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Tamko Home Additions & ADU: The Pasadena Owner’s Guide
Tamko home additions and ADU projects in Pasadena typically run $45,000 – $130,000 for a full addition, and we can usually schedule a walkthrough within a few days of your call. When a Tamko roofing or underlayment component on an existing addition or ADU fails, most owners discover it as a water stain on the ceiling, a damp smell in a corner, or shingle granules collecting in the gutters after a Santa Ana wind event. If your Tamko underlayment or decking has failed on a Pasadena addition or accessory dwelling unit, the fix usually involves sectional replacement of the affected area rather than a full re-roof, but every roof tells its own story once we pull back the layers.
Before you go further, know this: we write the full scope and line-item price on paper before any work starts. The price you see on paper is the price you pay at the end – no footnotes. That’s how Graham Stein has run Elmstead Remodeling Pasadena since he first started swinging a hammer across the San Gabriel Valley, and it’s how every Tamko-related project in Pasadena gets priced, whether it’s a small repair or a full ADU addition.
Which Tamko Models This Applies To
Tamko manufactures both shingle lines and underlayment products, and the compatibility question depends on which layer has failed. For Pasadena additions and ADUs built in the last fifteen years, we most commonly see Tamko Heritage shingles over Tamko TW or Titanium underlayment. The underlayment is the layer that usually fails first, and the failure mode is predictable: UV exposure during construction before shingles went down, or a valley that was never properly flashed, or simply age in a climate that swings from 40-degree December mornings to 105-degree August afternoons.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha most homeowners don’t know: Tamko’s Titanium UDL underlayment is a synthetic product that must be installed with plastic-cap fasteners, not standard roofing nails, or the manufacturer’s limited warranty is voided. If an earlier contractor used standard nails, that explains premature failure. We check for this on every Tamko roof we open in Pasadena. For the shingle layer, Tamko Heritage and Elite lines are dimension-specific: Heritage shingles are 36 inches long with a 5-5/8 inch exposure, while Elite shingles use a slightly different exposure. Matching an existing roof means measuring the exposure, not just reading the bundle wrapper, because a wrong exposure causes the new shingles to telegraph through and the whole plane looks wavy.
We’re an independent Pasadena contractor, not affiliated with Tamko, but we stock Tamko-compatible underlayment and have direct access to Tamko shingle bundles through our local supplier, so most matches happen without a wait. For ADU projects, we also install cabinets from KraftMaid, countertops from Cambria and Silestone, and fixtures from Kohler and Moen, which means the interior finish package travels with named warranties you can verify yourself.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Tamko Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Water stain on the ceiling near a wall line or valley. This typically points to underlayment failure at a transition point. The underlayment has pulled away or rotted at the seam, and water is traveling along the decking until it finds a nail hole.
- Shingle granules in the gutters or at downspout bases. Granule loss is normal wear, but if you’re seeing a thick line of granules after every rain, the shingle mat is breaking down. On Tamko Heritage shingles in Pasadena’s UV-heavy summers, granule shedding accelerates once the fiberglass mat starts oxidizing.
- Curling or cupping shingles on south-facing slopes. South-facing planes get the full brunt of Southern California sun. When shingles curl, the seal strip has failed and wind-driven rain can get underneath. This is the most common failure we see on ADUs in Bungalow Heaven, where older Craftsman roofs were re-roofed quickly during conversions and the original decking wasn’t always inspected.
- A damp, musty smell in the ADU that gets worse after rain. That smell means water is getting in somewhere and soaking the insulation or gypsum before it ever shows on the ceiling. By the time you smell it, the wet area is usually larger than the visible stain.
- Lifting or flapping shingles after a Santa Ana event. If shingles lift and don’t reseal, the seal strip is done. On Tamko shingles, this often happens at the eaves where the adhesive strip dried out from heat exposure. Once shingles stop sealing, every wind event pulls more of them loose.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For a Tamko underlayment and shingle sectional replacement on a Pasadena addition or ADU, expect $3,500 – $9,000 depending on roof size, pitch, and how much decking needs replacement. For a full re-roof with Tamko Heritage shingles on a larger ADU or addition, the range runs $8,000 – $20,000. This is a different scope of work from a full home addition, which lands at $45,000 – $130,000, and a complete ADU construction project, which runs $90,000 – $220,000. We give you exact numbers on paper before the first drop cloth goes down.
Every Tamko-related roof repair or replacement includes: removal and disposal of the failed material, inspection of the decking beneath, replacement of any rotted decking boards, new Tamko-compatible underlayment installed per manufacturer spec, matching shingles, new flashing at all penetrations, and a full clean-up with a photo of the finished clean-up before the crew leaves. Shoe covers and drop cloths go down on every visit, inside and out, and they’re included in the price, not an add-on. The work carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right after the job is complete, we make it right.
DIY or Call Us?
One honest paragraph here, because this part of the work is not safe to handle from a ladder on a Saturday. Tamko underlayment replacement and shingle matching on a Pasadena ADU means working at height on a pitched roof, often in heat that makes shingles hot enough to burn skin through gloves. A roofer’s ladder, fall protection, and an understanding of how to tie into existing flashing are not weekend-project skills. Wrong flashing at a single valley means the leak comes back in the same place, and the repair cost doubles because now the decking is rotted.
What you can safely do: check your gutters for granule accumulation, look at the roof plane from the ground with binoculars for curling or lifting shingles, and note any interior stains so you can tell us exactly where the water shows up first. That information helps us find the failure faster. For anything that requires getting on the roof or pulling back shingle layers, call us at (626) 714-2992. We’ll come out, inspect, and give you a written price before any work begins.
FAQs
Tamko Heritage shingles in Pasadena’s climate typically last 14 – 20 years on south-facing slopes and 20 – 28 years on north-facing slopes, depending on attic ventilation and how well the original install followed exposure specs. Call (626) 714-2992 and we’ll inspect your specific roof and give you an honest read on remaining life.
Yes, if the failure is contained to a specific area, typically a valley, an eave edge, or a plumbing vent penetration. We cut back the shingles in that section, replace the failed underlayment, and re-shingle with matching material. The rest of the roof stays untouched. We’ll tell you plainly if a sectional repair is worth doing or if the surrounding material is too degraded, and the written estimate will show you the exact price either way.
A sectional repair on a typical Pasadena ADU takes one to two days, with the roof left watertight at the end of the first day. A full re-roof on a larger addition takes three to five days. We work around your family’s quiet hours where possible and use quiet tools during nap and school hours.
We keep Tamko-compatible synthetic underlayment in stock and order Tamko shingle bundles directly from our local supplier, which usually means a one- to three-day lead time in Pasadena. If you have leftover bundles from the original install, we’ll make sure the color lot and exposure match so the repair blends cleanly.
If your Tamko addition or ADU roof is showing any of the signs above, call us at (626) 714-2992. We’ll schedule a walkthrough, put the full scope and line-item price in writing, and go from there. No footnotes.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling Pasadena at Elmstead Remodeling Pasadena, serving Pasadena and nearby areas.
