Small changes can be made by removing the strike plate and then filing the metal to enlarge the opening enough to allow the latch to engage. Inspect the strike plate on the edge of the door frame, a latch bolt that sticks in the strike often leaves marks or scrapes on the strike plate. It may be above or below the centerline of the strike plate depending on how your house has settled.įor this type of problem, and depending on the severity of the misalignment, there are two possibly ways to repair the issue. If you carefully look at the door from the hinge side when it is almost closed, you can see how the latch aligns with the strike plate. The changes in the door frame may be causing the door latch to hit the strike plate rather than entering the hole in the plate, preventing the lock from working properly. It happens because the foundation is settling and the wood framing is drying out. This is a problem that is typical to new homes. The home is fairly new is there a way to fix this? The deadbolt works, but the latch doesn’t seem to catch all the time. If these suggestions do not remedy your door swelling problems consider bringing in a professional carpenter to assist you. If the door continues to rub, try sanding the edges of the door. Also try tightening and cleaning the hinges and removing any buildup of dirt along the door edges, then see if adjusting the hinges will alleviate the problem. You may need to adjust the size of the door to fit the entryway. It could also be water damage to the wood, which would make the wood expand. The hinge screws may need tightening, otherwise check the door jam make sure it is flush with the door frame. Other factors, such as loose hinges, can make it difficult to open or close a door. The seasonal changes could cause wooden doors to expand and contract, resulting in a warped or swelling door, and any small changes in the alignment of door jams can cause doors to stick. It looks like the wood in the door frame has expanded and is rubbing against the door.Įntry doors have to withstand outdoor elements of rain, wind and changing temperatures, as well as the wear and tear of everyday life. Lately my front door is hard to open and close. If the bolt is out of alignment, the frame may have to be adjusted by installing longer screws in the hinges or putting in additional finish nails to reset or reposition the jam. Look carefully around the strike plates and bolt and see if there is a misalignment. Therefore, you may need to make simple adjustments to ensure your entry door is still aligned and plumb in the doorway and can easily open and shut. Either of these two issues, or a combination of the two, will have an impact on the door lock’s operation. In order to determine what is causing the issue, you need to look at the door to see if it is warped or if it does not hang square in the frame. Since the lock worked well before, we will assume that it was installed correctly. Therefore, it is very critical that the small opening in the metal keeper plate attached to the door jam and the latch match up almost perfectly. If you have ever installed a door lock, you’ve noticed that the latch or bolt mechanism moves in and out with a fairly close tolerance and it does not move much sideways as it slides in and out. Any small changes in the alignment of door jams can cause doors and locks to misalign and can often give us a hard time in diagnosing. This could be related to poor workmanship when the door locks were installed, or related to the house gradually settling over time or wear and tear. There are many reasons why door locks begin to stick and become hard to operate. I did not have this problem before is the lock worn out or do I have another issue? Turning the deadbolt door lock is hard and will not turn all of the way. This blog post is meant to provide answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to common problems that owners experience with residential entry doors. Many times after diagnosing what we think is a door hardware problem, we only to find that the problem is with the door and/or door frame, not the lock itself.
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