. We ended up having to rip out all our hard work and have the floors professionally redone. They removed the subfloor and used cement board (also available at Home Depot). The same tile over cement board is perfect!
The adhesive will come up - but it can be a lot of work. Go to lowes or home depot and ask about removing carpet adhesive. If it's on concrete, you'll need to get a scraper/chisel type thing to remove most of what's raised, then get it sanded down to smooth. I've got to remove commercial type carpet that has been glued down in the lower level of a raised ranch, but will hiring someone to do the sanding, then install wood.
Ask at your tile or home store about a self-leveling compound you can spread before laying the tile. I know they use this when they lay wood or tile directly over vinyl flooring that has imprinted patterns to there will be a smooth surface to start with.
I would think it depends on how much of an adhesive residue is on the floor. Tiles have to be laid on a flat surface or they will crack and the finished floor will be uneven. If the adhesive residue is minor, you could try sanding it down (messy work). You might have to put down a plywood subfloor before doing your tile work.
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