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Tremron Home Additions & ADU: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
Planning an addition or ADU around Tremron pavers and hardscape materials in Los Angeles runs $53,100 – $153,400 installed when the work includes foundation, framing, finishes, and proper paver integration. We’re Elmstead Remodeling, a Cedarwell company, and we install and build additions and ADUs that tie into existing Tremron paver patios, driveways, and walkways without undermining the base or leaving mismatched transition lines. Most Los Angeles homeowners call us after a partial paver failure near the foundation line: sinking edges, cracking along the addition footprint, or a drainage slope that now sends water toward the house instead of away from it.
The written scope is the promise, if it is not on the paper, we have not agreed to it yet. That matters here because a Tremron paver base under an addition is not a small cosmetic detail. Get the base wrong and you’ll have cracks telegraphing through the new slab within two winters. Get it right and the addition settles as one piece.
Which Tremron Models This Applies To
Tremron’s Los Angeles footprint is substantial, and if you bought pavers from any of their California yards, you’re likely working with one of three product families. The Estate series (including the Estate Cobble and Estate Stone) runs 60mm thick and sits on a compacted aggregate base, which is the most common profile we see under existing patios and pool decks. The Village series runs 60mm as well but with a tighter joint profile, and it appears more often around front entries and walkways. The Mega series is the heavy option at 80mm thickness, built for driveways and areas that will take vehicle weight. The compatibility gotcha most owners miss: the 80mm Mega pavers require a deeper base and different edge restraint than the 60mm lines, and mixing them at a transition without re-compacting the subgrade is how you get the classic sunken lip at the addition’s back door.
We measure the actual paver, not just the name. A “Estate Cobble” from a 2015 run will not always match a 2024 run in color lot, and if you’re extending a patio as part of the addition, we source from the same Tremron yard when possible and tell you honestly when a color batch has drifted. We also stock KraftMaid cabinetry, Cambria and Silestone countertops for the interior side of these additions, because the inside of the ADU matters as much as the paver line outside.
Independent note: Elmstead Remodeling is an independent contractor and is not affiliated with Tremron. We install and build around their products, but we don’t represent their warranty or speak for the manufacturer.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Tremron Addition or ADU Base Is Failing
- Paver edges sinking next to the new foundation line. This is almost always subgrade settlement from excavation that wasn’t recompacted to the same density as the existing base. The pavers drop a half inch, water pools, and the problem worsens each rainy season.
- Cracks running parallel to the addition footprint. When the new slab expands and contracts at a different rate than the surrounding pavers, the stress has to go somewhere. The crack is the symptom; a missing isolation joint is the cause.
- Water flowing toward the house instead of away. A new addition changes the grade. If the final slope wasn’t re-established at 1 – 2% away from the foundation, the first Los Angeles winter will show you exactly where the low spot is.
- Loose or rocking pavers around the doorway. Edge restraint that was cut during excavation and never reinstalled lets the outer pavers drift. Foot traffic works them loose over 6 – 12 months, and then the wobble starts.
- Base material washing out after rain. If you can see sand or aggregate at the paver joints after a storm, water is moving through the base instead of over the surface. The base layer is failing and the pavers will follow.
See the difference
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After
Before
After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
In Los Angeles, full addition and ADU projects with Tremron paver integration run $53,100 – $153,400 depending on square footage, foundation conditions, kitchen or bath build-out inside the new space, and how much existing paver work needs to be lifted, recompacted, and relayed. A smaller addition with basic finishes lands at the lower end. A full ADU with a kitchen, bath, and extensive paver rework lands at the top.
What’s included from us, every time: a written price before any work starts, a line-item breakdown so you can see exactly where the money goes, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the paver line settles, the door binds, or the tile in the new bath cracks within a year of completion, we come back and make it right. We don’t charge for the return visit and we don’t argue about whose fault it is.
Price Reference for Los Angeles
- Home Addition: $53,100 – $153,400
- ADU Construction: $106,200 – $259,600
- Garage Conversion: $35,400 – $94,400
- Paver Patio Installation (Tremron-compatible): $4,130 – $12,980
- Paver Driveway Installation: $8,260 – $21,240
Call (949) 850-9896 for a written quote on your specific addition or ADU. The number you speak to is answered by a person, not a voicemail box, any hour of the day.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely check a few things yourself. Look at the paver line where it meets the new foundation. Run a hose briefly and watch where the water goes. Look for sand washing out of the joints. These observations tell you the problem exists and roughly how severe it is. They don’t fix anything, but they help us give you a faster first call.
What you should not do is start lifting pavers and digging out the base near a load-bearing foundation line. The base material in Los Angeles is typically decomposed granite over sandy loam, and once you break the compacted layer, water finds the path of least resistance, which is usually under your new slab. Grabbing a shovel to “fix the drainage” without re-establishing the proper slope and compaction turns a $500 edge repair into a $15,000 foundation problem. Graham Stein has been building in Los Angeles for nearly two decades, and he’ll tell you the same thing on the phone: check it, document it, call us at (949) 850-9896. We’ll send someone who knows the difference between a surface issue and a base failure.
FAQs
A properly compacted base under Tremron pavers should last 20 – 30 years in Los Angeles before major work is needed, provided the drainage slope stays intact and the edge restraint holds. What shortens that lifespan is not the paver itself but the subgrade: un-compacted backfill from the addition’s excavation will settle within the first 1 – 2 years. Call (949) 850-9896 if you’re seeing early settling and we’ll tell you whether it’s normal minor movement or a base failure that needs addressing.
Yes, in most cases a sinking paver section can be lifted, the base recompacted, and the pavers relayed without touching the addition structure itself. The exception is when settlement has gone far enough to stress the foundation or the addition’s slab. Repair cost depends on how much area has sunk, but call (949) 850-9896 and we’ll give you a written number for the specific area before we do anything.
A typical Los Angeles addition runs 4 – 8 months depending on permit turnaround with LADBS and the scope of finish work. An ADU runs 6 – 12 months. The paver integration itself, when done as part of the project, adds 1 – 2 weeks of site work at the tail end. We sequence the paver work after the foundation and framing are complete so the base isn’t compromised by construction traffic. For a timeline on your specific project, call (949) 850-9896.
We source Tremron pavers directly from California yards for addition and patio projects, and we handle the pickup, delivery, and staging. We don’t keep paver inventory on our trucks because color lots vary by yard and we’d rather match your existing pavers correctly than sell you whatever is sitting in a warehouse. Tell us the model name and approximate install year of your current pavers and we’ll source the closest match. Call (949) 850-9896 to get that conversation started.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling at Elmstead Remodeling, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas.
