Preston County, WV Shrink-Swell Risk

What Preston County, WV's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Preston County, WV's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 1.67% across 87% of the county's surveyed land. Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Preston County, WV at once, not any single address. 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 Preston County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Preston 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.

Preston County's rank among West Virginia counties

Nationally, Preston County, WV is the 2,312-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within West Virginia alone it ranks 39 of 55. The county spans 649 square miles, home to 34,055 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Cass County, MI and San Francisco 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 Randolph County, WV and Kanawha County, WV. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.