01 Plumbing · Borehole drilling
Borehole drilling, paid on approval.
Public supply is unreliable enough that most households eventually stop waiting for it. The decision is rarely whether to drill — it is how deep, and who you trust to tell you the truth about that.
02 What the job involves
What you are actually paying for
Survey, drilling, casing and development of a new borehole.
Also asked for as: water borehole · bore hole
- A geophysical survey to find water and estimate depth before anything is drilled
- Drilling to the depth the survey indicates, not the depth that fits the budget
- Casing and gravel packing to stop the hole collapsing or silting up
- Development and flushing until the water runs clear
- A yield test so you know what the hole actually produces per hour
03 What moves the price
Why two quotes differ
Quotes arrive sorted by total, which makes comparison easy and misleading in equal measure. These are the variables worth checking before you decide one is cheaper.
- 01
Depth to water, which varies street by street even within one town
- 02
Whether the ground is sand, clay or rock — rock needs different equipment and takes longer
- 03
Casing diameter and material, which is a large material line item on its own
- 04
Access for the rig, since a compound a truck cannot enter changes the whole job
04 Questions
Worth asking first
- 01
How deep does a borehole need to be?
- It depends entirely on where you are — this is what the survey is for. Insist on seeing the survey result and having the target depth written into the quote before funding. A driller who quotes a depth without surveying is guessing, and you carry the cost of the guess.
- 02
What is a yield test and why does it matter?
- It measures how much water the hole actually delivers per hour. A borehole that produces well for ten minutes and then runs dry is a common and expensive disappointment. Ask for the yield figure to be recorded on completion, before you release the workmanship portion.
- 03
Is drilling the same job as installing the pump?
- No. Drilling is specialist rig work; the pump, pressure tank and the plumbing into the house are ordinary plumbing. They are often quoted together, but they should appear as separate line items so you can see what you are paying for each.
05 Related
More plumbing work
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