Plumber in Starke, FL

Just as comfortable on city sewer as we are on a septic tank.

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, the owner’s own license. Locally owned, out of Hawthorne, a straight shot up US 301. Emergency plumber

To come out, waived on larger jobs

$ 69

Leak detection, find it or it's free

$ 375

Parts and labor warranty, plus manufacturer coverage

2 yr

First Choice Plumbing is a licensed plumber serving Starke, FL and ZIP 32091, the county seat of Bradford County. We handle leak detection, repipes, cast iron lining, water heaters, drain clearing, well water filtration and septic installs, in town on city water and out in the county on wells. It’s $69 for us to come out, and leak detection is $375 with a find it or it’s free guarantee.

Why does a Starke address mean two completely different plumbing jobs?

Because Starke has a hard edge to it and most people never think about where that edge falls until something goes wrong.

Inside the city limits you’re on City of Starke water and sewer, and your problem is almost always in the house: the drain line under the slab, the supply pipe in the wall, the water heater in the closet. Cross the line into unincorporated Bradford County and the whole picture changes. Now you own the well, the pump, the pressure tank, the septic tank and the drain field. Nobody is testing your water. Nobody sends you a bill that quietly tells you a pipe is leaking. You are the utility.

Then there’s the age of the place. The town grew up around the railroad that came through in the 1850s, filled in through the county seat years, and boomed again around the highway. The typical Starke house was built right around 1978, which puts a huge share of this town squarely in the era of cast iron drains, galvanized supply lines and the polybutylene that went in from the late seventies into the mid nineties. Those materials do not fail politely. They scale shut, they weep behind drywall, they let go at a fitting on a Sunday.

So the honest answer to “who do I call” depends on which side of a line your driveway is on, how old your house is, and whether the problem is yours or the city’s. That’s a lot to sort out while you’re standing in water.

You shouldn’t have to. That’s our job, not yours.

Do you install septic systems and drain fields in Bradford County?

Yes, and here’s exactly where the line is, because you deserve a straight answer before you spend an afternoon on the phone.

We do: new septic installs and replacements, drain field installs and replacements, locating a tank nobody can find, and abandonment and decommission when a property goes onto a new system. Locating comes up constantly out here, because the tank is under forty years of pine straw and the last person who knew where it was sold the place a long time ago.

We don’t: pump-outs, septic inspections, or pulling an old tank out of the ground. We’re not going to fake it. We work with a local partner company for pump-outs and we’ll hand you straight to them, no markup and no runaround.

Two things worth knowing before you plan a new system around here. Bradford County soil is not all the same. Some of it is clean sand that percolates beautifully, and some of it turns clay heavy enough to slow everything down, which changes the design and sometimes the size of the field. And properties sitting low near the lakes south and west of town can need a lift station to make the system work at all. We’d rather tell you that on the front end than after you’ve committed to a number. The full septic overview is here.

Who's actually coming to your house?

First Choice Plumbing is locally owned. Will Harrod owns it and holds the license, Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor CFC1430748. Mike runs the service and drain calls and is background checked. Ben is coming up behind him. Kim answers the phone and does the dispatching, and she batches the north end work geographically instead of bouncing one truck up and down US 301 all day.

Will still does the estimates himself. That’s on purpose. When the owner is standing in your yard, you’re not dealing with somebody collecting money behind a curtain, and you know exactly who to call if something isn’t right.

We’re not a franchise and we’re not owned by an investment group three states away. Small town people notice the difference, because in a town this size a bad job follows you around the grocery store. We’d rather earn the next call than win the current one.

Do I need a permit to replace a water heater in Starke?

Yes, and it is not a technicality. Florida requires a permit to alter, repair, replace or convert a plumbing system, and swapping a water heater counts. So does a repipe, a sewer line replacement and a new septic system.

Where that permit goes depends on the same city limit line everything else here depends on. If your address is inside the City of Starke, it goes through the city’s Building and Zoning office on North Thompson Street. Worth knowing before you plan your week: that office keeps a four day schedule and is closed Fridays except by appointment. If you’re in unincorporated Bradford County, it goes to the Bradford County Building Department on North Temple Avenue instead.

Septic runs on a third track entirely. It is not the building office at all. Septic permitting in Bradford County goes through the Florida Department of Health office right here in Starke, under the state program, and the design has to be approved before anybody puts a shovel in the ground.

Three offices, three sets of hours, one job. We sort out which one applies to your address before we start, and we pull the permit under our license, CFC1430748. You don’t chase it, you don’t guess, and you don’t find out at closing that the water heater somebody swapped in 2019 was never inspected. That one shows up more than you’d think when a house changes hands.

County by county detail is here: Bradford County, Union County, Clay County and Alachua County.

Why does my water smell like rotten eggs?

First question we ask: is it in the hot water only, or in the hot and the cold?

If it’s only in the hot, it’s usually not your water at all. It’s the water heater, and very often it’s just the anode rod reacting with the water. That’s a small fix, and we’ll tell you so instead of selling you a whole house system you didn’t need. This is true whether you’re on city water in town or on a well out in the county.

If it’s in the hot and the cold both, and you’re on a private well, that’s hydrogen sulfide coming up with the water. This whole region draws from the Floridan Aquifer through porous limestone, which is also why the water here runs naturally high in iron. Iron is the orange ring in the toilet tank, the rust colored streaks on white laundry, and the stain in the tub that no amount of scrubbing takes out. Neither one means your well is broken. It means your water needs treating.

A private well in Florida isn’t regulated the way a city system is, so nobody is testing yours but you. That’s why we test for free before we quote anything. Iron and sulfur usually get an air injection system with a gas off tank, which is a chlorine free approach. Hard water gets a softener, generally two media tanks plus a brine tank. The full picture on a whole house system is here.

And if the pressure is falling off out at a county place, that’s a separate conversation. It’s the pump, the pressure tank, the well itself, or a leak you can’t see. Four different repairs, and we’d rather find out which one it is than sell you a pump.

Get a Free Water Test

Free water test.

No charge, no obligation, and we'll tell you if you don't need anything.

Hot water only?

It's usually the water heater, and very often just the anode rod. A small fix, in town or out in the county.

Iron and sulfur on a well.

Usually an air injection system with a gas off tank, which is a chlorine free approach.

Hard water.

A softener, generally two media tanks plus a brine tank.

Do you have to dig up my yard or cut up my floors?

Usually not. Cutting up your house has never been the only way to fix a drain line.

With a town where the typical house went up around 1978, we see the whole museum here. Cast iron drains under the older places. Galvanized supply that’s been closing up for fifty years. Polybutylene from the late seventies through the mid nineties, which fails at the fittings and rarely gives you a warning first. Cast iron in particular doesn’t fail all at once. It scales shut from the inside, a little at a time, until the day it doesn’t drain.

So first we look, with a camera, and work off a picture instead of a guess.

Then there are two honest paths. If the pipe still has good wall left, we clean it properly. That’s a machine with chains and diamond bits that mills the inside back to bare metal, and it is not the same thing as running a snake through a clog. If the pipe is past that, we line it. First Choice Plumbing is a NuFlow Certified Contractor, and NuDrain epoxy lining rebuilds the pipe from the inside without trenching your yard or opening your slab. If the run has to come out, we replace it.

And when we do have to open a wall, we patch every hole we cut. A professional drywall contractor does the patch. We don’t paint, and we’ll tell you that up front.

What we get called out to Starke for

Leak Detection.

$375 flat to come find it, and if we don’t find it you don’t pay. We locate it, mark it, and write it up for your insurance company. Insurance claim leak detection

Slab Leaks.

Warm spot on the floor, water running with everything shut off, pressure that won’t hold. Florida builds on slab, so this one comes up a lot.

Water Heaters.

Tank and tankless, gas, propane and electric. Repair when repair is honest, replace when it isn’t. Water heater repair and tankless water heaters

Drain Clearing.

One clog, one visit, usually about an hour and a half. If the drain keeps coming back, that’s a different job and we’ll say so.

Repipes.

Plenty of Starke houses are still running on original galvanized, cast iron or polybutylene. We repipe, and every hole we cut gets professionally patched.

Farm and Property Plumbing.

Horse waterers, feeder lines, hose bibs, outdoor kitchens and pool lines on acreage. Gas line work too.

Starke, we’re already headed your way.

Licensed, locally owned, and equally at home on city sewer or a septic tank. $69 to come out, $375 to find your leak or it’s free, and two years parts and labor behind the work. Leaks don’t stand a chance. Book Online

How does it work?

Call or text 352-377-9447.

Kim answers, gets your address, and tells you honestly when we can be there. She’ll also ask whether you’re in the city or the county, because that changes the permit and sometimes the diagnosis. Nights and weekends there’s an emergency line, because water doesn’t wait for business hours.

We come out for $69 and find the real problem.

Not a guess and not a sales pitch. If it’s leak detection, it’s $375 and we find it or you don’t pay. You get the price before we touch anything.

We fix it, patch what we cut, and warranty it.

Two years parts and labor, plus whatever the manufacturer covers. If the job runs over $500, financing is available.

The difference is in the details

One call, one published price, and a plumber who works both sides of the city limit sign.

What matters	First Choice Plumbing	Typical Franchise or General Local Shop
Price to come out	$69, published right here, waived on larger jobs.	Rarely published anywhere on the site.
Leak detection risk	$375 flat, find it or it's free.	You pay for the search whether they find it or not.
Insurance claims	We locate it, mark it, and document the whole thing for the carrier.	Often "call your adjuster" and nothing in writing.
Cast iron drains	Camera first, then mill it clean or line it from the inside.	Snake it again and rebook in six months.
Wells and septic	Everyday work for us, including free water testing.	Frequently referred out to a third company.
Permits	We confirm city or county first, then pull it under our license.	Sometimes skipped entirely on a swap-out.
After a repipe	Every hole we cut gets professionally patched.	Patching is your problem to hire out.
Warranty	2 years parts and labor, plus manufacturer coverage.	Commonly 30 days to 1 year on labor.

What it looks like when it's handled

The water is clear, the laundry stays white, and nobody says a word about the smell in the guest shower. The tub drains while you’re still standing in it. The bill goes back to looking like it did last year.

The wall we opened is patched and painted over and you’d have to be shown where it was. The permit is closed out under our license, so nothing surprises you at inspection when you sell the place in eleven years. And you have one number in your phone for the pipes, the heater, the well and the tank, answered by somebody who already knows whether your driveway is in the city or the county.

What does waiting actually cost here?

On city water, a hidden leak at least shows up on the bill eventually, though usually a month or two after the damage started. On a well it never shows up at all. It just runs. The pump keeps cycling, the pressure tank wears out years early, and the water goes somewhere quiet, generally under the slab or into a wall.

A drain field that’s giving up starts with soggy ground and a slow tub, and replacing one is a permitted, engineered job, not a same day fix. Cast iron that’s already scaling shut keeps closing until the day nothing drains at all, and that day is never convenient.

None of that is meant to scare you. It’s just the arithmetic of a town where the average house is pushing fifty years old.

In town on City of Starke water and sewer

The drain line under the slab, the supply pipe in the wall, the water heater in the closet.

Out in the county on a well

You are the utility. We test the water for free before we quote anything.

Septic tanks and drain fields

Installs, replacements, drain fields, locating and abandonment, permitted through the health department.

Houses built around 1978

Cast iron drains, galvanized supply and polybutylene. We repipe, line and descale.

Frequently Asked Questions

What county is Starke, FL in?

Bradford County, and Starke is the county seat. Bradford is a small county, so plenty of people with a Starke mailing address actually live over the line in Union, Clay or Alachua County. It matters for permits and for septic, so it's the first thing we check.

Do I need a permit to replace a water heater in Starke?

Yes. Florida requires a permit to alter, repair, replace or convert a plumbing system, and a water heater changeout counts. Inside the city limits it goes through the City of Starke Building and Zoning office, which runs a four day week and is closed Fridays except by appointment. Outside the city limits it goes to the Bradford County Building Department. We pull it under our license, CFC1430748.

Does the City of Starke provide water and sewer?

Inside the city limits, yes. The city runs its own utility. Step outside those limits into unincorporated Bradford County and you're on a private well and a septic tank, which means the pump, the pressure tank, the water quality and the drain field are all yours. That's the single biggest difference between two houses a mile apart here.

Who permits septic systems in Bradford County?

Septic does not go through the building office. It runs through the Florida Department of Health office in Starke under the state onsite program, and the design has to be approved before the work starts. We handle installs, replacements, drain fields, locating and abandonment. We don't do pump-outs or inspections, and we'll hand you to a partner for those instead of pretending otherwise. Septic services

Why does my water smell like rotten eggs?

If it's only in the hot water, it's usually the water heater and often just the anode rod, which is a small fix. If it's in the hot and the cold and you're on a well, that's hydrogen sulfide, common here because the Floridan Aquifer runs through porous limestone. That usually takes an air injection system with a gas off tank.

What does it cost to have a plumber come out in Starke?

$69. That's the trip charge, it's the same here as it is in Hawthorne, and it's waived on larger jobs. Leak detection is its own flat price at $375, and if we don't find the leak, you don't pay for it.

Can cast iron pipe be repaired without digging up the yard?

Usually, yes. We camera the line first, then either mill it clean with a descaling machine or line it from the inside with epoxy. First Choice Plumbing is a NuFlow Certified Contractor and the lining product is NuDrain. Cutting up your floors is not the only way to repair a drain line. Cast iron pipe lining

Is there a 24 hour plumber in Starke, FL?

There's an emergency line after hours and on weekends, and Will or Mike is on the rotation. If you've got water running and can't stop it, shut off the main or the well pump breaker first, then call us at 352-377-9447. Emergency plumber

Do you cover the rest of Bradford County?

We do. Starke is the anchor on a route that already runs through Waldo, Brooker, Lake Butler, Keystone Heights and back down to Hawthorne and Melrose. So whether you’re in town off Call Street, out toward Camp Blanding on SR 16, or on acreage west of the highway, there’s a good chance we’re already going to be near you this week.

If you’re not sure whether you’re inside our map, call and ask. The worst thing that happens is we tell you honestly that you’re outside it and point you toward somebody who isn’t. See every city and county we cover: Where We Serve in North Central Florida

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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