Hi,

I have something like this:
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Safe.../sd2611/p26987

in my doors. The doors have closed and opened fine until now, so I
think they have been fitted properly but lately the doors have been
"sticky". At first I thought the damp weather had made the doors swell
but after really battling to open the door last night, I found that
when the handles are pulled down, the latch does not fully retract
into the body. The couple of millimetres that remain proud are enough
to retain the door.

Does whatever is inside wear out with age and have this failure mode?
It seems a bit dangerous that the door can fail and lock you in! Or is
it just that you get what you pay for?

TIA

On 14 Oct, 09:13, Fred wrote:
Hi,

I have something like this:http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Safe...ortice+Latch+B...

in my doors. The doors have closed and opened fine until now, so I
think they have been fitted properly but lately the doors have been
"sticky". At first I thought the damp weather had made the doors swell
but after really battling to open the door last night, I found that
when the handles are pulled down, the latch does not fully retract
into the body. The couple of millimetres that remain proud are enough
to retain the door.

Does whatever is inside wear out with age and have this failure mode?
It seems a bit dangerous that the door can fail and lock you in! Or is
it just that you get what you pay for?

TIA

This type of lock is pretty cheap and nasty & wears quickly.
The actual problem you will find lies within the door handle. If you
look at it you can see that there is a washer and a spring that holds
the handle up horizontal.
There is a tab on the washer to limit movement. This is stopping you
from moving the handle sufficiently to pull the latch right back.
You can file a bit off of the tab so that the handle can rotate a bit
more.

"Fred" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have something like this:
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Safe.../sd2611/p26987

in my doors. The doors have closed and opened fine until now, so I
think they have been fitted properly but lately the doors have been
"sticky". At first I thought the damp weather had made the doors swell
but after really battling to open the door last night, I found that
when the handles are pulled down, the latch does not fully retract
into the body. The couple of millimetres that remain proud are enough
to retain the door.

Does whatever is inside wear out with age and have this failure mode?
It seems a bit dangerous that the door can fail and lock you in! Or is
it just that you get what you pay for?

TIA


The alloy 'bit' where the square shaft goes through often cracks so that
when turned it doesn't fully retract the latch. Whatever the reason fit a
new one at less than a £.

Peter

On 14/10/2010 09:13, Fred wrote:
Hi,

I have something like this:
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Safe.../sd2611/p26987

in my doors. The doors have closed and opened fine until now, so I
think they have been fitted properly but lately the doors have been
"sticky". At first I thought the damp weather had made the doors swell
but after really battling to open the door last night, I found that
when the handles are pulled down, the latch does not fully retract
into the body. The couple of millimetres that remain proud are enough
to retain the door.

Does whatever is inside wear out with age and have this failure mode?
It seems a bit dangerous that the door can fail and lock you in! Or is
it just that you get what you pay for?

TIA

I've just checked a random selection of my internal doors, and quite a
few of them don't retract fully. I don't know whether or not they did
when first fitted - but it isn't usually a problem because there's
enough clearance between door and frame for the latch to stick out a bit
without binding in the plate.

As others have said, the most likely cause of your problem is that the
latches have worn, but it *could* be that the doors have swollen with
the damp sufficiently to reduce the clearance whereby the latch binds
even though the door itself doesn't bind in the frame.
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

On Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:32:44 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

it *could* be that the doors have swollen with the damp sufficiently to
reduce the clearance whereby the latch binds even though the door itself
doesn't bind in the frame.

Only if it's an external door, at this time of year the humidity
inside will be starting to fall as the heating starts to kick in. I
wouldn't expect to find that sort of latch on an external door...

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:32:44 +0100, Roger Mills
wrote:

I've just checked a random selection of my internal doors, and quite a
few of them don't retract fully. I don't know whether or not they did
when first fitted - but it isn't usually a problem because there's
enough clearance between door and frame for the latch to stick out a bit
without binding in the plate.

As others have said, the most likely cause of your problem is that the
latches have worn, but it *could* be that the doors have swollen with
the damp sufficiently to reduce the clearance whereby the latch binds
even though the door itself doesn't bind in the frame.

I did wonder whether they may have been fitted so that they didn't
fully retract but why would they start binding now, when they haven't
before? Like another poster said, they're pennies to buy, so I'll buy
a couple of new ones and compare old with new.

Another poster said they were nasty fittings. Is there anything better
to use?

Thanks.

On 14 Oct, 13:25, Fred wrote:
On Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:32:44 +0100, Roger Mills
wrote:

I've just checked a random selection of my internal doors, and quite a
few of them don't retract fully. I don't know whether or not they did
when first fitted - but it isn't usually a problem because there's
enough clearance between door and frame for the latch to stick out a bit
without binding in the plate.

As others have said, the most likely cause of your problem is that the
latches have worn, but it *could* be that the doors have swollen with
the damp sufficiently to reduce the clearance whereby the latch binds
even though the door itself doesn't bind in the frame.

I did wonder whether they may have been fitted so that they didn't
fully retract but why would they start binding now, when they haven't
before? Like another poster said, they're pennies to buy, so I'll buy
a couple of new ones and compare old with new.

Another poster said they were nasty fittings. Is there anything better
to use?

Thanks.

A proper mortice lock which will last for years. Just takes longer to
fit.

Fred wrote:

Another poster said they were nasty fittings. Is there anything better
to use?

Yes. Pay more for a good one.
This is pretty good:
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/27227
I fitted some last week for a customer, cost me £5+vat. Well worth it,
similar, if not the same as the ones at Screwfix.
Real good quality, came with satin chrome or brass faceplates. Also, the
screws enclosed were usable, unlike most of the supplied screws with
door fittings.
Alan.

--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

A.Lee wrote:
Fred wrote:

Another poster said they were nasty fittings. Is there anything
better to use?

Yes. Pay more for a good one.
This is pretty good:
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/27227
I fitted some last week for a customer, cost me £5+vat. Well worth
it, similar, if not the same as the ones at Screwfix.
Real good quality, came with satin chrome or brass faceplates.

Also,
the screws enclosed were usable, unlike most of the supplied screws
with door fittings.

You mean the ones with a PH head somewhere in between 1 & 2 but not quite
either, or the ones that snap off as you tighten them, despite the pilot
hole?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

The Medway Handyman wrote:
A.Lee wrote:

Also,
the screws enclosed were usable, unlike most of the supplied screws
with door fittings.

You mean the ones with a PH head somewhere in between 1 & 2 but not quite
either, or the ones that snap off as you tighten them, despite the pilot
hole?

Yes, they are the ones, if they dont snap, they rip the slot out, so you
need pliers to get them out.
It is usual for me to throw away any supplied screws. I tried these as I
dont keep many chromed screws, so was quite pleased when I found they
were pretty good.
Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

A.Lee wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:
A.Lee wrote:

Also,
the screws enclosed were usable, unlike most of the supplied screws
with door fittings.

You mean the ones with a PH head somewhere in between 1 & 2 but not
quite either, or the ones that snap off as you tighten them, despite
the pilot hole?

Yes, they are the ones, if they dont snap, they rip the slot out, so
you need pliers to get them out.

It is usual for me to throw away any supplied screws.

Me too :-)


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:43:59 -0700 (PDT), harry
wrote:


A proper mortice lock which will last for years. Just takes longer to
fit.

I don't need a lock as these are just internal doors. Isn't the latch
and the lock independent though? Do you just use yours as latches and
ignore the locks? Why is the latch mechanism better in these? TIA

On 14 Oct, 21:48, Fred wrote:
On Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:43:59 -0700 (PDT), harry
wrote:



A proper mortice lock which will last for years. *Just takes longer to
fit.

I don't need a lock as these are just internal doors. Isn't the latch
and the lock independent though? Do you just use yours as latches and
ignore the locks? Why is the latch mechanism better in these? TIA

You can get them with just the catch, ie no key &lock.
I suppose there might be better quality ones of the one you have but
you can't tell the quality by just looking. I suppose on less used
doors cheaper ones are OK too.
A squirt of WD40 wouldn't hurt now & then.