- Leaks don't stand a chance.
Water Heater Repair in Gainesville, FL
No hot water is not a someday problem. It is a this morning problem, and you want a straight answer before you spend a dollar.
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
Flat $69 to come out. Repair and replace prices in writing before we start.
Flat service fee to come out and diagnose it, waived on larger jobs
$
69
Parts and labor warranty, with the manufacturer warranty on top
2
yr
Years a tank heater should last, so we tell you when repair stops making sense
8
to 12 yrs
First Choice Plumbing repairs tank and tankless water heaters across Gainesville, Hawthorne and Alachua County. A licensed plumber finds the real fault, an element, thermostat, thermocouple, gas valve or a failed tank, for a flat $69 service fee, then gives you repair and replace options with prices before any work starts. Call or text 352-377-9447.
- Repair or replace?
Should you repair it or replace it?
- Age is the first filter. A tank water heater is built to run 8 to 12 years. A tankless unit runs 15 to 20. If your tank is under 8 years old and the fault is an element, a thermostat, a thermocouple or a relief valve, repair it. That is not a close call.
- Cost is the second filter. If the repair runs past about half the cost of a new installed unit, replacing is usually the better buy, because the parts around the failed one are the same age and the same water has been running through all of them.
- The tank itself is the tiebreaker. If the steel tank is leaking, it is over. Nobody patches a tank. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you a few months.
This is where homeowners get taken, so we will just tell you the rule we use on your side of the truck.
Here is the part that matters: if we come out and the honest answer is a $200 element on a six year old heater, that is what we do, and we say so in writing. We would rather fix your heater today and be the people you call for the repipe in four years. If it truly needs to go, we will show you why on the tank, not on a brochure. Water heater installation and replacement
Repair or Replace: The Quick Read
| What you are seeing | Usually a repair | Usually a replacement |
|---|---|---|
| No hot water at all | Element, thermostat, thermocouple, breaker or high limit switch | Only if the tank is also 12+ years old and rusted |
| Hot water runs out fast | Lower element, thermostat, or a dip tube | Heavy sediment in an older tank |
| Water on the floor from a fitting or valve | Yes, fittings, drain valve and relief valve are all repairable | No |
| Water seeping from under the tank | No | Yes, the tank has failed |
| Popping or rumbling while it heats | Flush and inspect the element | If flushing does not quiet it and the unit is 10+ years old |
| Rusty or brown hot water only | Anode rod, if the tank is still sound | If the tank is corroding from the inside |
| Second failure within a year on a 10+ year unit | No | Yes, you are paying twice for the same year |
- What water heater repair costs here
What does water heater repair cost in Gainesville?
Most plumbers will not put a number on a page. We will put two on it.
It is $69 for us to come out and diagnose it. Flat. Not an estimate, not a range. You know that number before you pick up the phone, and it gets waived on larger jobs. Will set it that way on purpose. It keeps the truck honest and it keeps our schedule open for people who actually want the work done.
The repair itself gets priced before we start. You see the number, you approve it, then we work. Nobody discovers the price after the part is in.
For context, and these are national 2026 averages rather than our prices, thermostats commonly run $150 to $200, thermocouples about $150, heating elements $200 to $400, relief valves around $220, and gas control valves near $350. Most water heater repairs land somewhere between $150 and $700.
Anything larger than a repair can go on financing through Wisetack, down to about $500. Financing
- $69 to come out
- Flat. Not an estimate, not a range. Waived on larger jobs.
- Financing from about $500
- Through Wisetack, for anything larger than a repair.
- Meet the owner
Who is going to be in your house?
First Choice Plumbing is locally owned and based out of Hawthorne. Will Harrod owns it and holds the Florida certified plumbing contractor license, CFC1430748. Kim answers the phone and dispatches, and Mike runs the service calls, which means he is usually the one at your water heater.
Will still goes out on estimates himself, and that is on purpose. When the owner is standing in your garage, you are not dealing with somebody collecting money behind a curtain. You are dealing with the person whose license is on the work and whose name is on the truck.
We would rather be honest and lose a job than sell you a heater you did not need. That is the whole business plan.
- Will Harrod, owner. Holds the license, CFC1430748, and still goes out on estimates himself.
- Kim answers the phone and dispatches.
- Mike runs the service calls, so he is usually the one at your water heater.
- Water on the floor? Do this right now
Is it leaking, or is that condensation? Do this right now.
Water on the floor is the one symptom you should not wait on. Do these four things before you call anyone, including us.
1. Find the source.
Dry everything, then watch for ten minutes. Drips from a fitting at the top, from the temperature and pressure relief valve on the side, or from the drain valve at the bottom are usually repairable. Water seeping from under the tank itself, with no fitting above it, usually means the tank has rusted through and no repair fixes that.
2. Shut off the water to the heater.
There is a valve on the cold inlet pipe at the top. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
3. Kill the power or the gas.
On electric, flip the breaker labeled water heater. On gas, turn the control knob to Off. An element that fires in an empty or draining tank will destroy itself in minutes.
4. Move what you care about.
Boxes, baseboards and drywall soak faster than you think, and that turns a repair into a claim.
Then call us. If it is actively running water, say that first and we treat it as an emergency. Emergency plumbing | Call Now: (352) 377-9447
Not sure whether it is the heater or a pipe behind the wall? That is a different job and we do that too. Leak detection
- What is actually wrong
What is actually wrong with your water heater?
Almost every “no hot water” call in Alachua County comes down to a short list. Knowing the list is useful to you even if you never call us, so here it is. On an electric tank heater: the first three. On a gas tank heater: the next three.
A tripped breaker or a blown high limit switch.
Free to check, and worth checking before you call anybody. If it trips again right away, something else is wrong and you should stop resetting it.
A burned out heating element.
The single most common repair. Most tanks have two. If you get lukewarm water that runs out fast, the upper element is usually still working and the lower one is done.
A failed thermostat.
Water is scalding, or barely warm, or the temperature swings. The thermostat is not reading correctly and the element never gets the right call.
A bad thermocouple.
The number one reason a pilot light will not stay lit. It is a small, inexpensive part.
A dirty pilot assembly or blocked flue.
Dust, lint and spider webs in a garage closet are a real cause, not an excuse.
A failing gas control valve.
Less common, more expensive, and the point where the repair-or-replace math starts to matter.
On a tankless unit:
- An error code on the display. Navien E003 is an ignition failure, usually gas supply, igniter or a blocked vent. E012 is a flame loss, often venting or gas pressure. The code narrows it fast, so tell us the number when you call.
- Scale in the heat exchanger from hard or well water, which shows up as fluctuating temperature before it shows up as a failure. That is a flush, not a repair. Tankless flush and descaling
- What to expect
What happens when you call?
Tell us what it is doing.
Kim answers the phone and asks a few quick questions: gas or electric, tank or tankless, how old, and whether there is water on the floor. If you have an error code on a tankless display, read us the number. That call takes about two minutes and it decides how fast we come.
We diagnose it for $69.
A licensed plumber tests the parts rather than guessing at them, and you get the actual fault named out loud. Then you get your options, repair and replace, with prices, before anything gets opened up or ordered.
You choose, and we stand behind it.
Most repairs are done the same visit because the common parts ride on the truck. Parts and labor are covered for two years, with the manufacturer warranty on top of that.
- The difference is in the details
The difference is in the details
| What you are comparing | First Choice Plumbing | Typical Big-Name Plumbing Company |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic fee | $69 flat, published on this page, waived on larger jobs | "Free estimate" that turns into a trip charge, or no number published anywhere |
| Repair versus replace advice | Age, cost and tank condition, in writing, and we say repair when repair is right | Commissioned techs with a replacement quota |
| Who shows up | A small local crew you see again, dispatched by route so you are not waiting on a truck from two counties over | Whoever the call center routes that day |
| Who holds the license | The owner, Will Harrod, CFC1430748, and he still runs estimates himself | A qualifier you will never meet |
| Pricing at the door | Priced and approved before the work starts | Priced after diagnosis, from a book you do not get to read |
| Warranty | Two years parts and labor, plus the manufacturer warranty | Commonly one year, sometimes parts only |
| Local water knowledge | We work GRU water and private wells every week and treat the cause, not just the symptom | Same script used in every city |
None of that is a knock on big companies. It is just what a small, licensed, locally owned shop can do that a call center cannot.
- Why Gainesville water is hard on water heaters
Why does Gainesville water shorten a water heater's life?
Because of what is in it. Gainesville Regional Utilities draws from the Floridan Aquifer and treats it at the Murphree plant, and the finished water runs moderately hard, roughly 140 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is about 8.2 grains per gallon. That is fine to drink and hard on a tank.
Here is what hardness actually does inside your heater. Every time the water heats, calcium drops out and settles on the bottom of the tank, right on top of the lower element. The element then has to fire through an insulating crust to heat the water above it. It runs longer, gets hotter than it was designed to, and burns out early. That crust is also what makes the popping and rumbling you hear. Water gets trapped under the sediment, boils, and pushes through.
If you are on a private well around Hawthorne, Melrose, Windsor or northern Marion County, you have a second problem on top of hardness: iron and sulfur straight out of the limestone. Iron accelerates corrosion and sulfur produces odor.
An annual flush is the cheapest maintenance in your house. If your water is fighting your appliances, treat the water. Well water filtration | Water softeners
Not ready to call? Ask us to test your water for free when we are out.
Why does my hot water smell like rotten eggs?
If the smell is only on the hot side, the water heater is the suspect, not the utility. GRU says the same thing in its own water quality guidance: rotten egg odor usually traces back to household plumbing, a dirty garbage disposal, or the water heater itself.
Inside the tank, the magnesium anode rod is doing its job, corroding on purpose so the steel tank does not. In water with the right bacteria and sulfur content, that reaction produces hydrogen sulfide gas, and that is the smell. GRU’s own recommendation is to flush the heater annually and swap the magnesium rod for an aluminum one.
That is a repair, not a replacement, and it is a good one. A fresh anode rod also buys you years of tank life. If you are on a well and the cold side smells too, the tank is not your problem and a sulfur system is the real fix. Well water filtration
- Tankless repair, permits and next steps
Do you repair tankless water heaters too?
Yes, gas, propane and electric, and we work on Navien and Rheem regularly. Tankless units fail differently than tanks, and that changes the conversation.
A tank fails all at once. A tankless unit usually warns you first: the temperature starts swinging, the flow drops, or a code shows up on the display and clears itself. That code is the most useful thing you own, so write it down before you reset the unit.
Most tankless faults we see fall into three buckets. Ignition and gas supply issues, which is what a Navien E003 points at. Venting and flame loss issues, which is where an E012 usually leads. And scale in the heat exchanger from hard or well water, which is not really a repair at all, it is an overdue flush. Tankless flush and descaling
If you are thinking about going tankless instead of repairing an old tank, we lay out that math here. Tankless water heaters
Does a water heater repair need a permit in Alachua County?
A repair does not. Replacing parts on an existing heater, an element, a thermostat, a thermocouple, a relief valve or an anode rod, is service work.
Changing out the whole water heater is different. In Florida a permit is required to alter, repair, remove, convert or replace a plumbing system, and a water heater changeout falls under that. Where you pull it depends on your address. If you are in unincorporated Alachua County, it goes through the county Building Division. If you are inside Gainesville, Alachua, Newberry or another municipality, it goes through that city’s building office.
We handle the permit as part of a replacement. You should be suspicious of anyone who offers to skip it to save you a couple hundred dollars, because it becomes your problem at resale, not theirs.
Get your hot water back, and get a straight answer with it.
Tell us what your heater is doing. We will come out for $69, name the actual fault, and give you the repair price and the replacement price side by side so you can pick. If the repair is the right call, that is the one we will recommend. Book Water Heater Repair Online
Licensed CFC1430748. Two year parts and labor warranty. Financing available. Leaks don’t stand a chance.
- Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Most water heater calls in Alachua County get handled same day or next day, because the common parts ride on the truck. If water is actively running onto your floor, tell us that when you call and we treat it as an emergency. We answer after hours, and if it is not an active leak we will usually schedule you first thing the next morning rather than charge you for a midnight visit you did not need.
Sediment. Calcium settles on the bottom of the tank, water gets trapped underneath it, and it boils and pushes through the crust. That is the popping. It is a warning, not a failure, and a flush usually quiets it. Left alone, that same crust cooks your lower element and shortens the life of the tank.
Plan on 8 to 12 years for a tank and 15 to 20 for a tankless unit. Hard water and skipped maintenance pull those numbers down, and an annual flush pushes them back up. Once a tank is past 10 years old and starts needing parts, the math usually stops favoring repair.
Usually not, and we will say so. At that age the parts around the failed one are the same age, and you can spend $400 twice in a year. The exception is a cheap part on a unit that has been flushed and looks clean inside. We will tell you which one you have before you spend anything.
It depends on where it is leaking. Leaks at the inlet and outlet fittings, the drain valve or the temperature and pressure relief valve are all repairable and common. If water is seeping from underneath the tank with no fitting above it, the steel has rusted through and no repair fixes that. Shut off the water and power and call us.
Yes, gas, propane and electric, and we service Navien and Rheem regularly. If there is a code on the display, write it down before you reset the unit, because it tells us whether we are chasing ignition, venting or scale. Scale is the most common one around here and it is a flush, not a repair.
$69 flat to come out and diagnose it, and it gets waived on larger jobs. You get the repair price and, if it applies, the replacement price before any work starts. No surprises after the fact.
Yes, through Wisetack on jobs from about $500 up, so a failed heater does not have to come out of savings all at once. It takes a couple of minutes and it does not affect your credit to check your options. Financing
$69
Flat service fee to come out and diagnose it, waived on larger jobs
2 Years
Parts and labor warranty, with the manufacturer warranty on top
8 to 12
Years a tank heater should last, so we tell you when repair stops making sense
CFC1430748
Florida certified plumbing contractor license, held by the owner
- Where we work
Where do you go for water heater repair?
We are based in Hawthorne, so we cover Gainesville and all of Alachua County, plus Melrose, Interlachen, Keystone Heights, Micanopy, Waldo, Windsor, Archer, Newberry, High Springs, Alachua and Williston, and out into Putnam, Bradford, Union, Levy, Clay and northern Marion counties.
Kim batches the schedule by area so a truck is not running Hawthorne to Gainesville and back all day. It is why rural addresses get real appointment windows here instead of a “sometime next week” from a company that only really wants the easy in-town jobs.
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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