Choosing a borehole drilling company comes down to a handful of specific questions, not a gut feeling about who sounds most professional on the phone. Ask the right ones upfront, and comparing quotes gets a lot easier — and a lot less risky.
Get at Least 2-3 Quotes — Compare Apples to Apples
A single quote gives you nothing to compare it against. Getting two or three lets you see whether a price is genuinely competitive or whether it's missing something the others included. Our drilling prices page covers what a fair range actually looks like, so you know roughly what to expect before quotes start coming in.
Ask What's Actually Included Before Comparing Price
The cheapest number on paper isn't always the cheapest job. If one quote excludes the site survey, water testing, or casing that another includes, you're not comparing like for like — you're comparing an incomplete number to a complete one. Before you compare price at all, ask each company to spell out exactly what's covered: site survey, drilling and casing, yield testing, water quality testing, and whether the pump and storage are included or separate.
Ask About Water Quality Testing
Is it bundled into the quote, or a separate step you'll need to arrange yourself? Some companies handle this as part of the job; others leave it to you. Neither answer is automatically wrong, but you want to know which one you're getting before you sign anything — see our water testing guide for what a proper test actually involves.
Ask If They Can Issue a Certificate of Compliance (COC)
This one catches people off guard because it's not always necessary — a COC mainly matters if you're transferring a farm or plot, since banks and financial institutions usually require it as part of the sale. It's issued by a specialist and confirms the borehole can produce a certain volume of water per hour. You might not need one immediately, but a company that can issue a COC properly, and knows what it actually involves, is generally a company that knows what it's doing more broadly.
Check How They Handle Problems (Warranty or Guarantee)
Ask directly: what happens if the borehole underperforms, or something goes wrong shortly after drilling? A company confident in its own work should have a straightforward answer. We won't quote you a specific warranty length here, because it genuinely varies — but a vague or evasive answer to this question tells you something worth knowing before you commit.
Trust Real Track Record, Not Just a Slick Website
A polished website isn't proof of quality work — in this industry, some of the companies with the most detailed, well-produced sites don't actually have the strongest real-world track record, and some of the more established operators barely have a web presence at all. Where possible, ask for references to real past jobs, not just a star rating you can't verify.
Red Flags to Watch For
A few things worth taking seriously if you see them:
- No site survey offered before they hand you a price
- No written, itemised quote — everything verbal
- Pressure to decide immediately, especially with a "today only" discount
- A price unusually far below every other quote, with no explanation for the gap
None of these automatically mean a company is dishonest, but any of them is worth a direct question before you sign.
Ready to compare real options? Get quotes from local drillers — takes under a minute, and it's free.