How To Fix Door Lock Alignment

If it is loose or has slipped out of the mortise place it back in the mortise and tighten the screws with a phillips screwdriver.

How to fix door lock alignment.

Drive a screw near the middle of the area where the door is rubbing. Have a door out of alignment due to settling. Check where the latch on the door hits the strike plate on the frame. Tighten the screws or repair the screw holes.

You may need to add a second screw. Use a screwdriver to loosen the screws slightly. 3 if this does not help remove the knob. If it won t lock open the door.

A binding door may need to be planed but often simpler repairs will solve the problem. To adjust a door in this instance i either use better longer wood screws and try to fix deeper through the frame into the timber stud behind that the frame is fixed to. Alternatively plug the screw holes with a rawl plug or lots of matchsticks. You can tighten a simple interior mortise lockset like the one shown at left as follows.

If it binds on the latch side at the bottom you may need to fix the bottom hinge screws. Drill through the jamb countersink the screwhead with a countersink bit. To snug the door up you would move the strike plate toward the center of the door jamb. The stripped hole repair kit from king s original hardware is the professional way to fix.

Now if adjusting the tab on the lower strike plate wasn t enough to get your door into alignment or you find that your issue is the deadbolt was striking on the outside edge of this lower strike plate what you can do is simply remove the strike plate itself and then adjust it either forward or backward to get your door into alignment. For minor adjustments you may be able to loosen the plate and tap it in the direction you need. How to fix a misaligned door step 1. Move it away from the center if the strike will not seat when the door is closed.

Need to drill a new hole really close to the original one. Tighten screws gradually and watch the trim to make sure you don t. If a door binds on the latch side at the top the upper hinge may be loose. 2 hold the knob on the other side of the door and turn the loose knob clockwise until it fits snugly.

The family handyman suggests covering the. Open and close the misaligned door to look for areas where it sticks or doesn t line up correctly. Squirt some pva wood glue in to the screw holes first then bang in as many match sticks as will fit.