San Miguel County, CO Shrink-Swell Risk

What San Miguel County, CO's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts San Miguel County, CO's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.52% across 71.7% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of San Miguel County, CO 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 San Miguel County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With San Miguel 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.

San Miguel County's rank among Colorado counties

Nationally, San Miguel County, CO is the 1,553-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Colorado alone it ranks 25 of 63. San Miguel County covers 1,287 square miles and counts 7,819 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Marion County, AL and Greene County, OH 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 Las Animas County, CO and Kiowa County, CO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.