Method of adjustably mounting a fence rail to a fence post

Abstract

A method of mounting a rail to a fence post including the steps of securing a fence rail mounting clip that includes a rail connector and a bracket to a side wall of a vertical fence post, determining a desired angle at which to mount the fence rail onto the fence post, moving the rail connector along an outer wall of the bracket so as to align an aperture in a rear wall of the rail connector with one of a plurality of angle-indicating characters disposed on the outer wall of the bracket, securing the rear wall and the outer wall together, and inserting a rail into a rail receiving receptacle on the rail connector.

1 . A method of mounting a rail to a fence post, said method comprising the steps of: 
 securing a fence rail mounting clip, having a rail connector and a bracket, to a side wall of a vertical fence post;    determining a desired angle at which to mount the fence rail onto the fence post;    moving the rail connector along an outer wall of the bracket so as to align an aperture in a rear wall of the rail connector with one of a plurality of angle-indicating characters disposed on the outer wall of the bracket;    securing the rear wall and the outer wall together; and    inserting a rail into a rail receiving receptacle on the rail connector.    
   
   
       2 . The method of mounting a rail as defined in  claim 1 , further comprising the step of securing at least one fastener through both of the rail and a peripheral wall of the rail receiving receptacle.  
   
   
       3 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the step of moving the rail connector further comprises sliding the rail connector along the outer wall.  
   
   
       4 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the step of moving a rail connector on the mounting clip further includes the prior step of interlocking a lip on one of the rail connector and the bracket into a groove formed in the other of the rail connector and the bracket.  
   
   
       5 . The method as defined in  claim 4 , further comprising the step of sliding the interlocked rail connector in an arc along the outer wall of the bracket.  
   
   
       6 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the step of aligning the aperture further comprises aligning the aperture with one of the plurality of angle-indicating characters selected from a first group of characters consisting of numbers, colors, words, symbols and dimples which are provided on the outer wall of the bracket.  
   
   
       7 . The method as defined in  claim 6 , wherein the step of aligning the aperture further includes the step of aligning a second aperture in the rear wall of the rail connector with a second one of the plurality of characters provided on the outer wall of the bracket; and wherein the second one of the characters is selected from a second group of characters consisting of numbers, colors, words, symbols and dimples that are provided on the outer wall of the bracket a spaced distance from the first group of characters.  
   
   
       8 . The method as defined in  claim 7 , wherein the step of moving the rail connector further includes moving the rail connector in one of a first and a second direction; where movement in the first direction is undertaken to align the first aperture with the first one of the selected characters; and movement in the second direction is undertaken to align the second aperture with the second one of the selected characters.  
   
   
       9 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the step of securing the fence rail mounting clip to the fence post includes: 
 fixedly securing a first portion of the bracket to the fence post using one or more fasteners; and    sliding a second portion of the bracket vertically over the first portion thereof to interlockingly engage the first and second bracket portions together.    
   
   
       10 . The method as defined in  claim 9 , wherein the step of securing the fence rail mounting clip to the fence post further includes the step of mounting the bracket onto the fence post so that the outer wall thereof is substantially parallel to a vertical axis of the fence post; whereby the movement of the rail connector on the outer wall is substantially parallel to the vertical axis.  
   
   
       11 . The method as defined in  claim 9 , wherein the step of securing the fence rail mounting clip to the fence post further includes the step of mounting the bracket onto the fence post so that the outer wall thereof is substantially perpendicular to a vertical axis of the fence post; whereby the movement of the rail connector on the outer wall is substantially perpendicular to the vertical axis.  
   
   
       12 . The method as defined in  claim 9 , wherein the step of securing the fence rail mounting clip to the fence post further includes the step of mounting the bracket onto the fence post so that the outer wall thereof is oriented at an angle to a vertical axis of the fence post; whereby the movement of the rail connector on the outer wall is substantially at the same angle to the vertical axis.  
   
   
       13 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the step of securing the rear wall and outer wall together comprises the steps of inserting at least one fastener through both of the rear wall and outer wall.