Sumner County, TN Shrink-Swell Risk

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

Low

Sumner County, TN: USDA's soil survey rates 75.2% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.41% 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 Sumner County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Sumner County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Sumner County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Sumner 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.

Sumner County's rank among Tennessee counties

Nationally, Sumner County, TN is the 1,629-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 30 of 95. The county spans 529 square miles, home to 211,721 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Mercer County, KY and Knott County, KY 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 Marion County, TN and Hickman County, TN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.