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Wellborn Driveway & Pavers: The Pasadena Owner’s Guide
Driveway and paver replacement for Wellborn homes in Pasadena typically runs $7,000 to $18,000 installed, depending on the paver type, square footage, and whether your base layer needs rebuilding. We stock paver materials that match Wellborn exterior specifications on the truck for most standard jobs and can usually start within a week of your estimate. Most homeowners discover the failure the hard way: a paver sinks underfoot after a rain, a section shifts against the garage slab, or water pools where it never used to.
Wellborn homes in Pasadena tend to have specific exterior hardscape layouts tied to the original build spec. That’s useful when matching pavers, but it also means a failing section rarely gets fixed by swapping one or two stones. You’re usually looking at a base problem underneath.
Which Wellborn Models This Applies To
Wellborn’s exterior hardscape packages vary by plan and year, but most Pasadena-area Wellborn homes we’ve worked on fall into one of three paver configurations: 3-piece modular concrete pavers in a running bond, 6×9 or 6×6 tumbled concrete pavers with a border course, or a poured concrete driveway with paver accents at the walkway and entry. The paver color palettes are the same three families Wellborn has used for years: charcoal/tan blend, gray/taupe blend, and a red/tan blend that matches their older Spanish-style elevations.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha most owners hit: Wellborn exteriors use a specific paver thickness, typically 60mm, and the border courses are often a different size than the field pavers. If you buy a “matching” paver from a big-box store, it’s almost always 50mm or thinner and won’t sit flush with your existing surface. We order directly from the same regional paver manufacturers that supply Wellborn-spec exterior jobs, so the thickness and color match without shimming or cutting every edge.
One more note: Sawyer Remodel Pasadena is an independent contractor. We’re not affiliated with Wellborn, but we know their exterior specs because we’ve repaired and replaced enough of these driveways across Pasadena to recognize the patterns.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Wellborn Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
- Sunken or dipping pavers near the garage apron. This almost always means the compacted base has eroded from underneath, usually from water running off the roof edge or a downspout that dumps too close to the driveway. In Pasadena’s clay-heavy soil, the ground expands and contracts with moisture, which slowly eats the base from below.
- Pavers shifting or separating at the edges. The edge restraint, usually plastic or metal, has failed or was never installed correctly. Once the border breaks free, the field pavers start walking outward. You’ll see gaps widen along the sidewalk or the grass line first.
- Water pooling in flat spots after a light rain. Pasadena gets most of its rain in a few months, but when it comes, a failed grade shows itself fast. Pooling means the slope has settled, and the water is sitting on the surface instead of running to the street or a drain.
- Chipped or cracked border pavers. These take the most vehicle stress. A border that’s cracking while the field is fine usually means the edge was cut tight against concrete without enough room for movement, or the base under the border wasn’t packed as well as the field.
- Weeds pushing up through joints consistently. Polymeric sand breaks down over time. Once weeds get a root system going through the joints, they’re lifting pavers from the side, and no amount of pulling fixes the underlying gap.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For a typical two-car Wellborn driveway in Pasadena, here’s what you’re looking at:
- Paver driveway installation: $7,000 – $18,000, with the range driven by square footage, access, whether we’re reusing or replacing the base, and paver style.
- Partial paver repair or section rebuild: $1,500 – $4,500 for areas under 400 square feet, including new base material, compaction, and joint sand.
- Concrete driveway replacement: $4,500 – $12,000 for a standard two-car pad, including demolition, haul-off, form work, pour, and finish.
- Driveway sealing: $250 – $700, including cleaning and a commercial-grade sealer applied in two coats for Pasadena’s sun exposure.
Every quote includes a written line-item price before we begin, so you know exactly what you’re paying for materials, labor, haul-off, and any base work. No change orders because we “discovered” something mid-job. We look first, then we price, and the number holds. Work is covered under our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if a paver sinks or a joint fails within a year, we come back and fix it. No argument, no invoice.
DIY or Call Us?
Here’s the honest split. If you’ve got one or two pavers that have loosened but the base underneath is intact, you can lift them, add a thin layer of bedding sand, and tap them back into place. That’s a Saturday morning job. But if pavers are sinking, shifting in a group, or the edges have started breaking apart, the problem is underneath, and fixing the surface without fixing the base means you’ll be doing it again in six months.
Pavers aren’t a safety risk like a garage spring or an electrical panel, so there’s no danger in trying a small repair. The danger is in the time you’ll spend guessing at a drainage problem or a failed base and getting it wrong. If you’ve got water pooling, shifting sections, or cracks spreading across borders, call us at (626) 657-5396. We’ll tell you what’s actually going on, and if it’s a simple fix, we’ll say so.
FAQs
A properly installed paver driveway in Pasadena lasts 25 to 30 years, sometimes longer, because the pavers themselves are concrete and don’t degrade much in our climate. The base is what fails first, typically from water intrusion, and that’s repairable without replacing every paver. Call (626) 657-5396 if you’re seeing early settling; catching it before the base fully washes out saves real money.
Yes, most paver failures are repairable, especially if the issue is confined to one section. We rebuild the base under the affected area, re-grade for drainage, and reset the original pavers when they’re still in good shape. If the pavers themselves are cracked or badly worn, replacement of that section makes more sense than salvaging.
A standard two-car paver driveway replacement in Pasadena takes three to five working days, including demolition, base prep, pavers, and joint sand. Concrete replacement runs closer to a week with curing time. We’ll give you a schedule in writing before we start, and you’ll get photo updates through the job.
We stock the common Wellborn paver sizes and color blends on the truck for repairs, and we order full driveway quantities direct from the same regional manufacturers so the thickness and color match your existing exterior. You don’t need to source anything yourself. We also carry parts and materials for other brands we regularly work with, including KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner & Lead Contractor, Sawyer Remodel Pasadena at Sawyer Remodel Pasadena, serving Pasadena and nearby areas.
