Berkeley County, SC Shrink-Swell Risk

Berkeley County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Low

In Berkeley County, SC, 83.5% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 1.96% linear extensibility on average. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

Before you rely on this for one address

Berkeley County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Berkeley County will actually do.

Budgeting for Berkeley County, SC

Berkeley County's soil reading points toward standard foundation practice as the likely outcome, not the exception. 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.

Berkeley County's rank among South Carolina counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Berkeley County, SC ranks 2,015 most-constrained nationally, and 20 of 46 within South Carolina. Berkeley County, SC is 1,104 square miles with a population of 264,276.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Greene County, OH and St. Lawrence County, NY 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

Elsewhere in South Carolina

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