Composite Decking: Transform Your Outdoor Space

Composite decking offers a low-maintenance, durable, and stylish solution for your garden. With various ranges available, such as Millboard and DesignBoard, you can create an outdoor space that suits both your aesthetic preferences and practical needs. Below, we'll guide you through how to use composite decking in your garden, explain the differences between the available ranges, explore installation tips, and answer some frequently asked questions.

Over the past decade, composite decking has become increasingly popular in the UK, emerging as a top choice for enhancing outdoor spaces. This rise in popularity is due to the demand for materials that are both visually appealing and low maintenance, when compared to traditional timber decking. While natural timber offers a classic look, it has certain limitations, such as the need for regular treatment to prevent issues like rot, warping, and insect damage. Additionally, the demand and price of timber have significantly increased over the last five years, driven by factors like climate change, wildfires, and processing costs.

In contrast, composite decking addresses many of these challenges by providing a durable and dependable alternative. Often made from a blend of recycled materials, including wood fibres, plastic, and even rice husks—as seen in our DesignBoard Classic decking—it offers both high durability and a more sustainable environmental impact, making it an eco-friendlier choice for modern homeowners.

How to Use Composite Decking in Your Garden

Composite decking is an excellent way to enhance outdoor areas like patios, garden paths, poolside decks, or terraces. Unlike traditional timber, composite decking doesn’t require regular staining or sealing, making it easier to maintain.

Create Zones in Your Garden: Composite decking can help create distinct areas within your garden, such as dining spaces or relaxation zones. It also works well around water features or pools because of its slip-resistant properties. Limebok Landscaping made use of our Dark Ash Brushed DesignBoard as a base for this cosy hot-tub.

Outdoor Furniture Placement: Decking is an ideal base for outdoor furniture. Choose furniture that complements the colour and finish of the decking for a cohesive look, like in this garden from Cherry Mills. Or why not go one step further and create unique seating using composite decking?

Elevated Platforms: For uneven terrain, composite decking is perfect for creating raised platforms. Adding steps or terraces gives dimension to your outdoor space, such as in this terraced garden by Landscapia.

Blend with Nature: Consider surrounding your decking with greenery. Raised beds or planters on the deck edges can soften the lines of the structure while bringing nature closer to your living space. April House Design featured Driftwood Millboard Decking as a base for this standalone sauna, surrounded by wildflowers.

Surface Finishes Available

Composite decking comes in various finishes, each providing a unique look and texture. Use the product filters at the top of the page to view the different surface textures available, or read-on:

Lightly Grooved: Ideal for a sleek, modern aesthetic, smooth decking gives a refined, uniform appearance.

Moulded from smooth timber: This decking finish replicates the sleek, clean lines of real timber, offering a modern and refined look that complements any outdoor space.

Brushed Finish: This adds texture, offering a slightly more rustic look, perfect for a natural, relaxed garden setting.

Grooved Finish: Often chosen for its non-slip properties, grooved decking works well in wet areas or where additional grip is needed.

Moulded from 100-year-old reclaimed oak: This surface finish captures the rich texture and character of aged oak, bringing a timeless and rustic aesthetic to your decking area.

Comparing Ranges: Millboard & DesignBoard

London Stone only supply high quality products that are suitable for the UK climate. Here, we look at the different ranges of composite decking available:

DesignBoard Brushed & Grooved

Rustic Appeal: These boards feature a brushed or grooved surface texture that offer good texture and grip, making them suitable for areas with frequent rainfall or near pools.

Key Features: They combine durability with a tactile surface, ensuring safety in wet conditions. These boards also provide an attractive, natural wood appearance.

Price Point: More affordable than Millboard and DesignBoard Classic, DesignBoard Brushed and Grooved is our ‘entry level’ range, priced from £45 + VAT m2.

DesignBoard Classic

Modern Appeal: DesignBoard Classic offers a budget-friendly alternative to Millboard without compromising on quality.

Textured Surface: Available with a slightly grooved finish, it’s scratch-resistant and easy to install, making it a popular choice for all garden types.

Key Features: With a slip-resistant surface and low-maintenance requirements, this range is ideal for patios or garden decks.

Price Point: Starting from £80 + VAT m2, DesignBoard Classic is perfect for those looking for quality and sensibly priced decking.

Millboard Composite Decking

Premium Quality: Millboard Decking is known for its high-end, durable composite boards that replicate the natural beauty of wood.

Surface Finish: It comes in various finishes, including the more modern Enhanced Grain range, which mimics natural timber grain, while the Weathered Oak boards replicate aged oak timber, for a more rustic finish.

Key Features: With an anti-slip surface and UV resistance, Millboard is ideal for high-traffic areas and requires little maintenance. It’s also highly resistant to algae and mould.

Price Point: Millboard is a more expensive option but offers unmatched durability and high-end aesthetics. Prices start around £131 + VAT m2.

Here’s a quick reference table which summarises the key difference between our ranges, as well as with more traditional, and higher maintenance, timber decking:

Edging Options

Adding edging to your deck not only completes the look but also provides functionality.

DesignBoard composite decking is available with fascia boards to finish the sides and exposed upstands of a deck, and Pencil Round Boards, which add a sleek look to the edge of any decked area.

Millboard offers Bullnose Boards, Square Edging, and Flexible Bullnosed Edging boards which are ideal for creating smooth, rounded edges on steps or seating areas.

Here’s a stunning example of how fascia boards and edgings can look in a decking project.

Composite Decking Celebrated at RHS Shows

Composite Decking has graced the show grounds of the annual RHS Shows, providing garden designers and landscapers with a fantastic design option when creating award-winning and prestigious show gardens and trade stands. London Stone has worked with many top landscape professionals across the last decade, in supplying composite decking to the events. Here are some of our highlights:

Garden Designer Katherine Holland made use of our Polar DesignBoard in her 2023, ‘The Folio Reading Society’s Reading Room Garden’. The silver-gilt medal-winning balcony garden was a cosy, relaxed space, in which a homeowner could while away the hours reading and enjoying being outdoors. A key feature of composite decking is its ability to be installed in smaller spaces such as balconies and roof terraces, as it is lighter, and easier to install, than other paving types such as natural stone.

Sussex-based garden designer, Rae Wilkinson, worked with landscaping legend, Gareth Wilson, at the 2019 RHS Chatsworth Flower Show to craft the ‘Space Within’ garden. This serene space featured our sleek, light grey Luna DesignBoard, which provided the base for a relaxing place to meditate, surrounded by nature. The garden won a gold medal and the People’s Choice Award for ‘Best Mindfulness Garden.’ Very demure.

The 2022 RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival saw long-time London Stone collaborators, Rhi Williams and Garden Club London, create ‘The John King Tumour Foundation Garden’. The garden created a small piece of a larger roof garden at St. Geroge’s Hospital, London, and featured Limed Oak Millboard, alongside our Jura Beige Steps, which were engraved with the charity’s logo. The peaceful, walk-through garden won a silver medal, as well as scooping the coveted People’s Choice Award.

A plethora of London Stone materials were used to showcase Hartley Botanic’s high-end greenhouses at the 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Designed by Llevlo Garden Design, and expertly constructed by Stewart Landscape Construction, the 5*-winning trade stand featured DesignBoard Chestnut, from our Brushed range, as well as Cinder and Travertine Dark Porcelain, and Lugano Clay Pavers.

Installation Info & Hints & Tips

Installing composite decking can be completed as a DIY project, but it’s essential to follow proper guidelines to ensure a lasting result. London Stone advocate using reputable, professional contractors to undertake landscaping works within your home. Our Connect service allows you to find local landscapers and garden designers.

Here are some installation hints, tips, and information about installing composite decking:

• Prepare the Ground: Clear the area and ensure the ground is level. For elevated decks, a subframe of treated timber or composite joists is necessary to support the decking.

• Install Joists: Joists should be spaced evenly, usually 300mm apart. This framework provides the support for your decking boards.

• Fix the Boards: Use the recommended fixing clips and screws, such as the DesignBoard Clip System, which ensures a seamless and secure fit. View deck building essentials.

• Cutting the Boards: Composite boards can be cut using standard woodworking tools, such as a bench-mounted drop saw with a carbon-tipped blade. Read more on cutting composite decking.

• Edging: For a polished finish, use matching fascia boards or bullnose boards for exposed edges or steps.

• Maintenance: One of the main benefits of composite decking is its low-maintenance nature. Simply sweep away debris and wash with water and mild soap if necessary.

View tutorial videos on how to install DesignBoard Composite Decking, and how to install Millboard.

Composite Decking FAQs

How long does composite decking last?

Composite Decking has a predicted lifespan of over 25 years. All our composite decking comes with a product warranty, making it an excellent long-term investment:

• DesignBoard Brushed & Grooved Product Warranty – 3-years
• DesignBoard Classic – 10-years
• Millboard Composite Decking – 25-years (residential usage, if registered within 90 days of purchase)

Is composite decking slippery?

Composite decking is designed with slip-resistance in mind. Ranges like Millboard and DesignBoard Grooved offer textured surfaces for enhanced grip, making them safe for use around pools or in wet conditions.

Can composite decking fade in sunlight?

UV-resistant properties in both Millboard and DesignBoard prevent significant fading, ensuring that your decking remains vibrant for years.

Can I put a fire pit or fire bowl onto my composite decking?

This depends upon the heat exposure and type of firepit that you are intending on installing. We would always recommend there is a gap to the underside allowing for a good airflow to prevent a build-up of heat under any type of burner. Refer to our DesignBoard Product Guide for more information.

How do I clean composite decking?

Like any outdoor material, composite decking does require maintaining, to keep it looking its best, and to ensure it lasts. Cleaning is a straightforward process and depending on how clean you wish to keep your deck, usually takes place seasonally. Sweep regularly and hose down with water. For stubborn dirt, use a mild detergent and a soft brush. To remove stains, specialist cleaning products can be used, but check with the manufacturer’s guidelines before applying any chemicals to your decking, and always test cleaning products in a small, inconspicuous section, before applying to the whole decked area.

Why should I buy composite decking from London Stone?

London Stone offers free nationwide delivery on orders £750 + VAT and over, and is rated Excellent on independent review site, Trustpilot. We hold good stock levels of our goods, (which you can view in real-time on our website) which allows short lead times, as well as offering product warranties across the entirety of our composite decking ranges.

Can I view Composite Decking in your Showrooms?

Yes! Our network of nationwide showrooms act as inspirational hubs where you can view our materials in person, before buying. You will never receive a ‘hard sell’ approach from London Stone – our showrooms offer a relaxed atmosphere, with complimentary refreshments and free customer Wi-Fi. Our friendly, expert sales staff are always on-hand to answer any questions you have, and to guide you into making the right choice for your project.

We encourage you to visit a showroom prior to purchasing, as most customers find viewing materials in person highly beneficial. If you can’t make it to a showroom in person, take a virtual tour of our flagship Birmingham showroom in HD quality.

How do I contact London Stone?

There are a number of ways to contact us, including via WhatsApp chat, phone, email, or in person. Our trading hours are Monday – Saturday, 08.30 – 17.00.