Outside Door Lock Sticking

Repairs range from making minor latch adjustments to repositioning the door.

Outside door lock sticking.

Insert the tip into the latch. In my house several of our wood doors keep sticking. Open the door wide and put on a pair of safety glasses to protect your eyes. Take note of the type of resistance.

Start by using a little bit of lubricant and apply more if the lock still sticks. With the door open use a phillips screwdriver to take out the two connecting screws that are located by the doorknob on. Tighten the hinge screws and then try adjusting the strike plate by loosening its screws and shifting it slightly. Here s how to remove and clean the most common type of door lock.

On the top middle or bottom. The latch will not retract even when the knob is turned. Otherwise the fine black dust can get everywhere staining surfaces and creating a. Equip a rotary tool with a carbide tip bit.

I ve tried candle wax and have made sure all the screws in the door frame are tight but the doors are still sticking. Handle powdered graphite carefully. Disclaimer this video was crea. Make sure the lock is unlocked before you do this.

Determine where the sticking is happening. This is a short video to demonstrate how easy it is to remove a door handle view what s inside and repair the failed latch. Door lock doesn t latch properly when a door latch doesn t click into position it usually means the latch and the strike plate are out of alignment. Remove the two screws that hold the lock faceplate on the edge of the door.

Examining one sticky bedroom door in his house tom spends a little time getting a sense of its predicament. If the sticking area is along the door frame where the hinges are located. The knob will not turn to retract the stuck. A latch bolt that sticks in the strike often leave tell tale.

Tom s rule of thumb for keeping a door from sticking in the jamb is that the reveal the space between the door and jamb should be 1 8 to 3 16 inch wide or about the thickness of a nickel. You can do this by using the phillips head screw driver to unscrew both screws on the door handle. Slide the doorknob off the. Inspect the strike plate on the edge of the door frame.

Now precisely where on this part of the door frame does the sticking occur. Troubleshooting a stuck door latch try to open the door while it is shut. The latch will not retract even when the knob is turned.