Roane County, WV Shrink-Swell Risk

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

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Roane County, WV's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.57% across 78.8% of the county's surveyed land. A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Roane 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 Roane County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Roane County, WV 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.

Roane County's rank among West Virginia counties

Nationally, Roane County, WV is the 799-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within West Virginia alone it ranks 7 of 55. Roane County covers 484 square miles and counts 13,540 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Pushmataha County, OK and Cameron County, PA 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 Putnam County, WV and Tyler County, WV. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.