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CGI Home Additions & ADU: The Pasadena Owner’s Guide
Home additions and ADU construction in Pasadena typically run $45,000 to $130,000 for the full scope, with detached ADUs landing between $90,000 and $220,000. Sawyer Remodel Pasadena handles CGI-compatible addition and ADU work from foundation to finish, and we’re an independent contractor, not affiliated with CGI. What owners usually discover is that the “part” failing isn’t a single component. It’s a structural connection point: a roofline tie-in that’s separating, a foundation seam that’s settling unevenly, or an interior wall that no longer lines up where the existing house meets the new build. That’s the moment to stop guessing and start measuring.
Which CGI Models This Applies To
CGI home additions and ADU systems cover a few construction types, and the compatibility question usually comes down to how the existing structure connects to the new one. In Pasadena, most homes fall into three buckets: stick-built additions joining a 1920s craftsman, prefab or panelized ADU modules bolted to a slab, or garage conversions where the CGI framing ties into an existing single-car garage. The gotcha on older Pasadena homes, especially in Bungalow Heaven and the Arroyo neighborhoods, is that original foundations were often poured without rebar or with shallow footings. When a CGI addition anchors to that, the connection point becomes the failure risk. You’ll want to check the permit drawings for the transition detail: where the new sill plate meets the old top plate, and whether shear transfer hardware was specified. If your plans don’t show that detail clearly, the part you’re troubleshooting isn’t the lumber. It’s the connection.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CGI Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Drywall cracks running at 45 degrees from door or window corners in the original house. That’s shear stress traveling through the weakest point. The addition is moving independently from the main structure, and the drywall is the first place that movement shows.
- A gap opening between the addition’s exterior wall and the original roofline. In Pasadena’s dry-wet cycle, the soil expands and contracts. A gap wider than a quarter inch at the roofline means the connection detail wasn’t flashed or fastened to handle that movement.
- Floor slope you can see in the transition zone. Set a marble on the floor where the old house meets the new addition. If it rolls, the new foundation has settled differently than the old one. That’s typically a footing depth issue, common in Pasadena’s expansive clay soil.
- Doors in the addition that stick in summer and swing freely in winter. Wood framing absorbs moisture. If the addition wasn’t conditioned or vented properly, seasonal movement becomes an every-year annoyance and eventually a structural concern.
- Stucco or siding cracks that mirror the same line on interior walls. That’s not cosmetic. A crack that shows on both sides of the wall means the movement went all the way through the assembly. The addition is flexing at a joint it shouldn’t be.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
Full home addition work in Pasadena runs $45,000 to $130,000 depending on square footage, foundation type, and how much of the existing structure has to be opened up to make the connection right. ADU construction lands at $90,000 to $220,000. If the scope is a garage conversion, you’re looking at $30,000 to $80,000. What drives the range: whether we’re tearing out and repouring a footing or working with the existing slab, how much roofline reconfiguration is needed, and what the Pasadena planning department requires for setbacks and lot coverage. Our written price covers the full scope: demo, structural repair, reframing, drywall, stucco or siding match, flashing, and finish work. You get that number before we pick up a tool. The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the work for a full year after we close the project. If it’s not right, we come back and make it right.
DIY or Call Us?
You can inspect a few things safely: check for visible cracks, measure gaps with a tape measure, and note whether doors are binding. That information helps us diagnose before we arrive. What you shouldn’t do is open up a load-bearing wall or try to jack a settling foundation yourself. A structural connection between an addition and the original house is under constant tension. If you release that tension wrong, you can cause the very collapse you’re trying to prevent. Foundation and framing work requires shoring plans, engineering calcs, and someone who knows how to read what the existing bones are telling them. Luca Romano has spent two decades doing exactly that in Pasadena, including plenty of older craftsman homes near Bungalow Heaven. The work tells you everything. You just have to know how to listen to it. Call (626) 657-5396 and we’ll get eyes on it.
FAQs
A properly built addition or ADU should last 50-plus years with standard maintenance, but the connection point between old and new construction typically needs attention after 15 to 20 years in Pasadena’s clay soil. Seasonal ground movement stresses those joints more than anywhere else in the structure. Call (626) 657-5396 and we’ll assess your specific connection points.
Yes, in most cases the connection can be reinforced without tearing down the addition. We add shear hardware, epoxy-set anchors, or new strapping depending on what the plans show and what the framing actually did. Rebuilding is rare and usually only needed when the original footer was badly undersized. Call (626) 657-5396 for an exact diagnosis and written quote.
Most connection repairs take 3 to 7 working days from demo to final flashing and finish, assuming no permitting surprises. Full foundation replacement under an existing addition runs longer, typically 2 to 3 weeks including inspections. We’ll give you a written schedule with your price.
We keep the common CGI connection hardware on hand: Simpson and USP shear plates, epoxy anchors, hold-downs, and strapping in the standard sizes used on Pasadena additions. Anything outside stock sizes we source same-week through our supplier network, including KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone for finish materials. Call (626) 657-5396 and we’ll confirm availability for your project.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner & Lead Contractor, Sawyer Remodel Pasadena at Sawyer Remodel Pasadena, serving Pasadena and nearby areas.
