Wood County, WV Shrink-Swell Risk

What Wood County, WV's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Wood County, WV's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4.21% across 70.1% 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 Wood County, WV 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 Wood County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Wood County, WV 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.

Wood County's rank among West Virginia counties

Nationally, Wood County, WV is the 468-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within West Virginia alone it ranks 1 of 55. Wood County, WV is 367 square miles with a population of 82,757.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Morgan County, TN and Ottawa County, OK 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 West Virginia

Every county in West Virginia is on this site, including Hampshire County, WV and Raleigh County, WV. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.