Calaveras County, CA Shrink-Swell Risk

Calaveras County, CA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Calaveras County, CA: USDA's soil survey rates 95% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.82% linear extensibility). That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

What Calaveras County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Calaveras County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. 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 Calaveras County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Calaveras County, CA 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.

How Calaveras County, CA compares

Nationally, Calaveras County, CA is the 2,148-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within California alone it ranks 56 of 58. The county spans 1,020 square miles, home to 46,505 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Millard County, UT and Kern County, CA 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 California

Every county in California is on this site, including San Diego County, CA and Marin County, CA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.