Hi,
Maybe someone can help me out… I have a door that won’t stay closed. Actually you can close it but it takes only a little pressure to open without having to turn the door knob. You just press against it and voila the door opens. So now I can’t keep my dog out of my room. She has learned to push against the door to open it.
The door knob was positioned incorrectly. Not sure what the standards are but I’m sure instructions come with the knob to show how it’s supposed to be fitted. The hole wasn’t centered.
Easier to show you than try and explain in words. I will post pictures later when I have a chance to upload them to my hard drive.
I tried placing a cardboard shim behind the strike plate because I don’t think the latch is making good contact due to the door knob being too far positioned away from the edge of the door. The strike plate is probably positioned a little lower than it should be. I also made the hole on the strike plate side of the door deeper thinking that might fix the problem. It didn’t.
wanda
Replies
This is usually caused by the strike plate (and the hole behind it) not being in alignment with the latch when the door is closed, so the latch doesn't go into the hole in the strike plate. You can usually reset the strike plate (perhaps requiring that you also enlarge the hole a bit) pretty easily, moving it up, down or out as needed. A screwdriver and a sharp chisel is pretty much all you'll need.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Everything fits, until you put glue on it.
also check that the part that goes into the strike plate is oriented in the right direction.
With the door in the open position--Does the latch extend at least 1/2" out from the door edge? If the answer is yes, then you need to align your strike with the latch. If the answer is no, then--as you mentioned--the knob may be too far away from the door edge. This is called 'backset' and it should be either 2 3/8" or 2 3/4" If it's anything in between, then the latch is in stress and it may not operate freely.
Hi guys,
Yes, the latch extends that far when the door is open. I think it's the strike plate that I will have to move down.
I will sharpen up my chisel tomorrow and try that.
wanda
Here's what I do to check the position of the strike plate...
close the door until the the latch just touches the strike plate. Make a mark on the strike plate that corresponds to the center of the latch (alternatively, you could mark the position of the top and bottom of the latch). Now open the door and look where the mark is in reference to the hole in the strike plate. It should be pretty obvious which way, and how much, the strike plate needs to move.
Setting the depth can be a little trickier. One technique I've used is to close the door and slip a piece of stiff paper between the door and jamb until it hits the latch. Then, holding the paper in position, open the door, wrap the paper back around the jamb and note where it ends. Set the strike plate slightly further from the stop molding than this point. Better too far than not far enough, especially for an interior door where a little too loose is preferable to too tight.
If the strike needs to be moved down, it's likely that the door has sagged. You can do any of the following:-- Put cardboard shims behind the bottom hinge.-- Put a long screw (about 4") into one of the holes of the top hinge and tighten it up good, to pull the top of the jamb back vertical (on the assumption that it's sagged outward over time).-- Swap top and bottom hinges (on the assumption that the hinges have bent over time).-- Stick something like a 1/4" bolt into the bottom hinge as you're closing it, and push fairly hard to force the door closed. This bends the hinge slightly and helps "lift" the door.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
What ya bet when the new floor was finally installed, some undercut jamb wasn't cut enough and the floor jacked up the strike side?Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
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Hi guys,
I didn't get around to tackling the door problem today and tomorrow I'll be busy cooking a ham dinner and watching football. Maybe get around to it on Monday.
Have a look at these pics. If you look closely you will see how far out the top of the door is from the door stop. Either the door warped or the door stop wasn't straight when it was put in. Nothing is square in this house! Note the position of the door latch and the doorknob. Notice how close it is to the glass... it should be closer to the edge of the door.
wanda
Strike is too high, looks like it always was. Then someone whittled on IT instead of lowering it. Now if you lower it the screw will be in the strike hole and not wood. Some serious patching is in order.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
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The lockset backset (sounds funny) is a function of the lock. It cannot be altered, so it was not installed incorrectly. Either 2 3/8" or 2 3/4" to center from edge of door. It does looks close to the glass, maybe the door was altered somehow.Buy a new latch and throw that one away. It would be interesting to see a picture of the top of the door to see if the space between the door and jamb are way uneven. As was said, strike was always in the wrong position, unless the door has been settling. Either way jamb must be patched for a new strike.John
Ok, so how does one go about patching the jam
Wanda
I believe there is as jumbo strike made for this situation. Extra tall so that you can adjust the hole and still have solid wood to screw to. Would eliminate the patching and make things much simpler for you.JohnTried to look on line but I struck out (no pun). Local hardware store best bet.
Like this? Noticed them (in brass) the last time I was browsing at Ace.
http://www.acehardware.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=door%20strike%20plate&origkw=door%20strike%20plate&sr=1
Hi Jim,
Definitely worth searching for at Home Depot maybe they have something like that.
wanda
Hi John,
Yes, Absolutely I would definitely say they are out of whack! so if the door stops (those strips of wood on the top and side of the jam which prevent the door from swinging in and out) are straight.. I'm assuming they are. That means the door must have warped over time.. how else can you explain why the door isn't making full contact with the door stops. Top right hand corner the edge of the door facing you as you enter the room is 1/2" away from the door stop.
"the space between the door and jamb are way uneven." You bet they are!
wanda
Can't tell from the picture: If you close the door and along the top on the in-swinging side of the door, is the gap along the top uniform, or does it start out narrow at the hinge side and get wider towards the latch side?
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
Hi Dan,
I just went downstairs to check.. if you close the door and site across the top you will notice that the top of the door doesn't make contact with the door stop all the way across from left to right. (that stip of wood up top and the strip coming down the side. There is a 1/2" gap between the front edge of the door and the door stop (nearest the door jam) rt hand side of the door.
Not sure if I'm making myself clear or not but it's difficult to explain in words.
Just picture the door stops on the top of the jam and on the side of the jam.. when the door is closed the door should make contact with those strips of wood.. they are not.. I'm willing to bet that if I checked that door opeining with my carpenter square it would be out of whack.
wanda
Hard to capture with the camera.
Edited 10/25/2009 1:04 pm by Wanda200
You didn't say whether the right-hand side (where there's more gap) is the hinge side of the latch side.I'll presume it's on the latch side. Also, I'll presume that the door isn't rubbing against the jamb (at least not much) on latch edge near the top.If this is all true then most likely the door frame is not square. It may not have been installed square, or it may have sagged over time (or a bit of both). In any event, the only real solution is to remove the trim on one side, remove whatever fasteners are holding the frame (after taking out the door), and remount the frame square. It may be that you can figure out which side needs to move which way (hint, look at paint lines above the top trim to see if the hing side has slipped down) and only need to detach and re-attach one side.It's important when re-fastening the frame to use adequate shims. If the rough opening is way oversized (roughly an inch gap or more gap between jamb and rough framing) you should remove the entire frame and shim out the opening with plywood (or 3/4 stock, eg) for its full length. For narrower gaps, pieces of plywood are good, leaving the wedge shims to make up the last 1/4-3/8". Then use adequate fasteners. The frame may have just been attached through the trim, but you need fasteners through the frame itself into the rough framing on both sides. "Trim screws" are a good choice for this on the latch side. On the hinge side you can remove the hinge plates and drive flat-head screws behind them into the rough framing. Then, when installing the hinge plates again, replace a couple of the screws of the top hinge (and maybe one on the bottom) with long screws that will reach into the rough frame as well.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
Dan,
I think I'll try just patching the jam where the strike is or else find a larger strike plate.
My god! I don't want to get into removing the frame.
wanda
You might want to see if you can get a pry bar under the hinge side of the frame, and, if so, whether it will pry up at all. If so you can do the trick of removing the hinge screws, prying up, then installing longer screws.Re the strike plate, a locksmith will have a collection of larger strikes. I've got ones on our two front/side doors that are adjustable, in addition to having a "tall" opening. You would need to mortise out for the larger plate, but that's more a matter of patience rather than skill, and, though a chisel or three is nice, you can do it with a utility knife if you have to.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
HI Dan,
I took a closer look at the hinge side of the door and checked for square. The door is out of square but nothing major. I noticed the bottom hinge is missing a screw. (3 holes and only 2 screws) Not sure if that's such a big deal or not. I was thinking of shimming the bottom hinge to try and bring the door up. That might just put the latch at the right level with the strike plate. Otherwise I will try and find a longer strike plate and moritise out the jam for that. If all else fails I wiill make a patch on the jam side.
wanda
Yeah, that could have happened too. But a simple sagged door is much more common.Thing is, it's pretty hard to diagnose remotely.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
Could be a half-dozed different causes for your problem. First you need to see if the latch is lined up properly with the strike plate (and make sure that the wood behind the strike plate opening has been completely hollowed out).
Then you need to verify that the latch bolt is actually getting into the strike plate hole deep enough. First try tugging up/down/in/out on the doorknob to see if any sort of manipulation will make the door latch solidly. If you find a way that works, you need to move the strike plate in the appropriate direction (or shim hinges, if the door has sagged).
If, as you suspect, the bolt is simply not extending far enough to latch, check that it's extending fully. (Ie, can you grab hold of it and pull it out farther?) If not extending fully, a spray of a lubricant such as TriFlow (spray lube containing Teflon) will often fix it. (WD40 is not a very good lubricant for locks and latches.) If that effort fails you'll have to disassemble the unit to figure out what's catching.
If the bolt is fully extending, then you need to move the latch and strike closer to each other, either by moving the door (eg, shims behind the hinges) or by moving the strike. An inelegant way to fix this problem is to bend the outside edge of the strike plate out a bit. The most elegant fix is to remove the door trim and shim at the latch and/or hinges to achieve the needed movement.