Rockingham County, VA Shrink-Swell Risk

Rockingham County, VA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Rockingham County, VA: USDA's soil survey rates 61.9% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.52% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Rockingham County's reading doesn't cover

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

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Rockingham County, VA 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.

Rockingham County's rank among Virginia counties

Nationally, Rockingham County, VA is the 1,542-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 37 of 114. Rockingham County, VA is 850 square miles with a population of 87,674.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Franklin County, MS and Clay 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 Virginia

Every county in Virginia is on this site, including Martinsville city, VA and Campbell County, VA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.