Westmoreland County, VA Shrink-Swell Risk

Westmoreland County, VA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Westmoreland County, VA: USDA's soil survey rates 82.9% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.1% 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 Westmoreland County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Westmoreland County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Westmoreland County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Westmoreland County, VA 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, Westmoreland County, VA is the 1,895-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 70 of 114. The county spans 229 square miles, home to 19,235 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Lincoln County, WY and Bullock 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 Virginia

Every county in Virginia is on this site, including Franklin city, VA and Wise County, VA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.