Chester County, TN Shrink-Swell Risk

Chester County, TN's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Chester County, TN: USDA's soil survey rates 88% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.69% 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 Chester County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Chester 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 Chester County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Chester County, TN 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, Chester County, TN is the 2,293-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 64 of 95. Chester County covers 286 square miles and counts 17,876 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Bristol Bay Borough, AK and Riverside 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 Tennessee

Every county in Tennessee is on this site, including Monroe County, TN and Marshall County, TN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.