- Leaks don't stand a chance.
Plumber in Interlachen, FL
Interlachen was laid out between the lakes, and out here you own your whole water system.
Rather text? Send a photo of the problem to 352-377-9447 and we’ll tell you what it sounds like.
Licensed Florida Plumbing Contractor CFC1430748
Florida certified plumbing contractor. Look it up. Locally owned shop out of Hawthorne, and western Putnam County is a road we already run. Emergency plumber
To come out and diagnose. Waived on larger jobs.
$
69
Flat rate leak detection. Find it or you do not pay.
$
375
Parts and labor warranty, with the manufacturer warranty on top.
2
yr
First Choice Plumbing is a licensed, locally owned plumbing contractor serving Interlachen, FL 32148 and western Putnam County. We do leak detection, repipes, water heaters, drain clearing and descaling, well water filtration and sulfur removal, septic installs, drain fields, locating and abandonment, plus manufactured home plumbing. The service call is $69 and is waived on larger jobs. Leak detection is a flat $375, and if we do not find it, you do not pay.
- FL Certified Contractor CFC1430748
- $69 to come out, waived on larger jobs
- Two year parts and labor warranty
- We patch every hole we cut
- What Interlachen homeowners are actually dealing with
Why is it so hard to get a plumber out to Interlachen?
Because a lot of shops price the drive before they price the work. You call, you say Interlachen, and you hear a pause. Then you hear a trip charge, or a next week, or nothing at all. Meanwhile the water is still running, the yard is still wet, or nobody has had a hot shower since Tuesday.
Search for a plumber out here and it gets worse. Half the results are national call centers with a toll free number and a page that swapped in your town name. There is no address on those pages, no license number, and no chance the person answering has ever seen a well house in Putnam County.
You are not asking for much. You want somebody licensed who will actually drive out, tell you what is wrong in plain English, give you a number before they start, and not leave your yard or your drywall looking like a crime scene. That is a reasonable ask, and it should not take four phone calls to find.
- Septic tanks and drain fields around the lakes
What about septic tanks and drain fields?
If you are in Interlachen, you are on one. And because so much of this area is low, sandy and close to a lake, a tired drain field tends to announce itself in the yard before it announces itself in the house. Soft ground, grass that is suddenly greener in one strip, a smell after a hard rain, or a tub that drains fine on Monday and not on Sunday when the whole family is home.
Here is exactly what we do and do not do, so nobody wastes a phone call.
We do: new septic tank installs and replacements, drain field installs and replacements, locating a tank nobody has laid eyes on in twenty years, and proper abandonment when a system comes out of service. We empty it, break it up, crush it and bury it, done by the book.
We do not: pump tanks. That is its own truck and its own trade, and we will point you to a pumper we trust rather than pretend. Septic pump-outs
Septic permitting in Putnam County runs through the Florida Department of Health office in Palatka, separately from your building permit. We handle that paperwork as part of the job.
- We do
- Tank installs and replacements, drain fields, locating, abandonment and decommission.
- We don't
- Pump tanks. We will point you to a pumper we trust. Inspections are not something we do yet.
- Meet the owner
Who you are actually hiring
First Choice Plumbing is Will Harrod, a Florida certified plumbing contractor, license CFC1430748. He runs the estimates himself, which is unusual once a shop gets past a couple of trucks and is exactly why people keep asking for him by name.
It is locally owned. Will handles estimating, new construction and repipes. Mike runs service and drain calls. Ben is the helper who is catching on quick. Kim answers the phone and does the dispatching, and she is the reason a Putnam County call gets grouped with the other calls out that way instead of sitting for a week.
Small on purpose. Kindness kills, and the work speaks for itself.
- Will Harrod, owner. License CFC1430748. Estimating, new construction and repipes.
- Mike runs service and drain calls. Ben is the helper who is catching on quick.
- Kim answers the phone and does the dispatching.
- Straight answer on coverage
Do you actually come out to Interlachen?
Yes. Interlachen and the 32148 area are part of our service area, along with Florahome, Grandin, Hollister and Putnam Hall. Our shop is in Hawthorne, which is a straight run over on State Road 20, and the office batches jobs by geography so western Putnam work gets scheduled alongside other calls out this way instead of being treated as a one off trip.
We are not going to make up a drive time to win the call. Tell Kim what is happening and she will tell you honestly when we can be there. If it is an active leak or a house with no water, say that first, because it changes where you land on the schedule.
- Well water in 32148
Why does my well water smell, stain or look like tea?
Almost nobody in Interlachen is on a city line. You are drinking what comes out of the ground, and around here the ground is porous limestone over the Floridan Aquifer. That water is naturally high in minerals, iron and hydrogen sulfide, and nobody treats it before it reaches your tap. That is your job now, and unlike a utility, nobody sends you a yearly report.
We test your water for free and we size the treatment to what is actually in it. Sometimes that is a full train with air injection and two media tanks. Sometimes it is an anode rod and a phone call.
Rotten egg smell.
That is hydrogen sulfide. It is corrosive, so it quietly eats water heaters, fixtures and pump parts. Here is the part most companies will not tell you: if the smell is only in the hot water, the cause is usually the anode rod inside your water heater, not the well. That is a small fix, not a whole system.
Orange or brown staining.
That is iron, and it shows up in the toilet bowl, the tub and the laundry before you ever taste it.
Yellow or tea colored water.
Shallower wells near lakes and low wet ground can pull tannins from decaying leaves and roots. It is not dangerous, it is just ugly, and it needs different treatment than iron does.
Free water test, every well job.
We look at the actual numbers first, then size the treatment to match. No charge, no obligation.
- What we fix most around Interlachen
What we get called out here for
Leak detection.
Flat $375 to come find it, and if we do not find it you do not pay. We locate it, write it up, and work with your insurance company on the claim.
Well water filtration.
Rotten egg smell, orange staining, tea colored water, scale on everything. We test it free and size the treatment to your actual water.
Iron and sulfur removal.
Air injection and chlorine free systems built for Floridan Aquifer water instead of a box off a shelf.
Septic installs and drain fields.
New tanks, replacements, drain field installs, locating a buried tank, and proper abandonment when a system comes out of service.
Water heaters.
Tank and tankless, electric, propane and natural gas, permitted and warrantied.
Drain clearing and drain cleaning.
A clog is a service call. A line that needs milling and descaling is a job. We tell you which one you have before you pay for either.
Repipes and pipe repair.
Polybutylene, galvanized, cast iron, CPVC, copper, PEX and ABS. We patch every hole we cut.
Farm and outdoor plumbing.
Hose bibs, horse waterers, feeder lines, outdoor kitchens and pool lines.
Interlachen, we will drive out.
Licensed, locally owned, priced before we start, and honest about what we do and do not do. Call and tell us what is going on, and we will tell you exactly what happens next.
Leaks don’t stand a chance.
Questions first? Send us a message or Book Online.
- What to expect
How it works
Call or book.
Tell us what is happening and where you are. If it is active water or no water, say that first. We will tell you honestly when we can be at your place.
We come out and diagnose.
The service call is $69, waived on larger jobs. Leak detection is a flat $375 with the find it or free guarantee. You get a number before any work starts.
We fix it and clean up.
Permits pulled, two year parts and labor warranty, every hole we cut gets professionally patched. Our warranty
- The difference is in the details
The difference is in the details
Financing is available through our lender on jobs from about $500 up, so a drain field or a repipe does not have to come out of savings in one hit. Financing options
| What matters out here | First Choice Plumbing | The typical plumbing ad you find online |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Kim, in the office, who knows the roads and batches jobs by area | A national call center that routes the lead to whoever buys it |
| Address and license | A real address in Hawthorne and CFC1430748 on every page | A toll free number and no license number anywhere on the page |
| Price before the work | $69 to come out, waived on larger jobs, and a number you approve before we start | No price published anywhere, and the number appears after the truck is in your driveway |
| Leak detection | Flat $375, and if we do not find it you do not pay | Hourly, open ended, with the meter running |
| Well and septic knowledge | Wells, filtration, tanks and drain fields are daily work, not an exception | Built for city water and city sewer, and it shows on the phone |
| The mess | We patch every hole we cut, with a professional drywall contractor | Open walls left for you to deal with |
| Who shows up | A small local crew, and the owner still runs the estimates | Whoever the dispatcher had left that day |
| Warranty | Two years parts and labor, plus the manufacturer warranty | Ninety days, if it is written down at all |
- Lake houses, camps and places that sit empty
Can you help with a lake place I only use part of the year?
Yes, and this is one of the few places in North Central Florida where that is a normal question. Interlachen has been a winter town since the railroad came through in the 1870s, and plenty of the houses between the lakes still sit quiet for months at a stretch.
We shut a place down properly, open it back up and pressure test it before you move back in, and go check on a property after a storm. A slow leak in an occupied house is a repair. The same leak in a house nobody is standing in is a floor, a wall and a mold bill.
If you call about a place that is vacant, say so up front. It changes how fast we treat it.
- Manufactured and mobile homes
Do you work on manufactured and mobile homes?
Yes, and we are not going to make a face about it. Plenty of shops will not touch them, which is exactly why we get the call.
The black ABS drain line in the belly of the home, strapping that has sagged and left a low spot that holds water, supply lines run through insulation, a water heater crammed into a closet with four inches to work in. That is all normal work for us. It gets permitted, warrantied and cleaned up the same as work in a block house on a slab. Pipe repair
- Permits in Putnam County
Do I need a permit for plumbing work in Interlachen?
Usually yes. Putnam County lists replacing a water heater as work that requires a building permit, and altering, repairing or replacing a plumbing system is permitted work too. Septic is permitted separately through the county health department in Palatka.
We pull the permits. It is part of the job, not an upsell and not something we quietly skip to look cheaper on a quote. An unpermitted water heater becomes your problem the day you sell the house, and it becomes your insurance company’s favorite paragraph the day something goes wrong.
Our Florida certification number is CFC1430748. You are welcome to look it up before you let anybody in your house.
- What it costs to wait
What waiting actually costs
Plumbing out here rarely gets better on its own. A hidden leak under a slab keeps running twenty four hours a day and takes the subfloor, the baseboard and eventually the drywall with it. Sulfur water keeps chewing on the water heater you were hoping to get two more years out of. A drain field that is starting to fail on Sunday is a drain field that fails completely on Thanksgiving.
None of that is meant to scare you. It is just the honest math on systems that are already wet, already loaded and already older than the person living with them. The cheapest version of every one of these jobs is the version you catch early.
What it looks like when it is handled
The water runs clear and it does not smell like anything. The tub stops staining. Hot water shows up when you turn the handle, every time, including the third shower of the morning. The yard is solid again and the grass grows back even. The walls are patched and ready for paint instead of open and taped off.
And you have a plumber’s number in your phone that you can actually call, from a shop that will drive out to Interlachen without being asked twice.
Rural homes on a well and septic
You own the whole water system. We test the water free and treat what is actually in it.
Manufactured and mobile homes
ABS belly lines, sagging strapping, closet water heaters. Permitted and warrantied the same as a block house.
Lake places and camps
Shut it down properly, open it back up and pressure test, check on it after a storm.
Active water or no water
Say that first. It changes where you land on the schedule.
- Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Interlachen and the 32148 area are part of our service area, along with Florahome, Grandin, Hollister and Putnam Hall. Our shop is in Hawthorne, straight over on State Road 20, and the office batches jobs by geography so western Putnam work gets scheduled alongside other calls out this way. We will tell you honestly on the phone when we can be there.
Our service call is $69 to come out and diagnose, and it is waived on larger jobs, generally where the work runs into the high hundreds and up. Leak detection is a flat $375. Everything else is quoted upfront before we start, so you approve a number instead of getting a surprise at the end.
That is hydrogen sulfide from the aquifer, and it is common on private wells in Putnam County. It is corrosive, so it shortens the life of your water heater, fixtures and pump parts. If the smell is only in the hot water, the cause is often the anode rod inside the heater rather than the well itself, which is a much smaller fix. We test your water free and size the treatment to the actual chemistry rather than guessing.
That is usually tannins, which come from decaying leaves and roots in the soil. It is common with shallower wells near lakes and low wet ground, which describes a lot of Interlachen. Tannins are not a health hazard, but they stain laundry and fixtures and they need different treatment than iron does. A free water test tells us which one you are actually fighting.
Usually yes. Putnam County lists replacing a water heater as permitted work, and altering, repairing or replacing a plumbing system requires a permit as well. Septic is permitted separately through the county health department in Palatka. We pull the permits as part of the job.
No. We install and replace tanks, install and replace drain fields, locate a buried tank and handle abandonment and decommission, but pumping is its own truck and its own trade. If you need a pump-out, call us anyway and we will point you to a pumper we trust.
Yes. ABS drain lines in the belly of the home, sagging strapping, supply lines in the insulation, and water heaters in tight closets are all normal work for us. It is permitted and warrantied exactly the same as work in a block house.
On a well the main shutoff is usually right at the pressure tank. If you cannot find a valve, you can kill the breaker to the pump, which stops the water at the source. For a water heater leak, close the cold inlet valve on top of the tank and turn off the breaker or the propane. Then move anything off the wet floor, call us, and tell us it is active so we treat it as an emergency.
- Where we work near Interlachen
Nearby towns we serve
Interlachen is part of our Putnam County service area, and we run the same roads for Melrose, Keystone Heights, Hawthorne and Waldo. Florahome, Grandin, Hollister and Putnam Hall are on the same run.
See the full map of where we work. Where We Serve in North Central Florida
Don’t see your town? We likely still come out — call 352-377-9447
- 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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