Franklin County, AL Shrink-Swell Risk

Franklin County, AL's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Franklin County, AL: USDA's soil survey rates 79.4% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.85% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Franklin County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Franklin 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 Franklin County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Franklin County, AL 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 Franklin County, AL compares

Nationally, Franklin County, AL is the 2,122-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Alabama alone it ranks 35 of 67. Franklin County covers 634 square miles and counts 31,874 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Hancock County, IA and Indian River County, FL 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 Alabama

Every county in Alabama is on this site, including Shelby County, AL and Mobile County, AL. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.