Whitley County, KY Shrink-Swell Risk

Whitley County, KY's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Whitley County, KY: USDA's soil survey rates 83.2% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.13% linear extensibility). That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

What Whitley County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Whitley 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 Whitley County, KY 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.

Whitley County's rank among Kentucky counties

Nationally, Whitley County, KY is the 1,862-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kentucky alone it ranks 82 of 120. Whitley County covers 438 square miles and counts 37,233 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. East Carroll Parish, LA and Jefferson County, WA 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 Kentucky

Every county in Kentucky is on this site, including Breckinridge County, KY and Marshall County, KY. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.