Decatur County, IA Shrink-Swell Risk

Decatur County, IA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Decatur County, IA: USDA's soil survey rates 50.3% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (5.36% linear extensibility). Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

What Decatur County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Decatur 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 Decatur County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Decatur County, IA rating "Moderate", 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 Decatur County, IA compares

Nationally, Decatur County, IA is the 233-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Iowa alone it ranks 13 of 99. Decatur County covers 532 square miles and counts 7,656 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Waynesboro city, VA and Wood County, WV 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 Iowa

Every county in Iowa is on this site, including Keokuk County, IA and Jasper County, IA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.