Northumberland County, VA Shrink-Swell Risk

Northumberland County, VA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Northumberland County, VA: USDA's soil survey rates 80.6% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.74% 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 Northumberland County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Northumberland County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Northumberland County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Northumberland County, VA 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.

Northumberland County's rank among Virginia counties

Nationally, Northumberland County, VA is the 2,236-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 98 of 114. Northumberland County covers 191 square miles and counts 12,397 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Lawrence County, KY and Washington County, IL 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 Virginia

Every county in Virginia is on this site, including Warren County, VA and Dickenson County, VA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.