Val Verde County, TX Shrink-Swell Risk

Val Verde County, TX's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Val Verde County, TX: USDA's soil survey rates 89.8% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.57% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Val Verde County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Val Verde 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 Val Verde County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Val Verde County, TX 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Val Verde County, TX is the 2,414-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Texas alone it ranks 249 of 253. Val Verde County, TX is 3,145 square miles with a population of 47,999.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Kiowa County, CO and Kay County, OK 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 Texas

Every county in Texas is on this site, including Kendall County, TX and Coryell County, TX. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.