My front door will not close and lock properly.

When I try to lift the handle to engage the locking mechanism the top bolt
shown here in the closed position will not move properly

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=339or53&s=5

This bolt will not move into the locked position as shown here

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=axxyxk&s=5

unless if I apply a small upwards force on the bolt when lifting the handle
(which is not possible when the door is closed) or use brute force on the
door handle.


Any ideas?

I have managed to shut and lock the door shut tonight using force but it
will need repairing ASAP.

Adam

In article ,
"ARWadsworth" wrote:
My front door will not close and lock properly.

When I try to lift the handle to engage the locking mechanism the top bolt
shown here in the closed position will not move properly

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=339or53&s=5

This bolt will not move into the locked position as shown here

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=axxyxk&s=5

unless if I apply a small upwards force on the bolt when lifting the handle
(which is not possible when the door is closed) or use brute force on the
door handle.


Any ideas?

I have managed to shut and lock the door shut tonight using force but it
will need repairing ASAP.

Adam

Sound like the door has dropped. Can you adjust the hinges to move it
back up a little, using a wedge at the bottom to support the weight, so
the bolt isn't catching on the bottom of the lock mortice?
Alternatively, how about putting a chamfer on the bottom of the bolt so
it will pull the door up when the bolt is pushed into the mortice (or
extend the mortace down...)?

A bit if a temporary fix though since it won't be fixing the real
problem, which I hope is just a little wear in the hinges or simply that
the door has dropped on it's adjusters and can be tweaked back up again.

--
John W
To mail me replace the obvious with co.uk twice

"John Weston" wrote in message
.. .
In article ,
"ARWadsworth" wrote:
My front door will not close and lock properly.

When I try to lift the handle to engage the locking mechanism the top
bolt
shown here in the closed position will not move properly

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=339or53&s=5

This bolt will not move into the locked position as shown here

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=axxyxk&s=5

unless if I apply a small upwards force on the bolt when lifting the
handle
(which is not possible when the door is closed) or use brute force on the
door handle.


Any ideas?

I have managed to shut and lock the door shut tonight using force but it
will need repairing ASAP.

Adam

Sound like the door has dropped. Can you adjust the hinges to move it
back up a little, using a wedge at the bottom to support the weight, so
the bolt isn't catching on the bottom of the lock mortice?
Alternatively, how about putting a chamfer on the bottom of the bolt so
it will pull the door up when the bolt is pushed into the mortice (or
extend the mortace down...)?

A bit if a temporary fix though since it won't be fixing the real
problem, which I hope is just a little wear in the hinges or simply that
the door has dropped on it's adjusters and can be tweaked back up again.

--


100% not a hinge problem.

It is the bolt shown in the photo that is sticking for some reason. Even
when the door is open (as shown in the photo) the top bolt will only
lock/move if I apply a small amount of upward pressure to it or use a lot of
force on the door handle.

The door is probably 20 years old.

Adam

ARWadsworth coughed up some electrons that declared:


"John Weston" wrote in message
.. .
In article ,
"ARWadsworth" wrote:
My front door will not close and lock properly.

When I try to lift the handle to engage the locking mechanism the top
bolt
shown here in the closed position will not move properly

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=339or53&s=5

This bolt will not move into the locked position as shown here

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=axxyxk&s=5

unless if I apply a small upwards force on the bolt when lifting the
handle
(which is not possible when the door is closed) or use brute force on
the door handle.


Any ideas?

I have managed to shut and lock the door shut tonight using force but it
will need repairing ASAP.

Adam

Sound like the door has dropped. Can you adjust the hinges to move it
back up a little, using a wedge at the bottom to support the weight, so
the bolt isn't catching on the bottom of the lock mortice?
Alternatively, how about putting a chamfer on the bottom of the bolt so
it will pull the door up when the bolt is pushed into the mortice (or
extend the mortace down...)?

A bit if a temporary fix though since it won't be fixing the real
problem, which I hope is just a little wear in the hinges or simply that
the door has dropped on it's adjusters and can be tweaked back up again.

--


100% not a hinge problem.

It is the bolt shown in the photo that is sticking for some reason. Even
when the door is open (as shown in the photo) the top bolt will only
lock/move if I apply a small amount of upward pressure to it or use a lot
of force on the door handle.

The door is probably 20 years old.

Adam

Hi,

I had to tweak our front door a while back - one of the plates on the frame
had slipped. Wonder if that has happenened - or the opposite: the bolt has
worn, become looser and dropped. Does the plate the bolt engages with have
any adjustment?

Cheers

Tim

ARWadsworth wrote:
"John Weston" wrote in message
.. .
In article ,
"ARWadsworth" wrote:
My front door will not close and lock properly.

When I try to lift the handle to engage the locking mechanism the
top bolt
shown here in the closed position will not move properly

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=339or53&s=5

This bolt will not move into the locked position as shown here

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=axxyxk&s=5

unless if I apply a small upwards force on the bolt when lifting the
handle
(which is not possible when the door is closed) or use brute force
on the door handle.


Any ideas?

I have managed to shut and lock the door shut tonight using force
but it will need repairing ASAP.

Adam

Sound like the door has dropped. Can you adjust the hinges to move it
back up a little, using a wedge at the bottom to support the weight,
so the bolt isn't catching on the bottom of the lock mortice?
Alternatively, how about putting a chamfer on the bottom of the bolt
so it will pull the door up when the bolt is pushed into the mortice
(or extend the mortace down...)?

A bit if a temporary fix though since it won't be fixing the real
problem, which I hope is just a little wear in the hinges or simply
that the door has dropped on it's adjusters and can be tweaked back
up again. --


100% not a hinge problem.

It is the bolt shown in the photo that is sticking for some reason.
Even when the door is open (as shown in the photo) the top bolt will
only lock/move if I apply a small amount of upward pressure to it or
use a lot of force on the door handle.

The door is probably 20 years old.

Has the frame moved?

"Tim S" wrote in message
...
ARWadsworth coughed up some electrons that declared:


"John Weston" wrote in message
.. .
In article ,
"ARWadsworth" wrote:
My front door will not close and lock properly.

When I try to lift the handle to engage the locking mechanism the top
bolt
shown here in the closed position will not move properly

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=339or53&s=5

This bolt will not move into the locked position as shown here

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=axxyxk&s=5

unless if I apply a small upwards force on the bolt when lifting the
handle
(which is not possible when the door is closed) or use brute force on
the door handle.


Any ideas?

I have managed to shut and lock the door shut tonight using force but
it
will need repairing ASAP.

Adam

Sound like the door has dropped. Can you adjust the hinges to move it
back up a little, using a wedge at the bottom to support the weight, so
the bolt isn't catching on the bottom of the lock mortice?
Alternatively, how about putting a chamfer on the bottom of the bolt so
it will pull the door up when the bolt is pushed into the mortice (or
extend the mortace down...)?

A bit if a temporary fix though since it won't be fixing the real
problem, which I hope is just a little wear in the hinges or simply that
the door has dropped on it's adjusters and can be tweaked back up again.

--


100% not a hinge problem.

It is the bolt shown in the photo that is sticking for some reason. Even
when the door is open (as shown in the photo) the top bolt will only
lock/move if I apply a small amount of upward pressure to it or use a lot
of force on the door handle.

The door is probably 20 years old.

Adam

Hi,

I had to tweak our front door a while back - one of the plates on the
frame
had slipped. Wonder if that has happenened - or the opposite: the bolt has
worn, become looser and dropped. Does the plate the bolt engages with have
any adjustment?

Cheers

Tim

I cannot get the handle to lift even when the door is not in the door frame.
It has got to be part of the door locking mechanism that has dropped or
worn.

Adam