You should also post that you have posted this in almost every forum section so people know. Also it helps you to get better answers and advice to keep the number of posts on the same subject to a minimum.

If it's damage THEY did, they need to fix it. It should not be your insurance. The remodeler should fix it and go through their own insurance, if they have any.

Are they licensed and insured?

I don't know if YOU can file a claim with HIS insurance. That's what I'd want to know first. Your insurance company might be the one to get his insurance company to pay.

I'm sorry you have this awful headache!

What broke and how? There's a difference between an old angle stop letting go, and him being careless and knocking the pipe attached to it and breaking it. One is an accident of god, and the other is negligence. Either way, your homeowner's insurance is the one that deals with talking with his insurance. And you end up on the water damage database either way. So plan on doing mold remediation that you can point to the receipt for when it's time to sell.

Some floors can be dried out and be fine. Get some fans in there pronto! It's the insulation behind walls and below floors, etc. that is the most worrisome.

Mold under wood floors and in walls never ''gets better''. Subfloor delamination never gets better. Mushy drywall never gets better. Soggy insulation grows black mold and never gets better.

If no one got in the industrial dehumidifiers and fans immediately, then there is no chance of the water damage drying out with minimal damage to the home. If you have not contacted your insurance company, you need to do so immediately. It sounds like he is either trying to avoid a claim on his, or he actually doesn't have any insurance. As in, did you actually check his license and insurance before you hired him?

Several people have asked you to contact your insurance rather than his. There is no reason to contact your insurance rather than his. Your insurance will file it as a claim on your policy, whether or not they subrogate that claim with his insurance. This means that even if your insurance company collects all the money from him, you will have the claim on your insurance. To be fair, homeowners insurance doesn't typically go up when you have a claim but many policies have a limit on the number of claims before you are dropped.

1). Should we replace the flooring under the cabinets? There is no compelling reason not to. Once you start replacing other flooring it is not worth trying to save a few pieces. Even if you didn't need to, do it.

2). I don't understand why the contractor would want to have his Floorer fix the flooring vs going thru the insurance company? He may not want the claim on his policy and may find it cheaper to simply repair the damage.

3). Does wood flooring affected by water 'get better over time'? - better? Sure why not, but it isn't going to be the same again. If it was new it needs to be replaced.

And you end up on the water damage database either way. So plan on doing mold remediation that you can point to the receipt for when it's time to sell.

I am not sure what water damage database you are referring to. I could be wrong but I don't know of any database that a buyer would have access to that shows water damage. A buyer would only have access to the C.L.U.E. reports after insurance was denied which is probably not in time to demand mold remediation receipts. Additionally, it is doubtful that insurance would be denied because of a claim on a contractor's insurance. In fact, I rather doubt that the claim will even show up on the C.L.U.E. as these are not considered home owner claims but are rather insured negligence claims. Even if it did, these are only tracked for 7 years.

Again, just because I am not aware of a "water damage database" doesn't mean it isn't out there. I just haven't heard of it.

When we were selling our home, the buyer's inspector left the water running in an upstairs tub and it overflowed and damaged the ceiling in the first floor (mostly over garage). He was still in the house when it happened, so he grabbed a bunch of towels and sopped up what was on the floor. He was going to wait until it dried out. We insisted that they tear out the ceiling drywall and insulation to dry it out. At that point he called his insurance and they brought out a contractor who tore out the ceiling and put a bunch of heaters and fans in the garage to dry it out more quickly.

Once it was dry, they re-insulated and drywalled the ceiling.

Our insurance was not involved at all. It's their bad, their dime.

This is what you need to insist on having done. The floor/ceiling needs to be opened up because under your wood is a wood subfloor, and under that wood joists. All covered up like it is, it's not going to dry out very fast, and possibly not completely.

That said, it does depend on how much water spilled on your floor. If he broke a pipe and it trickled out and he immediately went over and valved it off, then it's probably not a big deal. If it gushed/geysered and you had to call the water company to come turn off the main, that's a lot more water and a lot more concern.