How to Fix a Door Latch That Is Misaligned

In general, locksmith related problems should not be fixed by anyone else but an actual locksmith. This is extremely important because it can influence the level of safety of your entire house or of your car as well.

However, there are certain types of issues that can be fixed even without professional training. If you know yourself to be fairly good with technical tasks, you can fix a series of small problems your door locks may encounter.

One of them is fixing a door latch that is misaligned. In most cases, this is the cause behind having a door latch operate in a difficult way. What happens is that the door’s latch bold is not exactly aligned with the doorjamb’s strike plate. In a lot of such cases, you will not have to do much else than some minor latch adjustments – but keep in mind the fact that there are cases when the entire door has to be repositioned.

Misaligned door latches – How to fix them, the step by step guide

If you have decided to take a look at your door latch and try to fix it on your own, here are the steps to be kept in mind:

* The first thing you should do is to see very clearly what the problem is. Close the door very slowly and so the latch bolt will meet the strike plate. According to the scars on the latter, you will be able to determine if the bolt is positioned on one side of the plate, above it or underneath it.

* It is also possible that the door has shrunk a lot (which can happen as a result of many factors) and that the bolt is not able to reach the strike plate anymore.

* Replacing the door with a wider door should only be used as a very last resort. However, if you notice that you cannot bring the bolt closer towards the strike plate, call a professional. Our experienced locksmith will be able to help you in a very short amount of time!