Allen County, KY Shrink-Swell Risk

Allen County, KY's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Allen County, KY: USDA's soil survey rates 61.3% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.61% 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 Allen County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Allen 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 Allen County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Allen County, KY 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 Allen County, KY compares

Nationally, Allen County, KY is the 1,470-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kentucky alone it ranks 51 of 120. Allen County, KY is 344 square miles with a population of 22,037.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Elmore County, AL and Athens County, OH 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 Kentucky

Every county in Kentucky is on this site, including Knox County, KY and Pulaski County, KY. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.