Washburn County, WI Shrink-Swell Risk

Washburn County, WI's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Washburn County, WI: USDA's soil survey rates 99.8% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (0.8% 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 Washburn County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Washburn 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 Washburn County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Washburn County, WI 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, Washburn County, WI is the 2,988-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Wisconsin alone it ranks 69 of 72. Washburn County covers 797 square miles and counts 16,982 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Otsego County, NY and Pickens County, AL 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 Wisconsin

Every county in Wisconsin is on this site, including Outagamie County, WI and Trempealeau County, WI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.