Newport County, RI Shrink-Swell Risk

Newport County, RI's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Newport County, RI: USDA's soil survey rates 99.3% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (0.66% 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 Newport County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Newport County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. 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 Newport County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Newport County, RI 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Newport County, RI is the 3,026-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Rhode Island alone it ranks 4 of 5. Newport County covers 102 square miles and counts 83,468 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Highland County, OH and Macon County, MO 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 Rhode Island

Every county in Rhode Island is on this site, including Kent County, RI and Providence County, RI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.