Shelby County, OH Shrink-Swell Risk

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

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Shelby County, OH's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.96% across 85% of the county's surveyed land. 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.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Shelby County, OH 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, OH 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 Ohio counties

Nationally, Shelby County, OH is the 588-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Ohio alone it ranks 19 of 88. Shelby County, OH is 408 square miles with a population of 47,952.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Siskiyou County, CA and Antrim County, MI 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 Ohio

Every county in Ohio is on this site, including Brown County, OH and Hardin County, OH. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.