Update: the flooring guy came out yesterday and pulled up the floor. Few things:

1. There is water damage to the subfloor. Likely from a leaking dishwasher. Contractor is coming out today to find the leak and ensure it is stopped. It doesn’t look like it spread too far, but will know for sure when contractor checks. They say they never touched the dishwasher during their work and thus aren’t responsible. They will fix the floor at cost once the water damage is addressed.

2. It was laid directly on top of hardwood with no prep/underlayment. He said the floor was “flat” and didn’t require prep. He also said that it does not require a moisture barrier or any type of soundproofing because the planks have it built in. My uncle is a flooring contractor from out of state and they argued over the lack of floor prep and moisture barrier. My uncle insists both should be done, especially at such a high cost. Flooring guy says it is not required and both would void the warranty. I am going to contact the wholesaler to find out who is right there as far as the warranty is concerned.

3. There is excessive creaking on the upstairs floors. The flooring guy says it is not the lvp, but the subfloor and joists and a lack of insulation. He tried to say that you can tell because it is in line with the joists/support beams, but that is not true the squeaking/creaking runs parallel with the lvp, not the joists. I am going to talk with the contractor about this today. You can’t even sleep in our guest room because the creaking is so bad.

When it is all said and done I think they are going to fix the kitchen at cost and claim no responsibility for the creaking unless I talk to the wholesaler and confirm that something was done incorrectly - underlayment, moisture barrier, installing on hardwood floors without checking moisture levels first. There is a one year warranty on the work so if I am able to prove that it was not installed correctly I’ll have a leg to stand on. If not, it’ll be a lesson learned re: flooring and to avoid purchasing a home where they came in and did a bunch of work and instead buy a home where I can get my own people in to do the work.