Scott County, VA Shrink-Swell Risk

What Scott County, VA's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Scott County, VA's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.9% across 62.9% of the county's surveyed land. That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Scott County, VA at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Scott County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Scott 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Scott County, VA is the 1,261-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 11 of 114. The county spans 536 square miles, home to 21,388 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Okeechobee County, FL and Nassau County, FL 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 Williamsburg city, VA and Cumberland County, VA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.