La Plata County, CO Shrink-Swell Risk

What La Plata County, CO's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts La Plata County, CO's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.71% across 68% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of La Plata County, CO 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 La Plata County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With La Plata County, CO 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.

La Plata County's rank among Colorado counties

Nationally, La Plata County, CO is the 1,399-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Colorado alone it ranks 18 of 63. The county spans 1,690 square miles, home to 56,823 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Somerset County, PA and Douglas County, SD 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 Colorado

Every county in Colorado is on this site, including Hinsdale County, CO and Park County, CO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.