Avery County, NC Shrink-Swell Risk

Avery County, NC's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Avery County, NC: USDA's soil survey rates 100% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.45% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Avery County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Avery 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 Avery County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Avery County, NC 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.

Avery County's rank among North Carolina counties

Nationally, Avery County, NC is the 2,568-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within North Carolina alone it ranks 79 of 100. Avery County covers 247 square miles and counts 17,811 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Glasscock County, TX and Lyon County, KS 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 North Carolina

Every county in North Carolina is on this site, including Lincoln County, NC and Richmond County, NC. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.