A hard-to-lock door can lead to big problems! Here’s how to fix it yourself

Another DIY security article from professional locksmith, Adam Carr.

Many people wrongly consider a door that is hard to lock or hard to unlock a minor inconvenience. But it can be a big deal if you have kids that can’t unlock it in an emergency. If you leave it long enough it can also damage your lock and cost you more money.

I have seen this too often where people put up with a door that is hard to lock and unlock until it leads to larger issues. This is where Locksmiths can really make a huge difference without a huge bill. We are trained to understand why this is happening and we know how to fix it.

But you don’t always need a Locksmith to solve this problem if you address the problem early on. There are a number of reasons why doors become hard to lock or hard to unlock and most of them can be fixed by the homeowner with a few tips from Carr’s Lockshop…

Door not latching

If your door doesn’t latch properly, this is almost always caused by improper strike plate and latch alignment. To fix this problem, take a pencil and mark where the centre of the latch hits the strike plate then simply look to make sure the latch has enough room to fit into the strike hole. For more details, check out this detailed post about how to do this easily with a few simple tools.

(Adam, we need to tell people what to do next – do they drill out the hole to make it bigger, move the strike plate? etc)

Improper door prep

Door prep refers to the required holes in the door and frame to install the lock. Sometimes these holes are not drilled correctly causing all kinds of issues ((such as???)). To fix this problem, take the lock off the door and if possible correct the holes to the proper size as per the manufacturer’s instructions.

Worn out/ broken latch

Sometimes the latch starts to degrade and makes it difficult to open and close your door. The best solution for this is to purchase a replacement latch and change it out. ((It’s an inexpensive solution that is easy to do if you’re handy with basic hand tools.)) I would be more than happy to supply one at a great price. If you need help with installing your new door latch, I can do it quickly and professionally.

Worn out hinges

A lot of pressure gets put on the top hinge of heavily used doors or doors that have been propped open for long periods of time. The top door hinge begins to wear out and puts the door out of alignment. All you have to do is replace the hinges. PRO TIP: All the hinges should be replaced even if the other hinges look fine.