Roofers using bad language

It's a shame because we've only ever had really respectful tradies at our house. In fact, one of our tradies we used at our old house brought an apprentice with him and when he heard the kids next door come out into the garden loudly said 'right Jack, tone it down now there's kids about!' 🤣

A friend of mine just said a quick 'oi lads, tone it down a bit yeah there's kids about!' when necessary, no hard feelings.

Just ignore it. I had scaffolders who shouted at my neighbour to fuck off. I apologised to my neighbour, but didn't tackle the scaffolders.

Well then why did you want to report them? What did you think would happen?
99% of the time a simple polite request works. I spent precisely 4h looking at a roofer's naked arse opposite my window while working from home. On my lunch break, I went outside, smiled and said "Would you mind pulling your pants up, love". Clearly he didn't realise there was anyone home and that he exposed himself to the entire neighbourhood (my next door neighbour also has a home office facing the same roof). Next day he managed to score some elasticated pants with drawstrings and we waved to each other every time I walked the dog for as long as he worked on the roof.

We had scaffers in a few weeks ago and it was like a dialect!!

in defence of roofers in general, its not inevitable that they are foul mouthed
we had a fantastic bunch of roofers who were hardworking, did a great job they were proud of, and were pleasant to have around (and it was a loooong job)
they didn't swear, played radio 6 and could occassionaly be heard having philosophical discussions as they worked
its a wierd kind of snobbery to assume that all tradespeople are loutish

For those asking yes I swear at work. Colourful language is the absolute norm in Ireland, everywhere.

I highly recommend you don’t visit here @27Maisie27 your ears wouldn’t cope and having lived in Scotland for a while I strongly suggest you give some parts of it a wide berth too. They very much give us a run for our money.

When I've had small kids/elderly relatives in the garden I've asked workmen to tone the language down if it's a continuous stream and mostly they've been apologetic, perhaps not even realizing. But I think there's a difference between swearing and 'offensive' language.
Swearing directed at particular groups - the misogynistic, racist, homophobic or ableist kind - I would report without a qualm (and calling me or any other woman a Karen for this is just misogynistic crap). Other than that if a bit of salty language helps you get through the day crack on!

This would make me roll my eyes if it were just me, if my son (he's at that parrot stage) was within earshot and was unable to play in the garden as a result I'd definitely have a word with them directly or whoever was overseeing the work being done. But that's as far as I'd take it.

Its for a few days who really cares? I would ignore them .

This. Definately.
say it light heartedly.
with a smile, and a please.
if you’re too old for kids (!) say grandkids, nieces or whatever

if they tell you to F off - or equivalent, walk away , don’t argue, call the council. Tell them what their response was when you asked.

I completely agree

Yes it's quite possible to do a job without swearing

I'm with you. Plenty of people out there dislike swearing and yelling (if it was on my neighbour's roof I'd be able to hear everything as the noise bounces around here). I also really don't want my kids thinking that's an ok way to behave and okay language to use. I want them to be mindful of other people.

Jesus, can't you idiots RTFT and OP's update.

I agree too. If these guys are working for the council, they are probably part of this. Why you should consider the Considerate Constructors Scheme | LABC

Quite depressing how many people have leapt on the OP. It can be intimidating to approach people like this. I once asked a couple of window cleaners to stop effing and jeffing very loudly (calling across the street to each other) and got a mouthful in return, that wasn't pleasant. You don't know how people will react and IMHO the workers should know not to turn the air blue, I don't suppose they would at their grandma's for tea, for example.

I don't know why some insist on extrapolating this to other situations. A roof is not a restaurant nor a hotel reception nor a school playground. There's phrases like 'swearing like a trooper' for a reason, because some places/people are swearier than others. To expect 'employees' everywhere the world over to be the same is a bit simplistic and silly to me, but then so is getting overly offended by 'foul language'. As long as it's not hate speak and it's up on a roof among people who are happy to converse with each other in that lexicon, I couldn't care less.

My roofers didn't swear and were absolute diamond geezers as it were

Plus they did an amazing job

They might have sworn under their breath and I was always worried for their safety rather than my precious ears possibly being hurt

We had some great roofers but their language would have made a sailor blush. Maybe we should have said something but they were doing a good job and came recommended so we just left them to it.

That is until our neighbours 4yo shouted up to them and asked what a 'insert sequence of 4 letter words here' meant because she'd asked her mum who told her to ask the person she heard it from 😅. Mum had assumed it was dad (he can get a little overexcited watching the football) so it was red faces all around.

If you have small children in your garden and this is your concern, then I would pop over and explain this to them and ask that they tone down the language - if you ask in a friendly way I am sure they will understand.

Please do not assume that all people over 60 are offended by this - their language can be equally ripe!

Why lie, what's wrong with requesting that they calm it down

Well, you are rather unusual then. I certainly wouldn't want to be out for a meal with my family where the waiters were audibly saying cunt, fuck, wanker, prick and arsehole every other word. Likewise I wouldn't expect a hotel receptionist, the local florist or a driving instructor to repeatedly use those words in front of customers. Quite frankly, most companies have policies on appropriate workplace language and simply wouldn't tolerate it. Employees would almost certainly be sacked for repeatedly using foul language, not only in front of customers but also their colleagues. I can only conclude that customer facing staff in your area use cunt and wanker as standard!

I've never known or heard a roofer or builder finish a sentence without swearing. Is what it is. Mouths like dockers.

In this instance

So when they act aggressively after you have asked them to stop is when you contact their employers not before