Richland County, MT Shrink-Swell Risk

Richland County, MT's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Richland County, MT: USDA's soil survey rates 53.4% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.26% linear extensibility). Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

What Richland County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Richland 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 Richland County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Richland County, MT rating "Moderate", 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.

Richland County's rank among Montana counties

Nationally, Richland County, MT is the 1,005-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Montana alone it ranks 30 of 54. Richland County covers 2,085 square miles and counts 11,028 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Carter County, TN and Marion 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 Montana

Every county in Montana is on this site, including Blaine County, MT and Sweet Grass County, MT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.