- Leaks don't stand a chance.
Plumber in Archer, FL
Leaks don’t stand a chance.
Rather text? Send a photo of the problem to 352-377-9447 and we’ll tell you what it sounds like.
1972: median year an Archer home was built
Which is why cast iron and polybutylene come up so often out here. Licensed CFC1430748
Flat rate leak detection, and free if we don't find it
$
375
Parts and labor warranty on our work, on top of the manufacturer's
2
yr
Emergency line for burst pipes and major leaks
24
/7
Plumbing in Archer, FL at a glance
First Choice Plumbing is a licensed local plumber serving Archer, Florida and the 32618 area. We handle leak detection, drain clearing, water heaters, repipes, well water filtration and septic work for homes on city water and on private wells. Service calls are $69. Leak detection is $375 and free if we don’t find it. Call or text 352-377-9447.
- What Archer homeowners actually call us about
What do Archer homeowners call a plumber for?
Almost every call from Archer lands in one of five buckets.
- Water going somewhere it shouldn't. A meter that spins with everything shut off. A warm patch on the floor. A soft spot in the yard that never dries. That's a leak, and finding it is what we do best.
- Drains backing up. Archer sits on septic, so a slow drain is not always the drain. Sometimes it's the line. Sometimes it's the tank. We tell you which one before you spend a dollar.
- No hot water. Tank heaters out here run hard on mineral-heavy well water and they don't get to fifteen years.
- Well water that smells, stains or tastes wrong. Rotten egg smell, orange rings in the toilet, laundry going dingy. That's iron and sulfur out of the Floridan Aquifer, and it is fixable.
- Old pipe finally giving up. The median Archer home went up in 1972. That means cast iron drains, galvanized supply lines, and in the late 70s and 80s builds, polybutylene.
Here’s the part nobody says out loud. The stress isn’t the pipe. It’s not knowing whether the person you called is going to be straight with you, or whether you’re about to get a five figure number from a stranger in your hallway. You should be able to get a real answer from a real plumber without bracing for it.
- What it costs, in plain numbers
How much does a plumber cost in Archer, FL?
Most plumbing sites in this county will not put a single number on the page. We will.
$69 service call. That is what it costs to get a licensed plumber to your Archer address and get a real diagnosis. On larger jobs, generally around $800 to $1,000 and up, we waive it.
$375 leak detection, or it’s free. Flat rate to come out and find the leak. If we don’t find it, you don’t pay. That is the whole guarantee, no asterisk games.
Two year parts and labor warranty. Ours, on top of whatever the manufacturer covers.
Every hole we cut gets patched. A professional drywall contractor handles the patch. We don’t paint, and we tell you that before we start instead of after.
Financing from about $500 through Wisetack, so a repipe or a filtration system does not have to happen all at once. Financing
Check what’s running right now before you call. Special offers
- $69 to come out
- A licensed plumber at your Archer address and a real diagnosis. Waived on larger jobs.
- Meet the owner
Who is actually coming to my house?
Will Harrod owns First Choice Plumbing. He holds Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor license CFC1430748, which is the state level certification, and he still runs the estimates himself. His words on why: the presence of the owner just gives people a sense of security. He is not someone collecting money behind a curtain.
Mike handles the service calls and the drain calls, and he is background checked. Ben is coming up behind him. Kim answers the phone and runs dispatch, and she batches the day by geography so nobody is bouncing from Hawthorne to Archer and back.
It is a small crew on purpose. Will ran six and seven guys before and pulled it back so the work stayed right. When you call, you get a person who knows the trucks by name.
- Will Harrod, owner. Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor CFC1430748.
- Mike handles the service calls and the drain calls. Background checked.
- Ben is coming up behind him.
- Kim answers the phone and runs dispatch.
- Archer is a septic town, and that is changing
Does Archer have city sewer, or is everyone on septic?
Today, Archer runs on septic. Every home and every business in town has a tank and a drain field in the yard, and that has been true since the trains stopped here in 1859.
That is finally changing. The City of Archer landed a $13 million grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and Alachua County approved a sewer line of roughly five and a half miles running from Archer up State Road 45 to a new regional wastewater plant in Newberry. Archer bought capacity for 175,000 gallons a day. When the collection system goes in, a lot of Archer properties will have the option to connect for the first time.
What that means for you, in plain terms:
If your tank is failing right now, you still need it fixed right now. We install and replace tanks and drain fields, we locate a buried tank when nobody knows where it is, and we decommission an old tank properly once a property comes off septic. Septic services
Here’s where we’ll be straight with you. We don’t do septic pump-outs, and we don’t do septic inspections. Those are a different license and a different truck. When that’s what you actually need, we’ll tell you and point you to the right company instead of selling you something bigger. That happens more often than you’d think, and we would rather keep your number than your money.
Septic services we do:
Locating
We locate a buried tank when nobody knows where it is.
Tank install and replacement
If your tank is failing right now, you still need it fixed right now.
Drain field install and replacement
New drain fields and replacements in Archer's sandy soil.
Abandonment and decommission
Retiring an old tank properly once a property comes off septic. We don't do pump-outs, inspections or tank removal.
- What we do in Archer
What plumbing services do you offer in Archer?
Leak Detection
$375 flat to come find it, and free if we don’t. We write everything up for your insurance carrier.
Drain Cleaning and Descaling
Chains and diamond bits that mill old cast iron back to shiny. A job, not a service call.
Tankless Water Heaters
Endless hot water and an annual vinegar flush, no chemicals.
Whole House Repipe
PEX A and B, CPVC or copper, your call once we walk it with you.
Well Water Filtration
Iron, sulfur and hardness, sized to your actual test results.
Septic Install, Drain Fields and Locating
New tanks, replacements, drain fields, and finding the one nobody can locate.
Farm and Agricultural Plumbing
Horse waterers, feeders, hose bibs, outdoor kitchens and pool lines on acreage.
Gas Lines
Licensed plumbers are licensed for gas. Ranges, generators, tankless and outdoor kitchens.
Licensed CFC1430748, locally owned, and you get a straight answer on the phone before anybody rolls a truck.
- What to expect
How does it work?
Call or text 352-377-9447.
Kim gets your address and what’s happening. If it’s an emergency, we tell you where your shutoff is while we’re still on the phone. Contact us
We come out for $69 and tell you what's really wrong.
Diagnosis first, in plain English, with the price before any work starts. Book online
- Side by side
The difference is in the details
Licensed CFC1430748, locally owned, and you get a straight answer on the phone before anybody rolls a truck.
| What matters in Archer | First Choice Plumbing | Typical big-name or out-of-town plumber |
|---|---|---|
| Price on the website | $69 service call and $375 leak detection published right here | No number anywhere. You find out in your hallway |
| If they can't find the leak | You don't pay | Hourly clock keeps running |
| Well and septic knowledge | Daily work. Iron, sulfur, drain fields, tank locating | Built for city water and city sewer |
| Who runs the estimate | The licensed owner, CFC1430748 | A commissioned salesperson |
| Holes cut in drywall | Professionally patched, every one | "That's a drywall guy's job" |
| Who answers the phone | Kim, in the office, who knows the schedule | A national call center |
| Warranty | Two years parts and labor plus manufacturer | Often one year, or parts only |
| Honest no | We tell you when a pump-out or an inspection is what you actually need and point you elsewhere | Sells you the biggest ticket on the truck |
- Well water and city water in Archer
Is Archer on city water or well water?
Both, depending on where your driveway is.Inside the city limits, the City of Archer runs the water system. Public Works keeps roughly 570 meters, the water is pulled from the Floridan Aquifer, and it is chlorinated to meet state disinfection rules. If your problem is on the street side of the meter, that is a city call and their line is 352-495-2880. If it is on your side of the meter, that is us.Outside the city limits, and that’s a lot of Archer, you are on a private well. Nobody regulates a private well. Nobody tests it for you. The Floridan Aquifer under this part of Alachua and Levy County runs naturally high in iron and hydrogen sulfide, and the limestone is porous, which is how the rotten egg smell, the orange staining and the metallic taste get into your glass.Here’s what actually fixes each one:
- Rotten egg smell: an air injection or chlorine free sulfur system with a gas-off tank. Iron and sulfur removal
- Orange or brown staining: iron filtration ahead of everything else. Well water filtration
- Scale on fixtures, soap that won’t lather, water heaters dying early: a softener. Water softeners
- 1972 houses, 2026 pipes
What plumbing problems should I expect in a 1970s Archer home?
The median home in Archer was built in 1972, and about four out of five are detached single family houses on their own lot. That age tells us most of what we need to know before we pull in the driveway.
Cast iron drains. Anything built before about 1975 almost certainly has them. Cast iron scales up from the inside, narrows, then cracks along the bottom. You feel it as drains that clog no matter how many times somebody snakes them. The fix is either descaling and lining, or replacement. Drain descaling
Galvanized supply. Rusts closed from the inside. Low pressure at the far bathroom is the tell. Polybutylene and galvanized replacement
Polybutylene. If the house was built or repiped between 1978 and 1995, gray flexible pipe with plastic fittings is a real possibility. It fails at the fittings, usually with no warning. Whole house repipe
Slab leaks. Florida builds on slab, so the supply lines run through concrete with no basement to look in. Shifting sandy soil and a high water table do the rest. Slab leak detection
We find it with electronic and acoustic equipment first, not with a saw. When we do have to open something up, a professional drywall contractor patches every hole we cut. We don’t paint, and we’ll say so up front.
Inside the city limits on city water
If your problem is on the street side of the meter, that is a city call. If it is on your side of the meter, that is us.
On a private well outside town
Nobody regulates a private well. Nobody tests it for you. We test your water for free before we quote anything.
A 1970s house with original pipe
Cast iron drains, galvanized supply lines, and in the late 70s and 80s builds, polybutylene.
Acreage, horses and outbuildings
Horse waterers, feeders, hose bibs, outdoor kitchens and pool lines on acreage.
- Questions we get every week
Frequently asked questions about plumbing in Archer, FL
Yes. Archer and the 32618 area are on our regular service board, and it is usually the same day for service calls. Our shop is in Hawthorne and we cover Alachua County daily.
Our service call is $69, which covers coming out and diagnosing the problem. Leak detection is a flat $375 and it is free if we do not find the leak. We waive the $69 on larger jobs, generally around $800 to $1,000 and up. You get the price before we start work.
Both. Inside the city limits the City of Archer supplies water from the Floridan Aquifer, chlorinated to state standards, across roughly 570 meters. Outside the city limits most properties are on a private well. Problems on the street side of the meter go to the city at 352-495-2880. Everything on your side of the meter is ours.
Archer is on septic today. A sewer line of about five and a half miles from Archer to a new regional plant in Newberry has been approved and funded in part by a $13 million state grant, so connection will become an option for many properties. Until then, tanks and drain fields still need to work.
No. We install and replace tanks and drain fields, locate a tank nobody can find, and decommission an old one. We do not pump out and we do not do septic inspections. Call us anyway and we will point you to the right company.
Usually yes. Florida requires a permit to alter, repair, replace or convert a plumbing system, and that includes a water heater changeout. Unincorporated Alachua County permits go through the Growth Management Building Division, and properties inside the Archer city limits permit through the city. We pull it for you.
That is hydrogen sulfide, which the Floridan Aquifer produces naturally in this part of the county. Sometimes it is the well itself, sometimes it is the water heater's anode rod reacting with the water. We test first, then size an air injection or chlorine free sulfur system if that is what it takes.
That is the whole point of leak detection. We use electronic and acoustic equipment to pinpoint the line before anything gets opened. If we do have to cut, we cut the smallest opening that works, and a professional drywall contractor patches every hole.
- Where we work around Archer
Do you serve Archer and the towns around it?
Yes. Archer sits about thirteen miles southwest of Gainesville on State Road 24, and we run that corridor constantly. If you are in 32618, on a paved road or four miles down a limerock one, we come out.
We also cover Newberry, Jonesville, Gainesville, Williston, and the rest of Alachua County.
Don’t see your town? We likely still come out — call 352-377-9447
- One call
Get a straight answer about your Archer plumbing today
One call gets you a licensed plumber, a real diagnosis for $69, and a price before anybody touches a pipe. If it’s a leak, we find it or you don’t pay.
Leaks don’t stand a chance.
First Choice Plumbing | 6940 SE 221st St, Hawthorne, FL 32640 | Call or text 352-377-9447 | Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor CFC1430748
- Leaks don't stand a chance.
Tell us what's going on and we'll take it from there
You get a real person, a $69 visit, a flat price before we start, and a company that patches what it cuts and answers the phone when you call back. If a smaller fix is the right call, we’ll tell you that too.
First Choice Plumbing is a locally owned, owner led plumbing company working Gainesville, Hawthorne and Greater Alachua County. Leak detection, repipes, water heaters, drains, trenchless lining, well water filtration and septic. We find it, we fix it, we guarantee it.
Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor CFC1430748
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First Choice Plumbing
6940 SE 221st St
Hawthorne, FL 32640 - Office Mon to Fri, 8 to 5. Emergency line 24/7.
Copyright © 2026 First Choice Plumbing Inc. All rights reserved. FL Certified Plumbing Contractor CFC1430748.
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