Marlboro County, SC Shrink-Swell Risk

Marlboro County, SC's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Marlboro County, SC: USDA's soil survey rates 70.6% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.1% 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 Marlboro County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Marlboro 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 Marlboro County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Marlboro County, SC 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.

Marlboro County's rank among South Carolina counties

Nationally, Marlboro County, SC is the 1,894-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within South Carolina alone it ranks 17 of 46. The county spans 480 square miles, home to 25,498 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Ouachita County, AR and Delaware County, OH 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 South Carolina

Every county in South Carolina is on this site, including Chesterfield County, SC and Jasper County, SC. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.