Exterior Door not Closing Properly
Most of the time the exterior door is not lined up with the strike plate correctly.
The problem can be easily resolved. From the inside stand back and look at the door. You will more than likely notice that the gap at the top of the door is wider then at the bottom of the door. What has happened is the weight of the door has made the door sag over time.
To fix this, take one of the screws at the top of the hinge that is not attached to the door, it is attached to the Jamb, out. Now install the same size Phillips head screw that is 2 ½" long in its place. It would be much easier using a cordless drill with a Number 2 bit rather than a Phillips screwdriver. Screw it down as much as possible; it should pull the door back up in position. Stand back, the gap at the top and bottom should be the same.
Sometimes you can't get the screw down far enough. There are several things that you can do. Pilot the screw hole with a 1/8" drill bit in the hole that the screw is being inserted into. Also adding a little dish soap or bar soap on the screw threads will allow the screw to be easily screwed down.
Once in a while, the door still does not allow the door to latch. This is also a relatively easy fix.
Remove the strike plate, this is the small metal plate that is attached to the door jamb. Close the door until the Latch just touches the door. This is the part that comes out from the door that retracts into the door when you close the door knob.
Take a pencil and mark the door trim (casing) in the center of the Latch.
Open the door, line up the strike plate in the center of the mark. This is where the strike plate needs to be installed, up or down. Take your strike plate and with the center in line with your pencil mark, draw an outline or the strike plate. This is the wood you will need to remove.
Using a small chisel and hammer remove the wood that is necessary and only as deep as the strike plate. Next, Set the plate in the way it is going to be installed and mark, with a pencil, where the screws are going to be installed. Using a small nail and hammer, gently tap these pencil marks. Now drill 1/8" pilot holes, the small indentions from before will keep the drill bit from moving.
Before you do this, close the door all the way. The door should latch, if it does not, the hole, in the door jamb, will need to be adjusted. Either bigger or more in line with the pencil mark.
If the door after all this is done still has a lot of movement, in and out. This can be adjusted on the strike plate.
There is a small tab in the center of the strike plate with a small slot in the center. Insert a small screwdriver in the slot and pry the tab out, a little bit a time, until you no longer can see a lot of movement and no "slap" when the wind blows. If it no longer latches, you adjusted the tab out to far.
There are times when the door is just out of alignment. The top or bottom is not the same gap against the door stop at the top and bottom and the door will need to be reset.
You can check this by standing on the outside of the door and slowly close the door until the door just touches the door stop. You will be able to see if there is any gap and the door is out of alignment
Find more handyman articles at www.RemodelerConnection.com
The problem can be easily resolved. From the inside stand back and look at the door. You will more than likely notice that the gap at the top of the door is wider then at the bottom of the door. What has happened is the weight of the door has made the door sag over time.
To fix this, take one of the screws at the top of the hinge that is not attached to the door, it is attached to the Jamb, out. Now install the same size Phillips head screw that is 2 ½" long in its place. It would be much easier using a cordless drill with a Number 2 bit rather than a Phillips screwdriver. Screw it down as much as possible; it should pull the door back up in position. Stand back, the gap at the top and bottom should be the same.
Sometimes you can't get the screw down far enough. There are several things that you can do. Pilot the screw hole with a 1/8" drill bit in the hole that the screw is being inserted into. Also adding a little dish soap or bar soap on the screw threads will allow the screw to be easily screwed down.
Once in a while, the door still does not allow the door to latch. This is also a relatively easy fix.
Remove the strike plate, this is the small metal plate that is attached to the door jamb. Close the door until the Latch just touches the door. This is the part that comes out from the door that retracts into the door when you close the door knob.
Take a pencil and mark the door trim (casing) in the center of the Latch.
Open the door, line up the strike plate in the center of the mark. This is where the strike plate needs to be installed, up or down. Take your strike plate and with the center in line with your pencil mark, draw an outline or the strike plate. This is the wood you will need to remove.
Using a small chisel and hammer remove the wood that is necessary and only as deep as the strike plate. Next, Set the plate in the way it is going to be installed and mark, with a pencil, where the screws are going to be installed. Using a small nail and hammer, gently tap these pencil marks. Now drill 1/8" pilot holes, the small indentions from before will keep the drill bit from moving.
Before you do this, close the door all the way. The door should latch, if it does not, the hole, in the door jamb, will need to be adjusted. Either bigger or more in line with the pencil mark.
If the door after all this is done still has a lot of movement, in and out. This can be adjusted on the strike plate.
There is a small tab in the center of the strike plate with a small slot in the center. Insert a small screwdriver in the slot and pry the tab out, a little bit a time, until you no longer can see a lot of movement and no "slap" when the wind blows. If it no longer latches, you adjusted the tab out to far.
There are times when the door is just out of alignment. The top or bottom is not the same gap against the door stop at the top and bottom and the door will need to be reset.
You can check this by standing on the outside of the door and slowly close the door until the door just touches the door stop. You will be able to see if there is any gap and the door is out of alignment
Find more handyman articles at www.RemodelerConnection.com
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