Macon County, TN Shrink-Swell Risk

Macon County, TN's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Macon County, TN: USDA's soil survey rates 88% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.68% 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 Macon County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Macon County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Macon County, TN 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.

Macon County's rank among Tennessee counties

Nationally, Macon County, TN is the 2,304-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 65 of 95. Macon County covers 307 square miles and counts 27,189 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Washington County, CO and Hyde 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 Tennessee

Every county in Tennessee is on this site, including Obion County, TN and Hickman County, TN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.