Door Latch catches ...
 

Hi.

I've just got home from work today, and my door lock seems to be
catching for no apparant reason!?

What happens, is that the latch that would normally open when you pull
the handle down is sticking inside the actual door, so that when it is
pushed to, it cannot latch onto the door frame and shut to. I can push
at the top of the latch to make the latch come back out, but cannot
find any way of making it so that it doesn't do this. I've tightened
all the screws I can see (all on the outside of the door, as cannot
seem to get to any inside of the door), but it is still doing it.

Anyone any ideas on what I can do to fix this?

Cheers,

David

WD-40

On 7 Sep 2005 09:24:31 -0700, "David"
wrote:

Hi.

I've just got home from work today, and my door lock seems to be
catching for no apparant reason!?

What happens, is that the latch that would normally open when you pull
the handle down is sticking inside the actual door, so that when it is
pushed to, it cannot latch onto the door frame and shut to. I can push
at the top of the latch to make the latch come back out, but cannot
find any way of making it so that it doesn't do this. I've tightened
all the screws I can see (all on the outside of the door, as cannot
seem to get to any inside of the door), but it is still doing it.

Anyone any ideas on what I can do to fix this?

Cheers,

David

David wrote:
Hi.

I've just got home from work today, and my door lock seems to be
catching for no apparant reason!?

What happens, is that the latch that would normally open when you pull
the handle down is sticking inside the actual door, so that when it is
pushed to, it cannot latch onto the door frame and shut to. I can push
at the top of the latch to make the latch come back out, but cannot
find any way of making it so that it doesn't do this. I've tightened
all the screws I can see (all on the outside of the door, as cannot
seem to get to any inside of the door), but it is still doing it.

Anyone any ideas on what I can do to fix this?

WD40 could help, better yet graphite.

If a little lubrication doesn't fix it you may have to remove the lock
and find out why the latch is sticking. Would help if you say brand and
model of the lock or pick a look alike from Google Images

David wrote:
Hi.

I've just got home from work today, and my door lock seems to be
catching for no apparant reason!?

What happens, is that the latch that would normally open when you pull
the handle down is sticking inside the actual door, so that when it is
pushed to, it cannot latch onto the door frame and shut to. I can push
at the top of the latch to make the latch come back out, but cannot
find any way of making it so that it doesn't do this. I've tightened
all the screws I can see (all on the outside of the door, as cannot
seem to get to any inside of the door), but it is still doing it.

Anyone any ideas on what I can do to fix this?

Cheers,

David


Yep, start with lube--graphite or molybdenum
disulfide. If that doesn't work then look at the
mechanism. Start with the screws that hold the
plates (screws should be on the in-house side of
the door). Loosen them and move the plates a bit
to see if that helps. If not, open the door, lock
the door, and remove the screws and the plates so
you can actually see the latch mechanism. Could
be something just doesn't get lube or could be
that it is broken. Good Luck

On 7 Sep 2005 09:24:31 -0700, "David"
wrote:

Hi.

I've just got home from work today, and my door lock seems to be
catching for no apparant reason!?

What happens, is that the latch that would normally open when you pull
the handle down is sticking inside the actual door, so that when it is
pushed to, it cannot latch onto the door frame and shut to. I can push
at the top of the latch to make the latch come back out, but cannot
find any way of making it so that it doesn't do this. I've tightened
all the screws I can see (all on the outside of the door, as cannot
seem to get to any inside of the door), but it is still doing it.

Anyone any ideas on what I can do to fix this?

Cheers,

David

Besides lubing it, consider the possibility that its just worn out and
needs to be replaced. I've worn out several outside door latch
mechanisms (cheap kwiksets that came with the house). They are cheap
and easy to replace.