Orleans County, VT Shrink-Swell Risk

Orleans County, VT's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Orleans County, VT: USDA's soil survey rates 97.8% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (0.76% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Orleans County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Orleans 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 Orleans County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Orleans County, VT 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, Orleans County, VT is the 3,003-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Vermont alone it ranks 12 of 14. Orleans County, VT is 695 square miles with a population of 27,726.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Contra Costa County, CA and Ward County, TX 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 Vermont

Every county in Vermont is on this site, including Orange County, VT and Addison County, VT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.