Are you looking for ways to reduce the time spent on maintaining your yard?
Look no further than hardscaping services and solutions. By swapping high-maintenance grass for hard-wearing stone, pavers, and concrete, homeowners can create low-maintenance areas that are easy to care for.
Now here’s the thing…
As people spend less time outdoors and more time indoors, the demand for low-maintenance outdoor living spaces is only going to grow. In fact, 62% of experts reported that drought tolerant/water wise design as their number one 2025 landscaping trend.
And hardscaping is exactly at the center of this design and lifestyle movement.
Let’s take a look at everything you need to know to create the perfect low-maintenance outdoor living area.
In this article, you’re going to discover…
- Why Hardscaping Beats Traditional Landscaping
- The Best Materials for Low-Maintenance Outdoor Areas
- Smart Design Tips That Save Time and Money
- Common Hardscaping Mistakes to Avoid
Why Hardscaping Beats Traditional Landscaping
Hardscaping services and solutions have fast become the favorite choice for those homeowners looking to swap endless hours spent mowing, raking, watering, and weeding for time enjoying their beautifully manicured outdoor living space.
If your goal is a lower-maintenance yard that also increases the value of your home, then hardscaping in Las Vegas makes a whole lot of sense.
And here’s why.
Traditional grass and gardens are a lot of work. Constant mowing, watering, fertilizing, and weeding can easily fill up your weekends and empty your wallet. But hardscaping turns that idea completely on its head.
Think of patios, walkways, retaining walls, and outdoor kitchens. These features require so much less maintenance than grass, trees, and flowers. A little sweeping or the occasional pressure wash is all that’s needed.
The best part is that hardscaping can boost property values by 10-20% according to industry experts and reports.
The Best Materials for Low-Maintenance Outdoor Areas
A key component to hardscaping solutions and services is selecting the right materials.
While they all fall into the same hardscaping bucket, some products are far more durable and low maintenance than others. So let’s look at what’s available.
Concrete Pavers
Concrete pavers have been and will continue to be the king of hardscaping products for a reason. They are some of the most durable and long-lasting available. They are also easily replaced when damaged, come in nearly unlimited colors and patterns, and are incredibly resistant to cracking.
Shapes are another thing to consider when it comes to pavers. There are plenty of shapes available including rectangles, squares, hexagons, diamonds, and even circles.
Natural Stone
Natural stone is the timeless beauty that will always be a crowd favorite. For patios and walkways, flagstone, slate, and bluestone are all great choices.
The main downside of natural stone is that it does tend to cost a bit more. But the increase in longevity often more than pays for itself.
Permeable Pavers
If you aren’t already familiar with permeable pavers, you will be soon.
Permeable pavers are becoming a huge trend in hardscaping as more homeowners become eco-friendly. The big difference between these types of pavers and traditional concrete is the amount of runoff that they produce.
Areas with water restrictions and runoff issues are going to benefit from permeable pavers.
Smart Design Tips That Save Time and Money
You can have all the best hardscaping materials in the world but if it’s not designed correctly, you’re going to end up with a high maintenance pain point.
Here are some tips that can help you achieve a truly low maintenance hardscaping outdoor living space.
Create Defined Zones
The most functional outdoor areas are the ones that have specific zones dedicated to particular activities. This is one of the beauties of properly done hardscaping solutions and services.
Zones such as cooking areas, dining areas, and relaxation areas all play a role in the overall look and functionality of the space.
Why does this even matter from a maintenance standpoint?
Eliminating those awkward “transition” areas makes it difficult for weeds to find any space to grow. Properly hardscaped zones with clear borders allow you to spend less time worrying about weeds and more time enjoying your yard.
Choose the Right Edging
Edging is key when it comes to preventing pavers from moving around and keeping landscaping materials in their proper place. Metal or concrete edging will provide a much more clean and crisp look that will also stay put for years to come.
Compare that to pavers with no edging and the problems you will run into.
Expect to spend your weekends putting everything back in place if you skip edging during installation.
Plan for Drainage
Water and hardscaping that wasn’t properly planned don’t mix.
Standing water and the problems that come with it include algae growth on surfaces, shifting and settling of hardscaping materials, potential damage to surrounding structures, and increased slip and fall potential.
Avoid these issues by ensuring there is a slight slope away from your home at all times. Flat areas will require a built-in drainage channel or permeable surfaces to effectively move water away.
Minimize Grout Lines
The less joints, the less places where weeds can grow. That is one of the many reasons to look at large format pavers with minimal spacing between them.
They reduce maintenance when compared to smaller pavers with wider gaps. Polymeric sand can also help with this problem by keeping weeds from popping through and repelling insects as well.
Common Hardscaping Mistakes to Avoid
It doesn’t take much to ruin an otherwise great hardscaping project. Avoid these common mistakes that can create high-maintenance nightmares.
Skipping the Base Preparation
This is by far the number one mistake made by most homeowners.
Hurrying through the base preparation is a guaranteed way to end up with settling, shifting, and cracking at some point in the future. The right base requires excavation to the proper depth, a compacted gravel substrate, leveling the sand layer, and then proper compaction at each step.
Fail to do this and your hardscaping materials will also fail.
Ignoring Local Climate
Materials and hardscaping that look and work great in one area of the country can be a disaster in another. Hardscaping for desert climates and hardscaping that needs to endure freeze-thaw cycles demand different considerations.
Heat absorption is another important issue to take into account. Pavers with darker colors in an area that gets a lot of sun can quickly become uncomfortable to walk on with bare feet.
Fix this issue by using lighter colored pavers or selecting a textured surface.
Forgetting About Lighting
Outdoor lighting does so much more than create the right ambience for outdoor gatherings.
Outdoor lighting that has been properly installed will:
- Enhance the safety of walkways and steps
- Extend the usable evening hours
- Showcase your hardscaping features and details
- Increase the overall security of your home
Plan for lighting in the design phase of your hardscaping project instead of adding it at the end.
Over-Complicating the Design
You can have too much of a good thing and that’s the case when it comes to the design of your hardscaping project.
Avoid overly intricate patterns and too much mixing of different materials as this can create visual clutter and make maintenance even more of a headache.
Simple cohesive designs typically age better over time and have far less fuss to keep looking good.
Bringing It All Together
Hardscaping can completely change your outdoor area from time consuming to low maintenance and high enjoyment.
Remember, the key to creating the right look and feel for your outdoor space while also being easy to maintain is:
- Smart material selection and thoughtful design choices
- Planning things out correctly
- Proper installation methods
The investment in a quality hardscaping area will pay dividends for many decades to come.
Neighbors will be spending their weekends mowing and weeding while you are able to relax knowing that your hardscaping will still look amazing and take a whole lot less work to get there.
If you’re serious about reclaiming your weekends from yard work, professional hardscaping services and solutions have the expertise needed to get the job done right from the get-go.
That’s what it takes to build a truly low maintenance hardscape.
