Mike,

Remember you sort of guided me how to shim my door in
June? It has been just fine since, until I opened it today.
We have had a great deal of humidity lately. Loads!

I could pull the door open though it appeared locked. It has a typical
"spring bolt" (my words), not a dead bolt.

I cut a shim to fit perfectly under the strike plate out of my Handyman
Club of America drill template (don't tell 'em). And then it held up
better, but not enough. I added half as much more, to lift up the edge
of the strike plate, just on the opening side, which is where it seemed
to need it. Indeed, it locks tight, though the fit is a little snug too.

I'm not out of ideas, but I think I would prefer to listen to those of
others! : )

On the postitive side, my speed and performance in improvising, in
cutting out a shim to fit nicely, was alot better than I would have done
a few years ago--and I did get the door to lock! It's nice to see that
my practice from cutting drywall and other things hasn't gone to waste!
My box-cutter is my go-to tool! I keep it at arms reach. : )

Thank goodness for those HCOA drill templates, huh? I knew one would
eventually come in handy.

Bill wrote:
Mike,

Remember you sort of guided me how to shim my door in
June? It has been just fine since, until I opened it today.
We have had a great deal of humidity lately. Loads!

I could pull the door open though it appeared locked. It has a typical
"spring bolt" (my words), not a dead bolt.

I cut a shim to fit perfectly under the strike plate out of my
Handyman Club of America drill template (don't tell 'em). And then it
held up better, but not enough. I added half as much more, to lift
up the edge of the strike plate, just on the opening side, which is
where it seemed to need it. Indeed, it locks tight, though the fit
is a little snug too.
I'm not out of ideas, but I think I would prefer to listen to those of
others! : )

Excellent work Bill. Humidity will raise cain with a door, since like all
wood - they move. Now is a great time for you to be making adjustments,
since the humidity is very high, and most likely this is the worst condition
the door will ever be in. Double check the margin going down the striker
side of the door jam and make sure it is true all the way down. You might
find you have to add a little more shim behind the jam. Once you make these
adjustments you will most likely be good for the long haul.



On the postitive side, my speed and performance in improvising, in
cutting out a shim to fit nicely, was alot better than I would have
done a few years ago--and I did get the door to lock! It's nice to
see that my practice from cutting drywall and other things hasn't gone to
waste! My box-cutter is my go-to tool! I keep it at arms reach. : )

Dontchya love it when things work that way? And - I agree with you that a
box cutter is definitely a go-to tool! Don't keep it at arm's reach though
Bill - keep THEM all over so one is always at arm's reach. Can't ever have
too many of those!


Thank goodness for those HCOA drill templates, huh? I knew one would
eventually come in handy.

Great creative thinking Bill!

--

-Mike-

Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:

I cut a shim to fit perfectly under the strike plate out of my
Handyman Club of America drill template (don't tell 'em). And then it
held up better, but not enough. I added half as much more, to lift
up the edge of the strike plate, just on the opening side, which is
where it seemed to need it. Indeed, it locks tight, though the fit
is a little snug too.
I'm not out of ideas, but I think I would prefer to listen to those of
others! : )

Excellent work Bill. Humidity will raise cain with a door, since like all
wood - they move. Now is a great time for you to be making adjustments,
since the humidity is very high, and most likely this is the worst condition
the door will ever be in. Double check the margin going down the striker
side of the door jam and make sure it is true all the way down. You might
find you have to add a little more shim behind the jam. Once you make these
adjustments you will most likely be good for the long haul.

I am not so worried about the margin being perfect so long as the door
works decently. Tomorrow, I'll remove what I put under the strike
plate, or at least the second piece, and see if I can recover
functionality by adding a couple more shims in the jamb near the bolt.
I guess I finally see it now--the humidity is probably causing the side
of the door frame to bow (Duh!) I would expect it's length to be more
stable...

Thanks,
Bill

Bill wrote:


I am not so worried about the margin being perfect so long as the door
works decently. Tomorrow, I'll remove what I put under the strike
plate, or at least the second piece, and see if I can recover
functionality by adding a couple more shims in the jamb near the bolt.
I guess I finally see it now--the humidity is probably causing the
side of the door frame to bow (Duh!) I would expect it's length to
be more stable...


The reason for making sure the margin is even over its length is to ensure
that bowing has not occurred. That's the indicator. If you see bow, then
you might want to consider shimming the jam rather than the striker.

--

-Mike-

Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:


I am not so worried about the margin being perfect so long as the door
works decently. Tomorrow, I'll remove what I put under the strike
plate, or at least the second piece, and see if I can recover
functionality by adding a couple more shims in the jamb near the bolt.
I guess I finally see it now--the humidity is probably causing the
side of the door frame to bow (Duh!) I would expect it's length to
be more stable...


The reason for making sure the margin is even over its length is to ensure
that bowing has not occurred. That's the indicator. If you see bow, then
you might want to consider shimming the jam rather than the striker.


It looked fine after I shimmed it in June (I used 4 pairs of shims along
the jamb on the same side as the door knob). I will try to get
psyched-up to do a reaccessment once I finish tending to my unrelated
duties. I only get a 1-day weekend this week, so I have to work twice
as fast! : )

Bill