Drilling a well is kind of like having a root canal. At some point in your life you may need to do…read moreit, but you are never going to look forward to it. Drilling a well is expensive and messy, with the results left mainly to chance. No one will guarantee you will achieve the well yields you are looking for. So, faced with these challenges the last thing you need is the added complexity of hiring a drilling contractor that isn't 100% straight and upfront with you. Let's face it...... most of us will only drill one well in our lifetime, so you will never have the chance to become expert at it. Indeed, we were complete novices. All we knew was our current low producing well was not producing ANY water anymore. Augie from Guardino came up to our property within a day of the first phone call and spent about an hour explaining the process to me. Augie gave us a worst case scenario quote due to the known difficulties of drilling in our area, and despite the large cost and no guarantee of finding water, we went ahead and started the process mainly because I felt confident that we knew what we were getting ourselves into. It felt like we were about to start an adventure together as partners. All permits, and inspections (pre and post) were handled completely by Guardino and all communications were done quickly through email and/or text, which is just perfect for me. We started drilling ahead of the original schedule and experienced a rollercoaster few days, starting with walls collapsing in on very expensive drill bits, to lots of dust and prayers, to the most unlikely and amazing outcome we could ever have imagined. In short, we achieved a staggering 80gals/minute (v's the original goal of 4~5 gals/minute, v's our previous wells 0.5gals/minute output). We achieved this at half the depth we expected, and even with adding a new pump, christy box (as the well was in the middle of a driveway) and pressure tank, we ended up coming in at half the original quote. From first drill to completion took around 5 days, and that included decommissioning the old well. After completion we received all of the required permits and paperwork in both electronic form as well as a nice physical binder so that in future we have all of the info for the well easily at hand. Augie kept checking in on us for a few weeks just to make sure everything was still working as we thought it would. It feels like we have a whole new property as we can now consider growing things and planting real grass for our dogs. In summary, this was a traumatic and stressful process and I don't think anyone should underestimate what it takes to drill a well. However, it was made a painless as possible by having Augie and Guardino with us every step of the way. This review is not for the result. That was up to fate and your mileage will vary greatly depending on your terrain. The review is for the service and support we got from Augie.

A great experience from start to finish. Our well is off-grid and powered by a solar setup. Most…read morepump companies had never even considered solar pumps (i.e. Grundfos), but Guardino were happy to both drill the well, and install the pump and solar. Since the installation, we had a few problems with the solar setup. Augie was always super-responsive, and ensured that any issues were resolved very quickly. This is a company that is about much more than just drilling holes and moving on, their long-term support is excellent.

A disorganized business! It was a real trial getting someone to return my call but worse getting…read morethem to come out here. The staff who answers the phone are great, but good luck from that point on. We had our water tested, and it tested as having coliform, but it also tested as having fecal matter. Needless to say, we were extremely upset and had several other water tests. Turned out we did have coliform, but did not have any fecal matter - it was the poor method of testing. We got a bill for $388 for false results. Don't use them for water testing.

Summary: Fast and accurate diagnosis of well problems, excellent work with premium parts, financial…read moreintegrity. Our well needed servicing. Being the sort that pressurizes a large, fiberglass tank which then feeds the house, normal operation causes the pump to come on for 10 seconds, then switch off for 30 under continuous water usage. We noticed it was clicking on for 2 seconds, then off for 2, repeatedly. We called Maggiora Bros. Being there was no emergency, they responded the following week, and in minutes determined that our fiberglass tank was no longer retaining pressure. We received a quote for X to fix the problem over the phone, and I agreed. They scheduled the installation of the new tank, came and installed it, taking the old one away. I inspected the work and tested the pump with 100% satisfaction. My satisfaction fell to 3-stars when the invoice arrived, billing us for 1.25 X. After discussing it over the phone, our bill was back to X. Perhaps there were two mistakes here, one being me not insisting on a written estimate. The other may have been their underestimating the work involved. Returning to the spoken estimate shows the company values customer relationships above all else. Use this company. They will do you right.

The 22-year well pump for us and three neighbors died recently. Maggiora Bros. was responsive and…read moredid an excellent job replacing it and upgrading some old fittings. We chose this time to replace our 3K-gallon, 50-year-old steel storage tank; again, Maggiora Bros. did an excellent job with the removal of the old tank (with three holes in it) and replacing it and several old fittings, keeping us well-informed all along the way. Things are working smoothly, and we recommend Maggiora Bros. and their personnel without hesitation.

They were great. Was hung out to dry (no pun intended) by another well company, (who shall remain…read morenameless, because this review isn't about them), but Maggiora Bros. came through. Polite, friendly, punctual. Made a diagnostic/repair that the other company did not, saving me a whole bunch of money. I was actually told by the technician, Billy, "We're here for you." Man, I almost cried. No one seems to give a crap about customer service anymore. They do.

Excellent service. They came out immediately after calling them. Professional and highly…read moreresponsive. I highly recommend them.

We've been using Halstead for 10 years and they have met our expectations. We had a pressure tank…read morefail, we got it replaced. Shortly thereafter we had pressure issues, Joe showed up and diligently troubled shot the issue and was relentless until he discovered the fix. I would recommend this outfit for your needs

GRANITE DRILLING ~ 5 STAR As a long time real estate broker…read moreon the Monterey Peninsula, my husband and I have referred many clients to Mike Grachek, the owner of Granite Drilling Company. The feedback from our customers of their experiences year in and year have always been incredibly positive. Earlier this we year purchased a 3 acre vacant lot in Carmel Valley that had no water. We contracted with Mike to drill us a domestic well on our land. From start to finish Mike made the well drilling process completely seamless, he and his team were professional, they did every task on time, and had incredible follow up, they under promised and overachieved..we could not be happier with Granite Drilling! We highly recommend and will continue to refer Mike and his team to all our current and future friends and clients. Laura & Kent Ciucci ~ Sotheby's International Realty

I never heard back after inquiring about some of their services. Having been ignored I'd definitely…read morenot hire them especially if any problems were to occur in the future.

Chappell's website claims "FREE ESTIMATES on all well services"…read more Don't believe it for a minute. I called them for an estimate to look at and repair my under- performing well pump. They sent a guy out, then mailed me a "service call" invoice for $178.20. After I sent them a letter concerning this issue, they stubbornly insist I owe them the billed amount. Be sure to double-check their math on any estimate from them. Discovered several "errors". One guess in who's favor... No resolution after 2 months, and still receiving billing invoices. Unfortunately, they are currently "the only game in town", and take advantage of that. Given a choice, I would NEVER call them again. Don't make the same mistake I did. Negative 10 stars if possible...

I have worked with Chappell before and it has been fine, I have been living on houses with wells…read morefor years. In this case, we moved into a 1999 house that had no above-ground water tank or booster pumps. I needed all that installed, plus a separate electrical panel for the boosters and also, a manual transfer switch in case of a blackout. Randy was my rep this time and handled it very well. I have never done a project this big with Chappell. I had given another local well-down pump and well company a shot at this job as well, but the rep seemed disinterested, for the first scheduled visit he simply was a no-show to work that week and work had no idea where he was. Since no one was calling me to reschedule, I did follow up and got that rep out, but he seemed disinterested and--after giving me an on-the-spot guesstimate of the job... yes, you guessed it, never followed up with a real quote. Considering that behavior, I put my confidence in Randy from Chappell. The follow up was great, considering it was before, during and after the Xmas holiday, and now we have exactly what we need. See pictures and video: https://youtu.be/EHutDNjMi-c I had the concrete pad poured by my own sub. For Chappell's work: the pictures show the blue pumps, the nice shiny new piping, the green electrical panel and the tank, and some bonuses Randy suggested that I did not even ask for: the cool sight-level disk one can see from quite a ways a way, and a third feed valve on the main piping, in case I need to add something in the future. Very nice touch!

I had heard that Aaron at Earthflow Drilling was the best in the area for well drilling services…read morefrom quite a few people including developers, real estate agents and other homeowners. A bit hard to get a hold of. Just be patient and he will call you back. I met up with Aaron and we walked my property. He pointed out several locations including the one he thought would be best. He is second generation and his knowledge, demeanor, and confidence are definately a plus. I witnessed his crew work on a neighbors property and they were very conciencious. I will hire them to drill my well with complete confidence based upon their experience and what I have seen.

Aaron was very dedicated to our well project. He has a great work ethic and is great at his job!…read moreHis knowledge of wells and his reputation with the county helped our well project go through with ease. Thank you!