Weld County, CO Shrink-Swell Risk
Weld County, CO's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Low
Weld County, CO: USDA's soil survey rates 77.9% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.04% linear extensibility). That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.
What Weld County's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in Weld 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 Weld County.
What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it
With Weld County, CO 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, Weld County, CO is the 1,944-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Colorado alone it ranks 41 of 63. Weld County covers 3,985 square miles and counts 369,745 residents.
Before you act on this
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Richmond County, VA and Winnebago County, IL 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 Colorado
Every county in Colorado is on this site, including Mesa County, CO and Cheyenne County, CO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.