Chambers County, AL Shrink-Swell Risk

Chambers County, AL's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Chambers County, AL: USDA's soil survey rates 99.7% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.43% linear extensibility). 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.

What Chambers County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Chambers 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 Chambers County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Chambers County, AL 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.

Chambers County's rank among Alabama counties

Nationally, Chambers County, AL is the 2,586-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Alabama alone it ranks 53 of 67. Chambers County, AL is 597 square miles with a population of 33,813.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Deaf Smith County, TX and Pulaski County, IN 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 Alabama

Every county in Alabama is on this site, including Dale County, AL and Colbert County, AL. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.