On Jan 25, 6:22*pm, Steve wrote:
Joe wrote on 25 Jan 2008 in group alt.home.repair:



On Jan 25, 10:25*am, Steve wrote:
Mike wrote on 25 Jan 2008 in group
alt.home.repair:

One of the bedroom doors in my house is slightly bowed and the
door will not latch without giving it a good tug. *When I close
the door, the top and the bottom of the door make contact with the
door frame, meanwhile the middle part of the door near the door
knob is about 1/8" out and not latched. *I can give the door knob
a pull and it will latch and stay closed. *The door itself is a
run-of-the-mill 25 year old hollow interior door. *Short of
replacing the door, does anyone have any advice on making the door
close and latch easier?

Move the strike plate over an eighth of an inch.

1. Take off the strike plate.
2. Fill the old screw holes. I like to use toothpicks and wood glue.
If you use matches, don't put the head end in the hole. Pack the
hole as tightly as you can. Let the glue dry.
3. Drill new holes farther to the side. Drill small holes. The screw
threads need something to bite into.
4. Replace the strike plate.

You might have to make the big hole for the striker a little larger.
Use a

small chisel.

--
Steve B.
New Life Home Improvement

The no-hassle way of doing this is neater:
Stop by a local sheet metal shop. Buy a piece of 0.060" stainless
steel cutoff (might even be a freebie). At home, take off your old
strike plate and scribe the outline and screw holes on the SS piece.
Cut out the new strike plate blank, with your trusty hack saw. Drill
and countersink the screw holes exactly like the original. On the new
blank, scribe the latch opening 1/8" (or whatever) further back. Cut
out the opening, smooth, bend tab and trim as needed. Install new
strike plate in original screw holes. Close door, Retire to TV room
with a cold one and bask in the appreciative admiration of SWMBO.
Always works for me.

You and I have different defintions of "hassle", but that's OK. I'll
still be your friend :-)

--
Steve B.
New Life Home Improvement

Try it, you might like it. Actually works much better than trying to
move old wood screws fractions of an inch. Whatever, to each his own.
Cheers,

Joe