How To Get My Door Lock To Line Up

Sure you could do this yourself each time you close the door e g lift up on the door as you close it to force the latch bolt up into the latch bolt hole but let s do the right fix and do it one time.

How to get my door lock to line up.

Here s a guide on how to assess the situation figure out what s wrong with your door s alignment and correct the issue so that all your doors click closed with no issues. When houses settle doors and door frames can become misaligned. To ram a door you need to focus your energy on the points that really matter. The door needs to follow the same plane as the hinge side.

If the door is sagging and will not line up with the latch check the door hinges. When the hinges are loose the door will travel up and down while it is being opened and closed. First make sure all the hinges are tight. If a deadbolt lock is not working properly take a look at the alignment of the bolt lock and the strike plate.

Using a phillips head screwdriver tighten all door hinges so that none is loose. Before purchasing a lock measure your door s backset cross bore and thickness to ensure you find the right fit. Usually the backset measures 2 3 8 inches or 2 3 4 inches. Open and close the misaligned door to look for areas where it sticks or doesn t line up correctly.

Similar to the process of drilling a lock this method looks to forcefully circumvent your locks. Lift the door up to relieve the pressure on the hinges and tighten the. Look very closely and see how much space is between the door and the jamb. Introduction loose door latches can happen whether your home is just off the market or old and full of character.

Now try closing the door and give it a push. The distance between the edge of the door and the center of the lock hole. To line up the lock and the strike plate so that the lock goes into the hole easily try filing around the edge of the actual lock and the strike plate. Both of my hinges were secure but my door was still sagging and not latching correctly.

If you don t fix the problem the misalignment will worsen. Place a level on the top edge of the door while it is open to see if it hangs level. In order to get the bottom part of that door up a little take a look at the top and in my case as pictured below left side hinge. If the door is not latching properly the easiest place to start with is with the door hinges.

Look for gaps all around the edges of the door when it is closed. The goal here is to exert enough force that dislodges the lock or the hinges from the door. As a result it might become tough to lock a dead bolt because it no longer lines up with the strike plate. This basically means that the lockside frame and the hinge side frame are twisted in the rough opening.