Mrs Bonk wrote...

On 03/05/2013 10:38, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Mrs Bonk writes:
I have French doors and get the same. I work afternoons and dare not
open the doors in the morning as the sun hits them then I can't lock the
door to go to work.
On mine it is the bolt on the one door hitting the lock hole in the
central bit. I removed the offending brass section housing the "hole"
I still have two working bolts ( this probably voids my insurance)
I have the same on the back door this time I had to remove two brass
housing strips ( dunno the correct name) I fitted two other security
bolts instead. I did intend to replace everything but moving it about
eighth of an inch however, did one which worked, then when the door
cools- it doesn't bolt lol. I did file one down and that worked but
couldn't file enough of the other one.

Check to see if the door has dropped by measuring the two diagonals
top to bottom corners. They should measure the same, and if they
don't, the door has dropped due to incorrectly fitting the glass
and/or panels in it, without healing/toeing them. Very common,
because the fitters often don't understand the process, and it takes
a while to fail after they've gone.
(Can also do the same check on the frame opening to make sure it's
square too.)

Thank you dear. my door is out of line. I came home one day to find
three small hardly noticeable indentations on the UPVC frame exactly
level with each bolt. Although my uninvited guests never managed to get
in the door has never been the same. Perhaps I should have claimed on
the insurance.
I did have a window and door man at the house once to try to level it
with the hinges and it was ok for a while, come winter I realised there
was a gap down the central part that let in a draught. I stuffed rags
in and tried myself to adjust things but it seems when one thing is
level another isn't. I cant be bothered with the fine tuning every few
days depending on weather. I did think to replace with wood but my new
shed door is wood and that sticks too.
Maybe patio doors would be better.

Reading this thread with some interest. The hinges should NEVER be used
for adjustment unless they have been "fiddled" with by an ignorant
fitter or worse still, DIYer. Sorry to be so blunt!

In the factory, the hinges are adjusted to centre the door in the frame
and the eccentric hinge pin is adjusted to give the correct pressure on
the door seal at the hinge side. The lock keeps are adjusted to the cams
on the lock mechanism.

If correctly fitted, there should be no problem. As has been stated
already, if the door is not "toed and healed" properly it will drop when
the plastic gets warm and cause binding on the lower end. If the keeps
and cams are not set correctly, cold and hot weather will cause binding.
The hinges are not the cause and should not be touched.

Frames can move and if they are not secured to the cavity properly they
will start to lean towards the lock side of the door, again causing
binding so, make sure the door frame is absolutely square and then check
the door against the frame. The overlap of the door on the frame must be
equal at all points and is usually 8-10mm. Once this is achieved, the
keeps and/or cams can be set. This should be done on a mild day and not
in full sun.

Thermal stability of modern PVCu is surprisingly good.
--
Ilene