Exterior Door Latch Sticks

Over time joints in a wood door relax causing the construction to sag and stick against the jamb.

Exterior door latch sticks.

A latch bolt that sticks in the strike often leave tell tale marks or scrapes on the strike plate. 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. Tighten the hinge screws and then try adjusting. In other cases it may be the wood door edge itself scuffing on the door frame.

The issue a door latch stuck due to a jamming latch will have no real variation between how the latch moves when it is pressed in or when the handle is turned both when the door is open and when it is shut. A sticking door latch might require some lubrication or it might be jamming against the strike plate on the door jamb. Each time you open it there is a little grab before it releases. When a door latch doesn t click into position it usually means the latch and the strike plate are out of alignment.

In some instances you have a door that sticks along the strike area the metal part of the door frame where it meets the outermost edge of the door. Watch joe as he shows you how to unstick a sticking door latch. Turn the knob to open the door and release the knob slowly. Follow along as tom fixes a swelled door in his own home with just a few simple tools.

On the kwikset locks this looks like two little teeth that the cylinder pushes back. In a situation like this sometimes the door itself is to blame. Once you have the door handle off you can now try to open the latch manually with either a large flathead screwdriver or pair of needle nose pliers. You can see where the cylinder entered the dead latch mechanism and pulled the latch back.

Door lock doesn t latch properly. Yes it s that sticking door of yours. Inspect the strike plate on the edge of the door frame. Step 1 close shave photo by craig raine.

Of course if it s on an exterior door you ll want to do this when the weather is nice and when it s safe to leave the door unlocked.