McCreary County, KY Shrink-Swell Risk

McCreary County, KY's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

McCreary County, KY: USDA's soil survey rates 95.3% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.97% 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 McCreary County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in McCreary 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 McCreary County, KY 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 McCreary County, KY compares

Nationally, McCreary County, KY is the 2,009-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kentucky alone it ranks 91 of 120. The county spans 427 square miles, home to 16,824 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Comanche County, TX and Stevens County, WA 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 Monroe County, KY and Lawrence County, KY. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.