Bland County, VA Shrink-Swell Risk

What Bland County, VA's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Bland County, VA's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.07% across 81.4% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Bland County, VA 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 Bland County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Bland County, VA 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Bland County, VA is the 1,923-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 73 of 114. Bland County covers 358 square miles and counts 6,186 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wright County, MN and Boise County, ID 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 Virginia

Every county in Virginia is on this site, including Lancaster County, VA and Virginia Beach city, VA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.