Wells County, IN Shrink-Swell Risk

What Wells County, IN's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Wells County, IN's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4.59% across 97.5% of the county's surveyed land. A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Wells County, IN at once, not any single address. 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 Wells County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Wells County, IN rating "Moderate", 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.

Wells County's rank among Indiana counties

Nationally, Wells County, IN is the 372-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Indiana alone it ranks 4 of 90. Wells County covers 368 square miles and counts 28,798 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Sweet Grass County, MT and Screven County, GA 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 Indiana

Every county in Indiana is on this site, including Rush County, IN and Grant County, IN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.