Covington County, AL Shrink-Swell Risk

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

Low

Covington County, AL: USDA's soil survey rates 97.1% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.17% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Covington County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Covington County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Covington 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.

How Covington County, AL compares

Nationally, Covington County, AL is the 2,788-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Alabama alone it ranks 65 of 67. The county spans 1,031 square miles, home to 37,748 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Salem County, NJ and Catoosa County, GA 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 Baldwin County, AL and Jefferson County, AL. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.