Hansen

The cross-appeals involved herein are from a judgment establishing a balance due from the defendant, George F. Covell, to the plaintiffs, C. H. Hansen and Joseph C. Buchen, contractors under a building construction contract. The contractors sought to recover unpaid balances under the contract plus certain items of extras and damages alleged to be due from said defendant, who is the owner of the property involved. A cross-complaint was filed by Covell against the contractors alleging abandonment on the part of the contractors and the cost of completion by said defendant for which he sought recovery against the contractors and their surety. These two actions and three other actions to foreclose mechanics’ liens were consolidated for trial. The word “plaintiffs” used herein refers unless otherwdse noted, to the plaintiffs, the contractors Hansen and Buchen, and the word “defendant” refers to the defendant Covell, the owner.

On May 25, 1923, the plaintiffs and the defendant entered into a contract whereby the former agreed to construct, exclusive of the steel work on the real property of the latter situated in the city of Modesto, a four-story and basement hotel building, in…