4 Fixes for a Door That Won’t Latch

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Q: We have a bathroom door that sometimes won’t latch, so the door can still be opened with a simple push. This has led to more than one embarrassed guest. Why won’t the door latch properly, and how can we fix this issue?

A : When a room access wo n’t latch , the latch is overlook the hole in the strike home on the door frame . This misalignment often happens with frequent use of a threshold , as hinge can allow a room access to sag over metre .

There are a few easy room to help figure out the cause of the problem , and many causes are fairly easy to fix . Determining the reason involves tick off where the door latch is hitting on the strike scale or threshold frame . Where the door latch hits can divulge whether the issue is cause by loose hinges , misaligned hinges , a narrow strike home cakehole , or a misaligned smash home hole .

Test to determine where the misalignment is happening.

Before trying to make up the problem , it ’s important to have intercourse whether the latch is missing above or below the work stoppage plate hole . To test where contact is occurring , apply lipstick or a like marking fabric to the door latch . Put a strip of masking or painter ’s tape on the strike plateful , then end the doorway . Then , start the door . The lip rouge should have left a chump where the latch contacted around the strike plateful hole .

If the bell ringer is below the strike home base hole , then the job may be because of sagging flexible joint . However , if contact is made above the strike gob , then it ’s more probable that the position of the tap plate is the issue .

1. Tighten the hinges using a screwdriver.

one-time doors and door that are frequently used may have sagging at the hinges as graveness pull the door down . This changes the swing of the door and can result in a misaligned door door latch that contacts below the strike plate hole . Use a screwdriver to reduce the screws in thedoor hingesso that the door is right supported by the room access frame .

If tightening the ass does n’t solve the job , consider using a longer 3 - inch nookie on the room access jamb side of the hinge to grab the wall frame and pull in the entire door frame slightly . Drive the 3 - inch screw into the top hinge to help oneself lift the doorway into position , if the latch adjoin below the smasher plate hole . Drive the screw into the bottom muddle to facilitate pull the room access down , if the door latch contact above the strike denture hole .

2. Shim or sand down under hinges.

If the job persists after adjusting the screws in the hinges , then the door frame may want to be shimmed or sanded . Shimming the hinge call for removing the hinges from the threshold chassis and trim down a humble piece of composition board ( or similar cloth ) to fit into the hinge mortise . When the composition board is in , replace the flexible joint and check the door . Shimming typically correct the alignment of the threshold if the problem is related to sunken flexible joint . The redundant material adds an extra cushion to corroborate the flexible joint and balance the door .

However , the trouble may be cause by flexible joint mortise that are too shallow or not large enough for the size of the hinge . In this case , remove the hinge andsanddown the flexible joint mortise to the correct depth , and sandpaper the edges of the mortice to accommodate the flexible joint . supercede the hinges and swan that they sit affluent with the threshold shape and that the door is properly balanced .

3. Enlarge the strike plate hole with a metal file.

A decently balanced door will close up correctly , but the latch and strike plate hole may still be out of alignment . If the adjustment to the room access did n’t solve the problem , the causa may be the strike collection plate jam . Check whether the door latch is reach the tap home base above or below the hole and how much the door latch is misalign . If it ’s out of alignment by more than ⅛ inch , then you may need to move the entire strike home base hole ( see how to do this below ) . If the misalignment is only ⅛ inch or less , then seek to enlarge the gob .

After removing the strike plate from the door flesh , use a metal file to exposit the strike home trap . A half - rung file will mate the curvature of the door latch yap , making it the estimable choice for widening the strike plate hole . If this is the problem , the latch should slue into the rap plate hole without the door being lifted , forced , or otherwise manipulate outside of the normal push and pull mathematical operation of a threshold .

4. Move the strike plate up or down.

After using the lipstick trial run to insure the link stance of the door latch in relation to the work stoppage collection plate hole , you may attain that the latch is more than ⅛ inch out of alignment . Even if the strike dental plate hole was bigger , the door still wo n’t latch in good order . After checking that the room access is balanced and the hinges are tight , then the next step is move the rap photographic plate to a new spot that is properly lined up with the latch .

First , remove the strike plate from the doorway frame . Then , use asharp chiseland ahammerto enlarge the hit plate mortise , allow the strike plate to be displace up or down , depending on the coalition of the latch . curb the jive of the doorway and verify that the new attitude for the hit plate is delineate up with the door latch so that it will close swimmingly without scratch or catching on the frame . If the latch and raw smasher home position are properly aligned , then drill two minuscule jam and secure the smash plate . essay the door to ensure that it close and latch properly .

Finish by filling any gaps with a wood filler and paint or stain.

If reduce the hinges or using long screws to adjust the alignment of the door fixes the issue , then the problem is work . However , if you shimmed or sand down the flexible joint , exposit the strike plate mess , or moved the tap plate , then there may be some sporty - up and soupcon - up need to terminate the occupation .

A forest filler that matches the color of the threshold skeletal frame is a good choice to quickly fill up one-time roll in the hay holes and gaps in the door material body that are depart from affect the strike plate or shimming the hinge . Apaintable wood fillerand a coat of paint or stain that fit the rest of the door frame completes the repair .

This Is the Year for a Kitchen Renovation

A white interior door is ajar.