Ferry County, WA Shrink-Swell Risk

Ferry County, WA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Ferry County, WA: USDA's soil survey rates 95.5% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.6% 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 Ferry County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Ferry 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 Ferry County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Ferry County, WA 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Ferry County, WA is the 2,392-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Washington alone it ranks 25 of 39. Ferry County, WA is 2,203 square miles with a population of 7,543.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Craighead County, AR and Schoolcraft County, MI 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 Washington

Every county in Washington is on this site, including Franklin County, WA and Grays Harbor County, WA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.