Nottoway County, VA Shrink-Swell Risk
Nottoway County, VA's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Low
Nottoway County, VA: USDA's soil survey rates 78.6% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.05% 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 Nottoway County's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in Nottoway 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 Nottoway 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.
Where this sits nationally
Nationally, Nottoway County, VA is the 1,939-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 77 of 114. The county spans 314 square miles, home to 15,632 people.
Before you act on this
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Dyer County, TN and Bell County, KY 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 Poquoson city, VA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.