Two boreholes were drilled approximately five meters apart in Southern Saskatchewan to evaluate pore pressure recovery following the installation of vibrating wire pressure transducers (VWPs) using the fully grouted method. One borehole was continuously cored, while the other was conventionally drilled. VWPs were installed using the fully grouted method at 20 m intervals to a total depth of 200 m, with staggered depths between boreholes to provide complementary coverage. The only difference between these two boreholes was the drilling method. Immediately after grouting, early responses were similar in both boreholes. Following grout curing, the cored borehole exhibited typical pore pressure recovery, reaching near-equilibrium within expected timeframes based on the assumed hydraulic conductivity of the formations. The conventionally drilled borehole exhibited markedly slower recovery, requiring a considerably longer time to stabilize. This discrepancy is attributed to near-borehole disturbance, commonly referred to as ‘skin effects’, where drilling processes alter the hydraulic properties adjacent to the borehole. Mechanical disturbances and drilling fluids can reduce sidewall permeability and impede radial flow and delaying equilibration. Mineralogical and geotechnical analyses, combined with numerical modeling, were used to evaluate recovery differences between the two boreholes. While the results strongly suggest drilling-induced skin effects, it is important to acknowledge the difficulty of confirming this hypothesis given the high cost and logistical challenges of drilling multiple deep boreholes through thick aquitard formations. This study highlights the importance of examining recovery data critically to ensure skin effects do not bias interpretations of in-situ hydraulic properties of the host formation.