Barbour County, WV Shrink-Swell Risk

Barbour County, WV's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Barbour County, WV: USDA's soil survey rates 98.8% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.55% 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 Barbour County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Barbour County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Barbour County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Barbour County, WV 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.

Barbour County's rank among West Virginia counties

Nationally, Barbour County, WV is the 2,446-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within West Virginia alone it ranks 41 of 55. Barbour County covers 341 square miles and counts 15,369 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Breathitt County, KY and Logan County, CO 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 West Virginia

Every county in West Virginia is on this site, including Upshur County, WV and Boone County, WV. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.