Allegany County, NY Shrink-Swell Risk

Allegany County, NY's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Allegany County, NY: USDA's soil survey rates 94.7% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.42% linear extensibility). That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

What Allegany County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Allegany County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A site-specific soil report, usually $1,000-$5,000, is what an engineer would actually pull before designing a foundation on a lot in Allegany County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Allegany County, NY 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 Allegany County, NY compares

Nationally, Allegany County, NY is the 2,595-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within New York alone it ranks 30 of 62. The county spans 1,030 square miles, home to 47,299 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Smith County, TX and Banks County, GA 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 New York

Every county in New York is on this site, including Onondaga County, NY and Chautauqua County, NY. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.