McDowell County, WV Shrink-Swell Risk

What McDowell County, WV's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts McDowell County, WV's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 0.73% across 100% of the county's surveyed land. Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of McDowell County, WV 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 McDowell County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With McDowell County, WV 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 McDowell County, WV compares

Nationally, McDowell County, WV is the 3,012-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within West Virginia alone it ranks 53 of 55. The county spans 533 square miles, home to 17,147 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Victoria County, TX and Midland County, TX 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 West Virginia

Every county in West Virginia is on this site, including Taylor County, WV and Preston County, WV. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.