Lawrence County, PA Shrink-Swell Risk

Lawrence County, PA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Lawrence County, PA: USDA's soil survey rates 91.8% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.56% 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 Lawrence County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Lawrence County, PA 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 Lawrence County, PA compares

Nationally, Lawrence County, PA is the 2,427-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Pennsylvania alone it ranks 31 of 67. The county spans 357 square miles, home to 84,233 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Perry County, IL and Harrison County, MS 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 Pennsylvania

Every county in Pennsylvania is on this site, including Elk County, PA and Warren County, PA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.