Ohio County, WV Shrink-Swell Risk

Ohio County, WV's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Ohio County, WV: USDA's soil survey rates 95.9% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.76% 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 Ohio County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Ohio 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 Ohio County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Ohio 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 Ohio County, WV compares

Nationally, Ohio County, WV is the 2,206-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within West Virginia alone it ranks 32 of 55. The county spans 106 square miles, home to 41,090 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Greenville County, SC and Lassen County, CA 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 Hancock County, WV and Mineral County, WV. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.