Ford County, IL Shrink-Swell Risk

What Ford County, IL's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Ford County, IL's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 5.29% across 48.7% of the county's surveyed land. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Ford County, IL at once, not any single address. 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 Ford County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Ford County, IL 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.

Ford County's rank among Illinois counties

Nationally, Ford County, IL is the 242-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Illinois alone it ranks 1 of 101. Ford County, IL is 486 square miles with a population of 13,451.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Randolph County, WV and Henry County, IL 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 Illinois

Every county in Illinois is on this site, including Douglas County, IL and Piatt County, IL. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.