Rio Grande County, CO Shrink-Swell Risk

Rio Grande County, CO's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Rio Grande County, CO: USDA's soil survey rates 72.1% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.36% 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 Rio Grande County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Rio Grande County, CO 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 Rio Grande County, CO compares

Nationally, Rio Grande County, CO is the 1,680-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Colorado alone it ranks 32 of 63. Rio Grande County covers 912 square miles and counts 11,132 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Daviess County, IN and Pocahontas County, IA 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 Colorado

Every county in Colorado is on this site, including Bent County, CO and Grand County, CO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.