Washtenaw County, MI Shrink-Swell Risk

Washtenaw County, MI's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Washtenaw County, MI: USDA's soil survey rates 62.3% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.69% 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 Washtenaw County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Washtenaw County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Washtenaw County, MI 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.

Washtenaw County's rank among Michigan counties

Nationally, Washtenaw County, MI is the 1,416-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Michigan alone it ranks 4 of 83. The county spans 706 square miles, home to 373,875 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Fulton County, KY and Rock County, NE 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 Michigan

Every county in Michigan is on this site, including Oceana County, MI and Midland County, MI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.