Franklin County, OH Shrink-Swell Risk

What Franklin County, OH's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Franklin County, OH's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.27% across 54.6% of the county's surveyed land. A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Franklin County, OH 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 Franklin County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Franklin County, OH 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.

Franklin County's rank among Ohio counties

Nationally, Franklin County, OH is the 992-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Ohio alone it ranks 45 of 88. Franklin County covers 532 square miles and counts 1,356,303 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Chester County, SC and Worth County, GA 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 Ohio

Every county in Ohio is on this site, including Champaign County, OH and Carroll County, OH. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.