With central Maine having experienced one of the most glorious summers ever, much more attention has been directed, lately, toward enjoying outdoor living spaces at home. Sure, the season hereabouts is usually pretty short, and adapting to outdoor conditions is more challenging than elsewhere due to the severity of the weather the rest of the year. But that all makes taking full advantage of limited opportunities even more important. And an abundance of new materials, technologies, designs, and equipment is helping transform backyards into living rooms.

The trendiest phenomenon is called “hardscaping,” which uses brick, stone, concrete, and other solid surfaces to build walls, patios, fireplaces, benches, walkways, driveways – even outdoor kitchens. Pavers – small brick-sized artificial stones made of composite concrete that is five times as dense as poured concrete – have transformed outdoor remodeling for area homeowners.

There is an old adage: “If you can’t handle the winters, you don’t deserve the summers,” and that is applicable to the “built environment that extends comfortable living into the outdoors. New England has the [most severe] freeze-thaw cycle in the world,” explained John Petrocelli, of Petro’s Ace Hardware and Landscape Center, in Auburn, “so part of why these [paver blocks] have become so popular is that they are almost indestructible. When they are installed properly, they will last for the life of a house. In fact, the lifetime warranty transfers if you sell your home.”

While proper installation of paver blocks in patios, walls, flower beds, and other applications will prevent vegetation from growing through the surface, the technology also allows for the surface to “flex and move with the frost heaves,” according to Petrocelli, unlike poured concrete or other more traditional impervious surfaces, which tend to crack and break under the stress of Maine winters.

Maybe the best part is that the new materials look a lot like old materials. Matt Engleman – whose American Concrete/Shawnee Steps, also in Auburn, specializes in outdoor home staircases, both for new construction and remodeling – explained, “The new finishes look just like stone or granite. They provide better traction than conventional concrete, but they’re much more durable and less expensive than granite.” And the new staircases are often installed with heating pads: strips of heating elements embedded beneath the surface which just plug into a conventional outlet and prevent ice from forming.

Used for years in patios and retaining walls, entire driveways are now being built of paving blocks, which are considerably more resilient than asphalt or gravel. “Europe and Canada have been using pavers for a long time,” Petrocelli said, “but the U.S. is starting to catch up.” And just like stair systems, driveways are being installed with underground heating systems. “They can be made to run right off your existing boiler,” according to Petrocelli, “and snow is no more challenging than rain.”

With or without heating elements, hardscaping may be having more impact on traditional landscaping than any other technique. The addition of fire pits, conventional fireplaces or barbecues, and even full-scale kitchen installations can extend the utility of the space well beyond short, traditional Maine summers. Hardscape surfaces have lower maintenance requirements than wooden decking, and hardscaping materials are convenient for raising and containing planting beds, delineating outdoor living spaces, and integrating them with gardens or lawns.

Hardscaping with man-made materials helps homeowners combine the distinctive regional character of random rock walls with the practical ability of modern technology to withstand the elements.

The popular do-it-yourself website, www.diynetwork.com, recently featured a front page story about outdoor flooring, “favorite outdoor rooms,” and “backyard escapes,” and although the site is not geographic-specific, it does make reference to the special requirements of New England installations. Similar information is available at www.paversearch.com, which examines not just the use of pavers, but all sorts of outdoor flooring, walk, and driveway options.

Hardscapes do not require mowing. Done right, they generally do not require weeding. Impervious surfaces do not need to be stained or painted. And increasingly, they do not require shoveling or plowing. This could provide those of us not much inclined to outdoor maintenance with outdoor living and recreation areas that can be enjoyed and not fussed over.