Chittenden County, VT Shrink-Swell Risk

Chittenden County, VT's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Chittenden County, VT: USDA's soil survey rates 88.7% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.49% 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 Chittenden County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Chittenden 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 Chittenden County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Chittenden County, VT 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.

How Chittenden County, VT compares

Nationally, Chittenden County, VT is the 2,513-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Vermont alone it ranks 3 of 14. The county spans 537 square miles, home to 170,851 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Dauphin County, PA and Mora County, NM 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 Vermont

Every county in Vermont is on this site, including Grand Isle County, VT and Orange County, VT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.