Surry County, VA Shrink-Swell Risk

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

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Surry County, VA's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.27% across 84.3% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Surry County, VA 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 Surry 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.

Surry County's rank among Virginia counties

Nationally, Surry County, VA is the 1,744-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 56 of 114. The county spans 279 square miles, home to 6,579 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Henry County, VA and Pembina County, ND 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 Scott County, VA and Martinsville city, VA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.