A: When a door won’t latch, the latch is missing the hole in the strike plate on the door frame. This misalignment often happens with frequent use of a door, as hinges can allow a door to sag over time. There are a few easy ways to help figure out the cause of the problem, and many causes are fairly easy to fix.

How do you fix a misaligned strike plate?

Move the Strike Plate

  1. You can move the strike plate up or down and in or out.
  2. Use a sharp chisel to enlarge the strike plate mortise. Then hold the strike plate in place and drill new 1/16-in. …
  3. Install the strike plate and fill the gap in the mortise with wood filler. Remove the strike plate to paint or finish the patch.


How do you fix a door that won’t close properly?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: That so it's definitely better the door is closing but you can see the gap here is still extremely narrow compared to the strike or even the bottom of the door.

How do you fix a sagging door that won’t latch?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: So here I'm tapping on the shims at the bottom slowly moving the latch up. And you can see just a little jiggle the handle now the latch. Actually goes through the latch plate. So it's just clearing.

What causes a door to sag?

Doors tend to sag and stick for one of three reasons: the hinges are loose or bent, the door frame has shifted so it’s out of square, or the door has swollen from humidity. Hinges are the most common culprits, and fixes for hinges tend to be the least invasive, so it’s always best to check the hinges first.

How do you adjust a striker plate on a door?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: Set this up to the old door this latch plate was too high so we're going to need to match. This out I used a pencil. And I made a mark on the bottom of where the latch is.

How do you move a strike plate on a door?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: And that could possibly shift this stripe plate down a little bit if you do have a little bit of a clearance. Between the wood of the rabbit-hole.

How do you realign a door?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: Then you need to take this hinge. Completely out and use a chisel with the screws removed from one side of the hinges on the jamb side you've now exposed the mortise that's that indentation.

How do you fix a sagging door shim?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: And snapping it in. Half. Then we just need to push it in the hinge. And you can adjust it to where you have an equal gap from the door from the top to bottom.

How do you fix a sagging old house door?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: So just attach it to the top of the door. Pull the string. Out. Let the plumb bob. Steady now we check it now the first number i need is this one right here it's just two and seven sixteenths.

Is a strike plate necessary?

This is the plate the latch-tongue, or deadbolt-tongue will connect with. It should sit flush with the door jamb. Any passage or privacy set needs to have a strike plate for the door to latch. Additionally, deadbolts need a strike plate to properly lock.

How do you adjust an adjustable strike plate?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: Go to your smart lock and open the door to access the adjustable strike plate loosen. The two screws. So that you can move a strike plate adjust.

How do adjustable strike plates work?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: You can now move the bottom plate in order to adjust the location of the hole for your deadbolt. By aligning the strike plates your smart lock will be able to lock properly.