Sullivan County, TN Shrink-Swell Risk

Sullivan County, TN's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Sullivan County, TN: USDA's soil survey rates 52.9% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.21% linear extensibility). That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

What Sullivan County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Sullivan 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 Sullivan County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Sullivan County, TN 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.

How Sullivan County, TN compares

Nationally, Sullivan County, TN is the 1,787-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 37 of 95. The county spans 414 square miles, home to 162,703 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Grayson County, KY and Tippecanoe County, IN 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 Tennessee

Every county in Tennessee is on this site, including Pickett County, TN and Montgomery County, TN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.