The door won't close.

September 15, 2006 5:37 PM

How do I fix a door that won't close?

I just bought a house and a few of the doors won't latch when they are closed. They are square in the frame, but when the door is all the way closed, the bolt hasn't yet reached the hole in the strike plate. I'm guessing it's just from several years and several layers of paint on the door and the frame, but I can't really tell how close the bolt is getting. What's the proper way to fix this? Should I plane or sand down the door or the frame? Or should I try to move the strike plate? My plan is to plane the frame, but I'm worried there will be some consequences I haven't thought of. Or an easier solution. Advice?

posted by team lowkey to home & garden (7 comments total)

When I had problems getting a door to shut properly in my house, I read a good tip somewhere that helped a bunch -- I sprinkled baby powder around the door and tried to close it. After doing that, the places where the baby powder was smudged showed where it was obstructed/sticking, and I could focus on that instead of blindly planing the entire door down to the size of a matchbook.
posted by Doofus Magoo at 5:56 PM on September 15, 2006

If a door is well squared in the frame, move the striker plate. You will need to unscrew and remove it, then use a fine chisel to extend the hole toward the side the door closes from. Fill the old screw holes with plastic wood or the like, Let the stuff cure and reinstall the striker plate in the proper position. I wish you many satisfying, effortless closures in your new home.
posted by longsleeves at 6:34 PM on September 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

I'm assuming it's an old house, with years of personality accumulating.
While it might seem like it's just a three-dimensional problem,
it's more like a five-dimensional problem.
Humidity can make a big difference in how the door fits.
Consider just redoing the lock - you can fit it as is,
maybe using a bolt-type on an external face of the door.
posted by dragonsi55 at 6:36 PM on September 15, 2006

Planing the frame is unnecessary and more work than you need to do. Simply remove the plate on the frame... the metal one with the hole in it where the door latches. Then, depending on how far you need to move it, either fill the existing screw holes with wood putty (if the distance is small), or leave them alone. Drill new holes for where you'd like the plate to end up (Doofus Magoo's tip would be handy for this part), and remount it.
posted by odinsdream at 6:51 PM on September 15, 2006

Longsleeves's method is the proper way to do it. A faster way is to remove the striker plate and file or grind the opening in the plate bigger.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:53 PM on September 15, 2006

Sounds like moving the plate is the way to go. Thanks for the tips, all.
posted by team lowkey at 7:01 PM on September 15, 2006

Well, I baby-powdered the plate to see how far forward I would need to move it, and it turns out the latch was just coming in about an 1/8 inch too low. Not a problem with the frame at all. I chiseled, puttied re-attached, and viola! Working doors. Thanks again for the tips. Saved me a ton of wasted work.
posted by team lowkey at 1:33 AM on September 17, 2006