Meaning & use
damp course
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableBritishtechnical
A layer of waterproof material built into the bottom of a wall to stop moisture rising up through the bricks.
Grammar: Countable: a damp course, two damp courses. Often used with 'lay' or 'install'.
Patterns
- lay a damp course
- install a damp course
- a damp course in a wall
The builder laid a damp course along the base of the wall before the bricks went up.
Without a damp course, water creeps up from the ground and the plaster starts to crumble.
Old houses often have no damp course at all, which is why the lower walls feel cold and wet.
noununcountableBritishtechnical
The plastic or bitumen sheet itself, sold in rolls, used to make this barrier.
Grammar: Uncountable when talking about the material: a roll of damp course.
Patterns
- a roll of damp course
- damp course material
We need another roll of damp course to finish the extension.
Damp course is cheap, but fitting it after the wall is built is not.
Word forms
| plural | damp courses |
|---|
Common combinations
- lay a damp course
- They laid a damp course before pouring the concrete floor.
- install a damp course
- The company installs damp courses in older properties.
- a damp course in the wall
- You can see the black damp course in the wall just above ground level.
- a roll of damp course
- He bought a roll of damp course from the builders' merchant.
Synonyms and how they differ
- damp-proof course
- The full form of the same thing, common in older British writing and still understood everywhere.
- vapor barrier
- The American term, usually for the plastic sheet that blocks moisture; it covers a wider range of uses than 'damp course'.
Word family
- damp-proof adjective
- Describing a wall or material that resists moisture.
- damp-proofing noun
- The work or substance used to keep damp out of a building.
Commonly confused: damp course or damp proofing?
damp course vs damp proofing
'Damp proofing' is the treatment or the material in general; a 'damp course' is the specific horizontal layer built into the wall.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'damp course' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A damp course is a horizontal waterproof layer at the bottom of a wall, so it is 'laid' at the base. The sink, window and ceiling options use the phrase with the wrong object and the wrong verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “damp course”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.