Lemhi County, ID Shrink-Swell Risk

Lemhi County, ID's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Lemhi County, ID: USDA's soil survey rates 83.6% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.91% 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 Lemhi County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Lemhi 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 Lemhi County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Lemhi County, ID 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 Lemhi County, ID compares

Nationally, Lemhi County, ID is the 2,064-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Idaho alone it ranks 26 of 44. Lemhi County covers 4,564 square miles and counts 8,397 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Humphreys County, MS and Etowah County, AL 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 Idaho

Every county in Idaho is on this site, including Caribou County, ID and Nez Perce County, ID. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.