Mason County, KY Shrink-Swell Risk

What Mason County, KY's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Mason County, KY's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4.7% across 63.3% of the county's surveyed land. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Mason County, KY at once, not any single address. 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 Mason County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Mason County, KY rating "Moderate", 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.

Mason County's rank among Kentucky counties

Nationally, Mason County, KY is the 347-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kentucky alone it ranks 1 of 120. Mason County, KY is 240 square miles with a population of 16,956.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Polk County, FL and Brown County, IL 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 Kentucky

Every county in Kentucky is on this site, including Spencer County, KY and Hancock County, KY. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.