Blaine County, MT Shrink-Swell Risk

What Blaine County, MT's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Blaine County, MT's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4.33% across 65.3% 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 Blaine County, MT at once, not any single address. 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 Blaine County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Blaine County, MT 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.

Blaine County's rank among Montana counties

Nationally, Blaine County, MT is the 432-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Montana alone it ranks 7 of 54. Blaine County, MT is 4,228 square miles with a population of 6,903.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Warren County, NC and Pettis County, MO 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 Montana

Every county in Montana is on this site, including Golden Valley County, MT and Pondera County, MT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.