Hold on, I gotta disagree with blaming the bedding process. Some cheap pads are just junk material, period. I've seen pads that were basically cement blocks, they destroyed brand new rotors in a month even with perfect bedding. The shop manual is right, rotors should last longer. This sounds like a case of ultra hard, abrasive pads that no break in could fix. You can't polish a rock, and you can't make bad pads good.

Wait they fed you breakfast AND dinner? That's wild, my farmstay only did breakfast. You basically got two free meals a day, that's a huge deal. I'd have saved so much more cash. Makes me wonder what other places are out there giving full board.

Okay but "too messy for their new carpet" feels like a bit much. It's a fireplace cleanout, some dust is gonna happen. You're already using a tarp. I've seen way worse jobs where guys just let it fly. Spending an extra 20 minutes for a bit of soot seems like overkill. Maybe they just have really high standards, or they're the type to complain no matter what you do.

You know, @andrewh95, that totally reminds me of the time I tried making a pecan pie from scratch and the filling just would not set. It was basically soup! I ended up pouring the whole runny mess over vanilla ice cream, and my friends loved it. Sometimes the happy accidents are the best part of cooking. I still can't make a proper pie, but I've got a killer ice cream topping recipe now.

Man, that's a classic. I usually just show them the nest and explain the law, plain and simple. In my experience, being honest about the delay and why it's needed works best. Most folks are pretty understanding once they see the eggs. I've only had one guy get really grumpy about it, and honestly, that job wasn't worth the hassle anyway. You just have to roll with it, it's part of the gig.