Windsor County, VT Shrink-Swell Risk

Windsor County, VT's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Windsor County, VT: USDA's soil survey rates 100% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (0.89% 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 Windsor County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Windsor 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 Windsor County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Windsor County, VT 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.

Windsor County's rank among Vermont counties

Nationally, Windsor County, VT is the 2,945-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Vermont alone it ranks 10 of 14. The county spans 969 square miles, home to 57,697 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Washington County, MS and Ector County, TX 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 Vermont

Every county in Vermont is on this site, including Orleans County, VT and Bennington County, VT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.