Rooks County, KS Shrink-Swell Risk

Rooks County, KS's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Rooks County, KS: USDA's soil survey rates 51.8% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.07% linear extensibility). 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.

What Rooks County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Rooks 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 Rooks County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Rooks County, KS 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Rooks County, KS is the 1,143-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kansas alone it ranks 77 of 105. Rooks County, KS is 891 square miles with a population of 4,748.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Person County, NC and Denton County, TX 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 Kansas

Every county in Kansas is on this site, including Stevens County, KS and Chase County, KS. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.