McMinn County, TN Shrink-Swell Risk

What McMinn County, TN's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts McMinn County, TN's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.16% across 72.8% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of McMinn County, TN at once, not any single address. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

Report cost vs. repair cost

With McMinn County, TN 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 McMinn County, TN compares

Nationally, McMinn County, TN is the 1,832-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 43 of 95. The county spans 430 square miles, home to 56,754 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Marion County, WV and Morehouse 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 Tennessee

Every county in Tennessee is on this site, including Marion County, TN and Stewart County, TN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.