Fayette County, TN Shrink-Swell Risk

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

Low

Fayette County, TN: USDA's soil survey rates 100% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.31% 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 Fayette County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Fayette 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 Fayette County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Fayette 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.

How Fayette County, TN compares

Nationally, Fayette County, TN is the 2,691-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 88 of 95. Fayette County covers 704 square miles and counts 44,476 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Georgetown County, SC and Clay County, KS 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 Washington County, TN and Robertson County, TN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.