call installer

What's your warranty--1 year?

Yes call installer....sounds like they did not leave enough room for expansion

Reach out to the installer first. While you are waiting the several days/weeks to hear back from them (summer = building season) you can assess whether or not this is in front of a window, or an entranceway so some other doorway/entrance that might give reason for a plank 'bending' (like excessive heat/sunlight or lack of expansion gap offered at a wall/doorway, etc).

Picture??

I tried several times to upload but it wouldnt allow me. Here are pics:

Hard to tell but is it bent up or down? Was this floor laid over old floor like a ceramic tile?

It’s bent upwards. upstairs hallway which was once carpeted

See if your “install guy” will call you back. 98% of all issues are install related. This is no exception.,

And I'm seeing 'H' joints in these photos. Which is a "no-no" re: installation. Just to be clear, is this a click-together floor or glue-down? How thick? What's the product?

What about the subfloor? Carpet hides the WORST subfloors in the world...which is why builders lover carpet...it hides the WORST subfloors in the world! Was the subfloor 'fixed' before the vinyl was installed? Your contract will tell you how much you paid for the floor project. Subfloor prep should be on there...somewhere.

And was this a professional flooring installer or a GC who was doing other projects and said s/he could install flooring as well?

SJ - Why are H joints a no- no? Is this also true for - click together - laminate?

'H' joints indicate an unskilled installer (or one who doesn't care and simply carries on with the work despite the look/stability of the floor). Installation instructions for floors (planks rather than tiles) are often the same...they will CLEARLY state the 'off-set' as well as how close the short edges are allowed to be to one another (usually 6-8") and the installation instructions will often state 'H' joints are to be avoided by using a 1/3 off-set method....randomizing the order which each run is made will add to the 'authenticity' of the floor. In other words, "Installer: mix it up so that it looks realistic...the homeowner will love you for it!".

An installer who ignores all of these recommendations (thereby going against all 'Best practices' and 'manufacturer's requirements) is an installer who is going to skip several steps regarding preparation, leveling, etc. And is an installer who is destined to learn an expensive lesson...read instructions BEFORE opening the box.

Thanks SJ. Hubby and I (first time installers) installed our own planks this way. We did read instructions carefully and it said to ensure that the short edges do not line up.

If I remember correctly they included a sheet with several suggested designs, and the above was one of them.

Does it matter if ours was laminate and not vinyl?

Should I be worried?

The flooring is from Lowe’s - ProCore 16-Piece 5.74-in x 35.74-in Legacy Oak Luxury Locking Vinyl Plank Flooring . Reading the reviews of the floor most of the bad reviews were the same - that it was a difficult product to work with but overall had a good rating. I really do like it other than this one bad piece I have no conplaints and everyone so far raves about awesome it looks. This was a professional installer but he did have a young kid that he was training who helped with my flooring. I didn’t even notice the H joint until you just mentioned it. I plan on contacting him this week.

Definitely call the installer. The H joints only look that way towards the stairs.. I don't see it that way in the part of the picture further back ( when you blow up the pic ). Hopefully he can fix it easily enough

In the first picture, it appears the top of the female end of the plank has been broken at installation. Water damage wouldn't be that consistent.