Orange County Floor Kitchen Bath

Carpeting a 1400 sq. ft. office. Price is an issue. I would like to lay them directly on plywood floor (no 1/4″ underlyment). Will plywood seams show through? Should I even consider laying them without gluing down? Any experience good/bad? And suggested source? I see them on internet for $.66 sq foot for excess inventory. Thanks!

No, because:
1. the carpet, even though it may seem solid to you, isn’t as solid as wood or concrete, and if you put a table or chair, or even heel pressure, the vinyl tiles will puncture and crack.
2 the tiles have nothing solid to stick to, whether they are peel-and-stick or spread-glue.
You need to remove the carpet and scrape off the old glue. Otherwise, you can remove the old carpet and lay new underlayment over the glue residue. Anything short of that will be disappointing and a waste of time and materials.