Power County, ID Shrink-Swell Risk

Power County, ID's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Power County, ID: USDA's soil survey rates 95.5% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.68% 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 Power County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Power 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 Power County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Power County, ID 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, Power County, ID is the 2,306-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Idaho alone it ranks 36 of 44. The county spans 1,404 square miles, home to 8,381 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Osceola County, IA and Juab County, UT 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 Idaho

Every county in Idaho is on this site, including Latah County, ID and Benewah County, ID. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.