Grand Forks County, ND Shrink-Swell Risk

Grand Forks County, ND's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Grand Forks County, ND: USDA's soil survey rates 49.8% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.87% 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 Grand Forks County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Grand Forks 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 Grand Forks County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Grand Forks County, ND 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 Grand Forks County, ND compares

Nationally, Grand Forks County, ND is the 1,280-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within North Dakota alone it ranks 39 of 53. Grand Forks County, ND is 1,436 square miles with a population of 73,771.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Screven County, GA and Churchill County, NV 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 North Dakota

Every county in North Dakota is on this site, including Oliver County, ND and Traill County, ND. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.