Del Norte County, CA Shrink-Swell Risk

Del Norte County, CA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Del Norte County, CA: USDA's soil survey rates 88.5% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.9% 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 Del Norte County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Del Norte 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 Del Norte County, CA 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.

Del Norte County's rank among California counties

Nationally, Del Norte County, CA is the 2,071-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within California alone it ranks 51 of 58. The county spans 1,006 square miles, home to 27,009 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Kosciusko County, IN and Comanche County, TX 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 California

Every county in California is on this site, including Inyo County, CA and Tulare County, CA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.