Catahoula Parish, LA Shrink-Swell Risk

Catahoula Parish, LA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Very High

Catahoula Parish, LA: USDA's soil survey rates 46.6% of the county "Very High" for shrink-swell potential (9.05% linear extensibility). Ground that moves this much routinely produces the classic expansive-soil symptoms: diagonal stair-step cracking, doors that stick seasonally, uneven floors. A standard footing is a poor bet here.

What Catahoula Parish's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Catahoula Parish 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 Catahoula Parish.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

Catahoula Parish's soil reading is exactly the case where a report before construction, or before cracks widen, pays for itself. The report ($1,000-$5,000) is what tells you whether Catahoula Parish's county-level reading applies to your lot; the repair ($5,000-$15,000) is what it costs if you skip that and find out from the cracks instead.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Catahoula Parish, LA is the 41-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Louisiana alone it ranks 20 of 64. The county spans 709 square miles, home to 8,280 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Hartley County, TX and Montgomery County, KS are worth a look for comparison.

How this reading is built, and its real limits · The warning signs of expansive-clay damage, explained

More of Louisiana

Every county in Louisiana is on this site, including St. Bernard Parish, LA and Ascension Parish, LA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.