Caldwell County, KY Shrink-Swell Risk

What Caldwell County, KY's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Caldwell County, KY's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.22% across 89.5% of the county's surveyed land. That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Caldwell County, KY 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 Caldwell County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Caldwell County, KY 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, Caldwell County, KY is the 1,785-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kentucky alone it ranks 73 of 120. Caldwell County covers 345 square miles and counts 12,611 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Deaf Smith County, TX and Wheatland County, MT 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 Kentucky

Every county in Kentucky is on this site, including Hardin County, KY and Allen County, KY. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.