Composite decking colours

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What colours of composite decking can you buy?

Our verified UK boards use 56 different colour names between them. Grey, charcoal and black are the most common alongside oak and teak tones. Colours with grey in the name: Eva-Last Cape Town Grey, Cladco Stone Grey, Millboard Ebony Grey, Cladco Stone Grey. Dark colours: Cladco Charcoal, Millboard Ebony Grey, Millboard Brushed Basalt, Cladco Onyx, Cladco Charcoal. Many other shades, such as Pewter, Platinum and Slate, read as grey even though the name doesn’t say so.

Grey and black composite decking

Grey boards are the most searched colour. Black is next. Dark boards suit modern gardens and show pale dust and debris more, while grey hides dirt well but can show dark stains. Darker boards also run hotter in the sun. A US decking retailer that tested boards in real sun found colour was the main lever, with pale boards clearly cooler than dark ones, though a UK owner says her boards were too hot to sit on directly on a 26 degree day. Pick a lighter shade for a south-facing deck.

White and green composite decking

Among the boards we have verified, colours with names that suggest white: Eva-Last Riverstone Cream, Envirobuild Pearl White. Green names: Eva-Last Carbonised Osage, Envirobuild Moss Green. If you want either, ask makers for pale or coloured lines and order samples, because we can only list what the pages we read show.

Will the colour change?

Yes, a little. Composite Prime says pigments stabilise in the first 6 to 12 months and boards may fade before they weather naturally. Guardian says initial lightening evens out over 8 to 10 weeks, and Millboard says release agent oiliness weathers off in 6 to 8 weeks. Envirobuild’s capped Frontier covers fade up to 5 Delta E in its warranty. A US retailer suggests keeping an offcut indoors to compare against the weathered deck. One UK owner’s grey boards hadn’t faded or needed cleaning after a year.

How do you choose a colour?

Order samples and look at them outside, in your light. Scratch-test them: the UK owner who tried this found the board she chose marked least, though dragging a heavy chair still left a light scratch. Consider what the deck sits next to, since brick, render and fencing change how a colour reads. Buy all boards in one batch to avoid slight variations between production runs.

See the table below for every colour by board, and the boards comparison for sizes and specs.