ENGINEERING CONTRACTS DEALT WITH 81 



the several rooms, but refused to lay them down without extra 

 payment, because the flooring was not mentioned in the 

 specification, whereupon the defendant put an end to the con- 

 tract, took possession of the works, and proceeding to complete 

 the building, used the flooring-boards so prepared and used 

 by the plaintiff. It was held that the plaintiff was not 

 entitled to recover for the flooring as an extra, because it was 

 included in the contract though not mentioned in the specifica- 

 tion. In giving judgment, Baron Channell said : " The 

 plaintiff contracted to do the entire work in the various 

 characters of bricklayer, carpenter, plumber, etc., for the sum 

 of ^61,100 ; and it is not the less a contract to do the whole, 

 because it is specified that certain parts of the building shall 

 be constructed in a particular way. It was a contract for the 

 erection of a house, and though the flooring was not mentioned 

 in express terms, it was necessarily implied." 



The introduction of the words " whole " or " complete " into 

 a contract always has an important bearing on its construction. 

 In Tancred, Arrol & Co. v. The Steel Company of Scotland, 

 Ltd., 1890, 15 A. C. 125, there was an agreement in writing 

 under which the steel company undertook to supply " the 

 whole steel " required for the Forth Bridge, less 12,000 tons 

 of plates, subject to the conditions therein contained. One of 

 the conditions contained the following sentence : " The esti- 

 mated quantity of steel we understand to be 30,000 tons, more 

 or less." It was held that the steel company were entitled to 

 supply the whole of the steel required for the bridge, and that 

 their right was not qualified or affected by the statement that 

 the estimated quantity which would be required was under- 

 stood to be 30,000 tons, more or less. (As to the meaning of 

 a " complete installation," see Chap. XIX., 3, post ; and as 

 to time of completion, see Chap. XIII., 4, post.) 



28. Deviations from the contract and extras. The work 

 required to be done and set forth in the specification is rarely 

 completed in the manner provided for in the contract. There 

 may be deviations or extras. The employer may change his 

 mind in the course of the job, with the result that an additional 

 burden is thrown upon the contractor. Again, it may turn 

 out that there are unforeseen difficulties which materially 

 increase the burden thrown on the contractor. In these 

 circumstances the question must necessarily arise as to how 



L.A.E. G 



