Albemarle County, VA Shrink-Swell Risk

What Albemarle County, VA's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Albemarle County, VA's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.09% across 75.9% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Albemarle County, VA at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Albemarle County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Albemarle County, VA rating "Low", a geotechnical report is still worthwhile before a build, just less urgent than in a high-risk county. A geotechnical report runs $1,000-$5,000, typically around $2,700. Foundation repair, if a specific lot turns out to differ from the county average, runs $5,000-$15,000.

How Albemarle County, VA compares

Nationally, Albemarle County, VA is the 1,899-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 71 of 114. Albemarle County covers 720 square miles and counts 117,313 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Calhoun County, MI and Jo Daviess County, IL are worth a look for comparison.

How this reading is built, and its real limits · Moisture management: the cheap fix that works on any soil

More of Virginia

Every county in Virginia is on this site, including James City County, VA and Tazewell County, VA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.