Fayette County, WV Shrink-Swell Risk

Shrink-swell potential in Fayette County, WV

Low

Soil across 99.9% of Fayette County, WV comes back "Low" in USDA's shrink-swell data, averaging 1.32% 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 this number does and doesn't tell you

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Fayette County, WV - never a reading for one specific parcel. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Fayette County will actually do.

Fayette County: the real numbers

Fayette County's soil reading points toward standard foundation practice as the likely outcome, not the exception. 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, WV compares

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Fayette County, WV ranks 2,685 most-constrained nationally, and 47 of 55 within West Virginia. The county spans 662 square miles, home to 38,600 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Larue County, KY and Cameron Parish, LA 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

Elsewhere in West Virginia

Every county in West Virginia is on this site, including Summers County, WV and Raleigh County, WV. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.