Background Art In many countries, including Australia, guard rail systems or perimeter scaffolding are required by law to be positioned on a building before final roofing operations commence. The guard rail system provides a fall arrest, and optionally can provide a working platform to assist in the roofing procedure.

Guard rail systems are known where a laterally extending member (to which a post and rail assembly is attached) is mounted to rafters of the roof. However, such systems are cumbersome when roofing is required to be attached to the rafter at the point where the guard rail is attached.

Summary of the Invention In a first aspect the present invention provides a bracket for a rail system, the bracket being adapted for positioning on a wall of the building. Thus, the bracket can be positioned on the wall even prior to the roof framework being constructed.

Preferably the bracket is an elongate member having opposing first and second ends, with the first end being adapted for location on a top plate of the wall. In this regard, the first end can be an adjustable hook that sits on the plate and hooks over an inner side thereof. The

adjustability of the hook enables a wide variety of wall thicknesses to be accommodated.

When the wall is of the type having an inner and outer wall, with a cavity therebetween, the first end is preferably adapted for location on the top plate of the inner wall. In such an arrangement, the member is preferably bent intermediate its ends to enable the member to span from the outer wall to the inner wall.

Preferably the second end of the member is adapted for engaging an outer facing surface of the wall. In this regard, the adaptation of the second end preferably includes a pin that is slidable in a hole in the second end and adapted to be fastened against sliding therein, with a flat plate attached to one end of the pin that sits flat against the outer surface of the wall in use.

In a second type of bracket according to the invention, the bracket is preferably adapted for being attached solely to an outer surface of the wall. In this regard, the bracket can be attached to the outer surface of the wall via one or more cavity bolts held in respective cavities formed in the wall. In either case, the bracket can be attached readily to a wall of the building to enable, for example, subsequent ease of roofing.

In a second aspect of the invention, a rail apparatus is provided wherein one end of a cantilever arm is supported on a bracket according to the first aspect of the invention. The cantilever arm can extend laterally therefrom and in a manner that enables a post to be arranged thereupon. The cantilever arm can provide the basis for a user performing a variety of building functions (eg. roofing, painting, attachment of subsequent structures to roofs etc).

When the walls support a roof frame, the cantilever arm preferably extends beyond the extremity of the roof frame so that the post can be positioned to stand up beyond an adjacent section of the roof frame.

Preferably said one end of the cavity arm includes a

sleeve through which the bracket extends, the sleeve being slidable along the bracket and fastenable thereto at a plurality of positions to thereby enable the height of the cavity arm above the ground to be adjusted. Thus, a wide variety of roof frame types can be accommodated.

Preferably the post is supported on the cavity arm to be slidably mounted thereto for sliding movement therealong. In this regard, a lower end of the post can include a sleeve through which the arm extends so that the sleeve can be slid along the arm to move the post closer to or further from the wall. Again, this enables a wide variety of roof types and configurations to be accommodated by the rail apparatus. The post is preferably adapted for supporting one or more rails thereon.

In the second mode of the first aspect described above, the cantilever arm preferably constitutes the bracket so that, instead, said one end of the cantilever arm is attached to the outer surface of the wall.

In a third aspect of the invention, a rail mounting system includes two or more rail apparatus as defined above for the second aspect. Preferably such apparatus are mounted along one or more walls of a building, more preferably completely around the perimeter of the building. In such a system, one or more rails can be mounted to extend between adjacent posts of adjacent rail apparatus, as can platform sections be mounted to extend between cantilever arms etc.

Brief Description of the Drawings Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within the scope of the present invention, preferred forms of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a rail mounting system according to the invention when attached to a brick veneer wall arrangement;

Figure 2 shows a similar side elevation to Figure 1, but with a different roof pitch; Figure 3 shows a similar arrangement to Figure 1, but where the system is attached to a double brick wall configuration; Figure 4 shows a similar view to Figure 1, but where the system is attached to a single wall configuration, such as a weatherboard wall; and Figure 5 shows a side elevation of an alternative rail mounting system according to the invention.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention Referring to Figure 1, a bracket for a railing system is shown in the form of hanger member 10. The hanger has an adjustable hook formation 12 arranged at one end and an adjustable plate formation 14 arranged at the opposite end.

The hook formation hooks over the top plate 16 of inner stud wall 17, and can be adjusted to accommodate varying widths of top plates by sliding it within hanger sleeve 18. The hook formation can be locked against sliding in the sleeve by a conventional pin and hole arrangement 19.

The adjustable plate formation 14 abuts at brick wall 20, and pin 22 of the plate formation is slidable within a bracket 24, which in turn extends from hanger straight section 26. Thus, the spacing of the hanger away from the brick wall can also be adjusted.

The hanger is bent intermediate its end at bend 28 to enable it to span from the outer face of brick wall 20 to the inside face of stud wall 17. Furthermore, the hanger can be positioned on the top plate 16 between adjacent roof rafters 30 and ceiling rafters 32.

Extending laterally out from the hanger member and mounted thereto is a cantilever arm in the form of support 34. The support is mounted to the hanger for sliding therealong via support sleeve 36. The position of the sleeve along the hanger is fixed by conventional

pin and hole arrangement 38.

Mounted to and extending upwardly from the support 34 is post 40. The post has a sleeve 42 attached to its lower end that is slidable along support 34, with the support passing through the sleeve. Again, the position of the sleeve along support 34 can be fastened using conventional pin and hole arrangement 44. A top rail 46 and mid rail 48 are attached to the post using locking screws 50. The rails extend between a plurality of like posts on like rail apparatus units extending around the periphery of the building.

Also extending between adjacent posts is a kickboard 52 and platform boards 54. Thus, the arrangement as shown provides a safety rail system that a user can stand on to enable work on the roofing 60 to take place. The support 34 also extends sufficiently far so that when the post 40 is positioned as shown there is sufficient space between the post and gutter 62 attached to face plate 64 (ie. thereby enabling platform boards 54 to be laid).

Referring now to Figure 2, where like reference numerals are used to denote similar or like parts, the rail mounting system is shown when attached to a construction having a roof of a different pitch (eg. 150 pitch) . In this case, the support sleeve 36 has been slid upwardly along hanger straight section 26, and a longer post 40 has been employed. Furthermore, kickboard 52 has been positioned higher up on the post, and the employment of platform boards 54 has been omitted. Such an arrangement might be employed where the less severe slope of the roof represents less of a hazard.

Referring now to Figure 3, a similar roof mounting system to that shown in Figure 1 is detailed, but in this case inner stud wall 17 has been replaced by inner brick wall 70 (ie. the so-called "double brick" wall configuration).

As with Figure 2, the kickboard 52 has been moved higher up on a longer post 40, and platform boards 54 are not employed. This again is determined at the discretion

of the user and the ease and comfort requirements with the particular roofing configuration being worked upon.

Referring now to Figure 4, the hanger member 10 of Figures 1 to 3 has been replaced with a single straight hanger member 10'. This is because only a single wall 72 is employed, such as a stud wall for a weatherboard dwelling.

To ensure that plate 14 does not move with the straight hanger configuration, it is secured to the stud wall via a pair of screws 74.

Referring now to Figure 5, a configuration is shown that can be used where it is either inappropriate or difficult to attach a hook formation to the top plate of a wall. A modified support 34' is employed that, in fact, constitutes the hanger member. Support 34' is attached to a wall 80 by fastening bolts or screws 82 (eg. cavity bolts). The bolts or screws are attached in a suitable manner to plate 84 of support 34'.

The arrangement of Figure 5 can be employed in any location up or down a wall, and can also be used as the basis for scaffolding for painting, window fitting, roofing etc.

The hook formation shown in Figures 1 to 4 can also be a clamp formation, clamping on either side of top plate 16. Of course, in place of the hook formation, the hanger can be attached in any other suitable manner (eg.

by bolting, screwing etc).

Typically, most of the components are formed from mild steel or other suitable metal for strength and durability.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to a number of preferred embodiments, it should be appreciated that the invention can be embodied in many other forms.