Haines Borough, AK Shrink-Swell Risk

Haines Borough, AK's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Haines Borough, AK: USDA's soil survey rates 100% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.5% 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 Haines Borough's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Haines Borough 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 Haines Borough.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Haines Borough, AK 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 Haines Borough, AK compares

Nationally, Haines Borough, AK is the 2,508-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Alaska alone it ranks 3 of 11. The county spans 2,335 square miles, home to 2,104 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Custer County, CO and Monroe 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 Alaska

Every county in Alaska is on this site, including Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK and Aleutians East Borough, AK. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.