Mason County, MI Shrink-Swell Risk

Mason County, MI's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Mason County, MI: USDA's soil survey rates 94.4% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.45% 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 Mason County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Mason 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 Mason County, MI 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.

Mason County's rank among Michigan counties

Nationally, Mason County, MI is the 2,567-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Michigan alone it ranks 39 of 83. The county spans 495 square miles, home to 29,093 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. McMullen County, TX and Lincoln Parish, LA 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 Michigan

Every county in Michigan is on this site, including Schoolcraft County, MI and Charlevoix County, MI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.