Water Well & Drilling Questions, Answered

It depends on four things: depth to water, ground conditions, site access, and casing specification. That's why we start with a free site survey — after it you get a fixed written quote, and the price we quote is the price you pay. Indicative starting prices are shown on the drilling page once confirmed.

Most wells we drill on Samui land between 40 and 120 meters, but it varies street to street — two neighbouring plots can need very different depths. The survey gives you an expected range for your specific site before any commitment.

Typically 3–7 days from rig arrival to a tested, handed-over well. Hard rock layers and difficult access add time; the survey tells you what to expect for your site before we start.

Above certain depth and usage thresholds, yes — Thai groundwater law requires a licence. The practical answer: we handle the paperwork as part of the job and tell you upfront whether your project needs one. You don't need to navigate the regulations yourself.

It's rare when a survey has been done, but it happens — and we'd rather tell you the policy in writing than pretend it can't. The survey assesses the risk honestly before you commit, and what is charged (and not charged) on a dry hole is stated in your quote, not improvised afterwards.

In everyday use they overlap: a borehole is the drilled hole itself; a well is the finished, cased, working water source. Our drilling service covers the whole chain; borehole installation is the completion part — casing, sealing, wellhead — including finishing bores drilled by someone else.

Decades, if it's cased and sealed properly and serviced occasionally — 20 years and more is normal. What shortens the life of a well is bad casing, no sanitary seal, and years of neglect. That's exactly the part we don't cut corners on.

Yes. A camera and condition check tells you whether an existing or abandoned bore is worth completing before you spend anything on it. We report what we find plainly — sound holes get cased and finished; the ones that aren't worth it, we say so rather than sell you the work. It's a common first step on new builds that inherited a bore of unknown condition.

Three numbers decide it: well depth, daily demand, and delivery head. An oversized pump wastes money and an undersized one burns out early — so we size it from your well's test data at the survey rather than guessing from a catalogue.

Usually, yes. A deeper well and a long run up a hillside both add head — the lift the pump has to overcome — and more cable with it. It's one of the things that moves the final quote, so we size the pump from your well's actual depth and test data rather than a generic figure. Getting it right is the difference between a pump that lasts and one that burns out early.

Occupants × daily use × the dry-season buffer you want. A four-person villa on Samui usually lands at 3,000–5,000 L; on Phangan or Koh Tao we recommend more, because resupply has a ferry in the middle. The survey sizes it precisely for your property.

Enough to bridge the realistic gap between deliveries, or a well that runs slower in the dry months — not the best case. On Samui a few days' buffer usually covers it; on Phangan and Koh Tao we recommend more, because resupply crosses water on a schedule. Where the tank can sit and how the truck reaches it affect the install, so we size and place it at the free survey.

Not before it's tested — island groundwater commonly carries hardness, iron and manganese. Sometimes it's fine, often it needs treatment before drinking. We test first and recommend from the results; with the right filtration, well water can absolutely reach drinking standard.

Yes — testing first is the rule. Island groundwater varies bore to bore, so we don't sell a system for a problem your water doesn't have. We take a sample and test it, explain the results in plain language, then size treatment to what's actually there — general household, drinking water, or hotel-grade.

Typically within 24–48 hours on Samui, 48–72 on Phangan, and on scheduled visit days on Koh Tao. Call and describe the symptom — some faults can be checked over the phone before anyone drives out, which sometimes saves you the visit entirely.

Yes — annual contracts for villas, hotels and rental properties: scheduled checkups, priority response when something breaks, and a written condition report after every visit. For property managers it turns water from a recurring crisis into a line item.

Rule of thumb: 0.3–0.5 m³ per guest per day for hotels and villas with pools and gardens; a frugal household runs lower. For system design we calculate from your actual occupancy and facilities — and show the math, so your capacity isn't a guess.

Yes — truck delivery bridges the build while the permanent system goes in, with volumes matched to each phase. For villas, resorts and developments we design the whole chain — source, storage, pressure and filtration — around your real occupancy, then hand it over documented. Planning water before the foundation is poured beats retrofitting it afterwards.