Beaufort County, SC Shrink-Swell Risk

What Beaufort County, SC's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Beaufort County, SC's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.83% across 51% of the county's surveyed land. A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Beaufort County, SC 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 Beaufort County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Beaufort County, SC rating "Moderate", 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 Beaufort County, SC compares

Nationally, Beaufort County, SC is the 658-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within South Carolina alone it ranks 1 of 46. Beaufort County covers 576 square miles and counts 201,775 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Douglas County, KS and Big Horn County, WY 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 South Carolina

Every county in South Carolina is on this site, including Georgetown County, SC and Greenwood County, SC. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.