On 11/1/2008 11:32 AM badgolferman spake thus:

The front door is hard to lock sometimes. You must push the door
strongly to get the deadbolt into the hole. The mechanism turns easily
when not attempting to lock the door.

The deadbolt strike (?) needs to be closer inside to line up with the
door latch but that requires mitering and digging out the hole more. I
moved the latch strike (?) more in line with the deadbolt but then it
doesn't catch the latch when door is shut.

What's involved in fixing this properly without damaging the

Although your post appears to be incomplete and is a little confusing, I
think I get it that your deadbolt is misaligned with its strike, or the
door latch with its strike, or both.

Whatever is the case, it's a matter of moving the strike to line up with
the bolt or latch, as you guessed. Having done this many times, I can
tell you it's sometimes a messy job, the problem being that you may need
to move the strike to a place where it's hard to get a screw into the
jamb, if you move it on top of an existing hole.

First thing is to figure out where the strike needs to go. Sight the
bolt or latch as you close the door and mark its position on the jamb.
Hint: masking tape can come in handy here as a marker. Measure from the
back of the door to the front of the bolt/latch to determine how far
back in the jamb the strike should go. Mark the new position carefully
on the jamb (again, tape is an easy way to do this).

Couple of tricks he

o If you need to move it just a fraction of an inch, you may need to
fill the old screw holes and drill new ones close by. To do this, get
some white glue (any kind, no need for "carpenter's glue" or whatever)
and some slivers of wood or toothpicks. Fill the old holes with glue and
drive in the slivers or toothpicks. Let dry, then drill the new holes.

o Ditto for the bolt/latch hole: if it turns out you need to move the
strike so that the screw goes into the hole for the bolt or latch, you
may need to fill it. Cut a small block of wood to fit into the hole,
then glue it in. It doesn't need to fit precisely, but its top should be
level with the recess for the strike.

When you have the holes filled and drilled, then you can chisel out a
new mortise for the strike's new position. Screw it in, then you're good
to go.


--
Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the
powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.

- Paulo Freire