Larimer County, CO Shrink-Swell Risk

Larimer County, CO's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Larimer County, CO: USDA's soil survey rates 92.7% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.29% linear extensibility). That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

What Larimer County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Larimer County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Larimer County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Larimer 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.

How Larimer County, CO compares

Nationally, Larimer County, CO is the 2,706-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Colorado alone it ranks 55 of 63. The county spans 2,596 square miles, home to 374,574 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Grant County, WA and Santa Cruz County, CA 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 Yuma County, CO and Routt County, CO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.