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Novice, Texas
Inside Novice's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 68% of mapped land, the highest of 3 cities in Coleman County. A shallow water table limits basements on under 1%.
That clay share is above Coleman County's 48%. FEMA's flood data list no flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 79538 overlapping the city.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Coleman County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP
Foundation repair in Novice
Foundation repair in Novice: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 68% of Novice's mapped land, more than in 73% of Texas cities.
| Who designs the repair | The ASCE Texas Section's repair guidelines say a Texas-licensed engineer should evaluate the foundation and design the repair (2022 guidelines) |
| Prices | Cost guide ranges compared |
Soil under Novice city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 67.7% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.4% |
| Septic fields very limited | 91.7% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.7% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 23.1% |
| Mapped soil | 309 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Pedernales | 45% | n/a |
| Menard | 24% | n/a |
| Rowena | 23% | n/a |
| Chaney | 2% | n/a |
| Cisco | 2% | n/a |
| Abilene | 1% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.7% by land area here, and 23% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 68% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of Coleman County is in drought on the latest map, and 68% of Novice's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
USDA rates 92% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Coleman County
100% of Coleman County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. County detail.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Novice. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 79538 | 100% | 0 | $0 |
Homes
Novice has fewer than 100 housing units in the ACS 2020-2024 estimates, too few for reliable shares.
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawn | 13 mi | 65% | 0% |
| Coleman | 16 mi | 63% | 0% |
| Tuscola | 19 mi | 79% | under 1% |
| Winters | 20 mi | 17% | under 1% |
| Buffalo Gap | 24 mi | 30% | 0% |
| Santa Anna | 25 mi | 47% | 0% |
| Ballinger | 26 mi | 12% | under 1% |
| Cross Plains | 29 mi | 79% | 5% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026). Methods · Data status