Shelby County, IN Shrink-Swell Risk

What Shelby County, IN's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Shelby County, IN's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.19% across 58% of the county's surveyed land. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Shelby County, IN at once, not any single address. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Shelby County, IN 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.

Shelby County's rank among Indiana counties

Nationally, Shelby County, IN is the 1,050-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Indiana alone it ranks 32 of 90. Shelby County, IN is 411 square miles with a population of 45,654.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Mercer County, KY and Tuolumne County, CA 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 Indiana

Every county in Indiana is on this site, including Crawford County, IN and DeKalb County, IN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.