Plumbing Services in Union County, FL

Out here, a plumbing problem is your problem.

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

Locally owned, out of Hawthorne. Union County is on our map on purpose. Call or text 352-377-9447.

of land. Union County is the smallest county in Florida by area, and we still cover all of it.

244 sq mi

to come out and diagnose it. Waived on larger jobs. No mystery trip charge.

$ 69

parts and labor warranty on our work, with the manufacturer warranty on top.

2 yr

First Choice Plumbing is a licensed plumber serving Union County, FL, including Lake Butler, Raiford and Worthington Springs. We handle leak detection, water heaters, drain clearing, repipes, well water filtration, septic installs and drain fields for homes on private wells and septic. Licensed Florida contractor CFC1430748. $69 to come out. Call or text 352-377-9447.

Why plumbing in Union County is its own animal

In a city, the water arrives already treated and the drains leave on a public line. Almost nothing about Union County works that way. Outside of Lake Butler, you are usually pulling your own water out of the Floridan Aquifer and sending your drains to your own tank and drain field in your own yard. That means you own the whole system, from the well casing to the last foot of the drain field.

The aquifer under this part of Florida is naturally high in iron and hydrogen sulfide. That is where the orange staining in the toilet bowl comes from, and it is where the rotten egg smell comes from. It is not dangerous, but it will ruin your laundry, chew up your fixtures and make you not want to take a shower in your own house.

“If your water smells like rotten eggs, that is hydrogen sulfide, not your imagination. It is fixable.”

Then there is the part nobody says out loud. When something breaks out here, you start calling, and half the companies that show up in the search results are not really here. They are in Gainesville or Jacksonville, and Union County is a checkbox on a service area page. You wait all day, nobody comes, and you call the next one. That is the actual frustration, and it is worse than the leak.

You should be able to get a licensed plumber to your house in the country without begging for it, and you should be told the truth about when he can get there. That is a low bar. We just decided to clear it.

What does a plumber charge to come out in Union County?

$69 to come out. Flat, upfront, and waived on larger jobs. You know the number before we knock.

Two year parts and labor warranty. On top of whatever the manufacturer covers. Details on our warranty page.

Financing on bigger work. If a lining job or a heater replacement lands at a bad month, there are payment options starting around $500.

Anything larger than a service call gets a written scope and a number before we start. No surprise line items at the end.

Who is actually coming to your house

First Choice Plumbing is locally owned. Will Harrod is the owner and the license holder, Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor CFC1430748. He does the estimating himself, and on the bigger Union County jobs he is on site. Mike runs service and drain calls. Ben works alongside him. Kim answers the phone and runs dispatch, which is why you get a person instead of a queue.

Small on purpose. We would rather run a tight crew that does the work right than a big one that does it fast. When you call, you are talking to the company, not to an answering service three states away that will forward a message and hope.

What we do in Union County

Every one of these is work we do ourselves, with our own licensed people. If a job is not ours, we will tell you that instead of guessing on your dime.

Leak Detection

$375 flat to come out and find it. You are guaranteed that we will find it. If we don’t find it, then you don’t pay. We write everything up for your insurance company.

Water Heaters

Tank and tankless, gas, propane and electric. Replacement, repair, and annual tankless flushing. Water heater repair

Drain Clearing

The clog you have right now. In and out, usually in about an hour and a half.

Drain Cleaning and Descaling

Different job entirely. A milling machine with chains and diamond bits scrubs the inside of an old cast iron line back to bare metal. One to two days, and it buys you years.

Well Water Filtration

Air injection and chlorine free systems, softeners, and sulfur systems with a gas-off tank, sized to your actual water test. Iron and sulfur removal

Free Water Testing

We test before we sell you anything. If your water is fine, we will say so.

Septic Installs and Drain Fields

New tanks, replacements, drain field installs, tank locating, and proper abandonment and decommission of an old tank. Drain fields

Repipes and Pipe Repair

CPVC, copper, PEX, polybutylene and galvanized. If your house still has the original pipe, this is the conversation. Water line repair

Trenchless Pipe Lining

NuFlow Certified Contractor. We line a failing line from the inside instead of trenching your yard. Cutting up your house is not the only way to repair these lines.

Farm and Agricultural Plumbing

Horse waterers, feeders, hose bibs, outdoor kitchens and pool lines.

Commercial Plumbing

Older buildings, small-town storefronts and county facilities.

$69 to come out, waived on larger jobs. No mystery trip charge.

Where we work in Union County

Union County is the smallest county in Florida by land area, roughly 244 square miles with about 16,100 people in it. That sounds easy until you realize how spread out those houses are. We cover the whole county, from the SR 100 corridor through Lake Butler out to the New River along the southern line.

Lake Butler

The county seat and our busiest stop in the county.

Raiford

Homes, small acreage and institutional buildings on the north end.

Worthington Springs

Small town on the Santa Fe side, almost entirely wells and septic.

Providence, Dukes and Johnstown

And the unincorporated stretches along SR 121 and SR 100.

Wells and septic are most of the work out here

Well water that stains, smells or tastes like a penny

Private wells are not regulated the way a city utility is. Nobody tests your water but you. The groundwater under Union County comes out of the Floridan Aquifer through porous limestone, and it carries iron, hydrogen sulfide and sometimes hardness along with it. Iron is the orange ring and the rust colored laundry. Hydrogen sulfide is the rotten egg smell. Hardness is the film on the shower door and the scale that shortens the life of your water heater.

We start with a free water test, because the right system depends on what is actually in your water. From there it is usually an air injection or chlorine free unit, a softener or media tank, and for sulfur a gas-off tank. A full system runs into real money, so we size it to the problem instead of selling you the biggest train on the truck. If a single filter fixes it, that is what we will tell you to buy. Water testing and Well water filtration

One honest note. If the rotten egg smell is only on the hot side, that is usually your water heater, not your well, and it is a much cheaper fix. Water heater repair

Septic work we do, and the work we don’t

We install new septic tanks, replace failed ones, put in drain fields, locate a buried tank when nobody knows where it is, and properly abandon and decommission an old tank when a property goes on a new system. We empty it, break it up, crush it and bury it, the right way, so it is not a hole waiting to happen under somebody’s truck. Septic install and replacement, Drain fields, Septic locating and Septic abandonment

What we do not do is pump-outs, septic inspections or tank removal. Those are not our lane and we are not going to pretend otherwise. If a pump-out is what you need, call us anyway and we will point you at the people who do it right.

Free water test. We test before we sell you anything.

Do you need a permit for plumbing work in Union County?

Usually, yes. In Florida, altering, repairing, replacing or converting a plumbing system takes a permit, and that includes a water heater changeout. In Union County that goes through the county Building Department, and the contractor doing the work has to be registered with that department before a permit will issue. Permit review generally runs a couple of business days when nothing needs review, and up to a week and a half when it does.

This is one of the quiet reasons the cheap handyman quote is not actually cheaper. Unpermitted work follows the house. It shows up when you sell, when you file a claim, or when an inspector walks the property for something else entirely. We pull the permit, we schedule the inspection, and you get paper that says it was done right.

Not ready to book? Ask us what your job needs. Call or text 352-377-9447 and we will tell you straight, permit or no permit.

The difference is in the details

None of that is complicated. It is just what you would want if it were your house.

What matters out here	First Choice Plumbing	Typical big-name or out-of-area company
Where the truck actually is	Based in Hawthorne. Union County is a route we run, not a checkbox.	Dispatching from Gainesville, Jacksonville or farther, with the county listed on a page.
Price before the work	$69 to come out, published. $375 leak detection, published. Written quote before we start.	No price anywhere on the site. You find out in the driveway.
Well water and septic	Filtration, softeners, sulfur systems, septic installs, drain fields, locating and abandonment.	City water and city drains. Wells and septic get referred out or declined.
Who does the work	A small local crew. The owner, Will, still runs the estimates himself.	Whichever tech the call center routed, on a commission sheet you never see.
The mess afterward	We patch every hole we cut, with a professional drywall contractor.	Open drywall left for you to hire out and pay for twice.
Being told no	We tell you when a smaller fix will do it, and when a job is not ours.	Every visit ends in a recommendation to replace something.
The license	Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor CFC1430748, printed on every page of this site.	Buried in the footer, or a franchise number that is not the person at your house.

What happens after you call

Tell us what is going on.

Call or text 352-377-9447, or book online. Kim will ask a few questions, tell you what it will take, and give you a real day and window for Union County.

We come out and diagnose it.

$69, or $375 if it is a leak we have to find. You get a written price before anything gets cut, dug or replaced, and you get the honest version, including when the smaller fix is the right one.

We do the work and stand behind it.

Permitted where a permit is required, patched where we cut, and covered by a two year parts and labor warranty with the manufacturer warranty on top.

What do I do while I wait for a plumber?

Water does the damage, not the broken part. Slow it down first, then call.

Shut the water off. On a well, kill the breaker to the pump, then close the valve at the pressure tank. On city water in Lake Butler, find the meter box near the road and close the valve inside it. Go find that valve today, before you need it, and make sure it turns.
Kill power to the water heater if the tank is what is leaking. Breaker off on electric, gas valve to off on gas or propane.
Open the lowest faucet in the house to drain the pressure out of the lines.
Get pictures. Before you mop anything up. If this turns into an insurance claim, those photos matter, and we will document our side of it too.
Call us. 352-377-9447. Tell us it is an emergency and where you are in the county.

The cost of putting it off

A hidden leak under a slab does not stay a plumbing problem. It becomes a flooring problem, then a drywall problem, then a mold problem, and by then you are not calling a plumber, you are calling a restoration company. A drain field that is showing early signs and gets ignored through a wet season turns into a full replacement instead of a repair. Untreated iron and sulfur quietly eat a water heater from the inside, and you buy that heater years earlier than you should have.

None of that is a scare tactic. It is just what happens when water gets time.

What it looks like when it is handled

The shower stops smelling. The laundry stops coming out orange. You get your hot water back and it stays back. The line under the yard is fixed and the yard is not a trench. The holes we cut are patched. You have a written warranty in a drawer, a permit on file, and a phone number for a plumber who answers, so the next time something goes sideways you already know who to call.

That is the whole point. Not a sale. A house that quits giving you trouble.

Licensed CFC1430748

Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor. Will Harrod holds the license and does the estimating himself.

Locally owned, out of Hawthorne

Union County is a route we run, not a checkbox.

Wells and septic, not just city water

Filtration, softeners, sulfur systems, septic installs, drain fields, locating and abandonment.

We patch every hole we cut

A professional drywall contractor does the patch. We do not paint.

Union County plumbing questions we get asked

Do you really service Union County, or is it just listed on your website?

We really service it. We are based in Hawthorne and Union County is on our regular routes, along with Bradford and northern Alachua. Because it is at the edge of our map, we batch Union County work by geography so we are not running a truck across three counties for one call. Emergencies we come out for. Everything else gets a real appointment day and we keep it.

How much does a plumber charge to come out in Union County?

We charge $69 to come out, diagnose the problem and give you a written price before any work starts. That fee is waived on larger jobs. Leak detection is a separate $375 flat rate because it is a different kind of visit with specialized equipment.

How much does leak detection cost, and what if you cannot find it?

$375 flat. You are guaranteed that we will find it. If we don't find it, then you don't pay. We also document everything in writing for your insurance company, which matters more than people realize when the claim gets reviewed.

Do I need a permit to replace a water heater in Union County?

In almost every case, yes. Florida requires a permit to install, replace or alter a plumbing system, and a water heater changeout counts. In Union County that runs through the county Building Department, and the contractor has to be registered with the department before a permit will issue. We pull it and schedule the inspection as part of the job.

Why does my well water smell like rotten eggs?

That smell is hydrogen sulfide, and the groundwater in this part of Florida is naturally high in it along with iron. If you smell it on both the hot and cold sides, it is coming from the well and you need treatment. If you only smell it on the hot side, it is usually happening inside your water heater, which is a much cheaper fix. We test the water free either way before we recommend anything.

Do you install septic tanks and drain fields in Union County?

Yes. We install new tanks, replace failed ones, put in drain fields, locate a buried tank when nobody knows where it is, and properly abandon and decommission an old tank. We do not do pump-outs, septic inspections or tank removal. If that is what you need, call us anyway and we will point you at someone who does it right.

Is there a 24 hour plumber near Lake Butler?

We run an emergency line and we answer it. If a line has burst or a heater has let go at two in the morning, call 352-377-9447 and tell us it is an emergency. Shut the water off first, then call.

Are you going to leave holes in my walls?

No. We patch every hole we cut, and a professional drywall contractor does the patch. We do not paint, and we tell you that before we start rather than after. Your work is also covered by a two year parts and labor warranty, with the manufacturer warranty on top of it.

Straight talk on scheduling

Just over the county line we also work Starke and Brooker in Bradford County, and we route those jobs on the same runs. See every place we cover here: Plumber Serving North Central Florida

Union County sits at the far edge of our map. Kim, who answers our phone and runs dispatch, batches work by geography so our trucks are not crossing three counties in a day. For an emergency we come. For everything else we will tell you the real day we can be there, and then we show up on it.

Get a licensed plumber out to Union County

Tell us what is going on and we will tell you what it takes to fix it, what it costs, and when we can be there. No pressure, no guessing, no surprise bill in the driveway.

Leaks don’t stand a chance. Book a visit online

$69 to come out, waived on larger jobs. Two year parts and labor warranty. We patch every hole we cut.

First Choice Plumbing. Licensed Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor CFC1430748.

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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