Carroll County, VA Shrink-Swell Risk

Carroll County, VA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Carroll County, VA: USDA's soil survey rates 70.6% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.35% 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 Carroll County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Carroll County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Carroll County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Carroll 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.

Carroll County's rank among Virginia counties

Nationally, Carroll County, VA is the 1,688-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 51 of 114. Carroll County covers 475 square miles and counts 29,242 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Colleton County, SC and Uvalde County, TX 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 Bland County, VA and Amherst County, VA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.