Pro Handyman Blog

When you shut your door, does it latch? If not your problem may be as simple as aligning the strike plate.

On your door jamb is a door strike. This is a metal part with a curved end that the door latch contacts and latches into. If the door latch and strike are not aligned, you can try all you want, but the door won’t latch. Your choices are to either move the door latch (that’s too much work), or move the strike plate.

First of all, get down at eye level an close the door until the latch contacts the strike plate. Make pencil marks on the strike showing the location of the latch when it touches the strike. Pull the door open and you will see if the strike plate is too high or low. If it looks like the two are aligned, it may be that the strike plate needs to be moved inward towards the interior of the room. I many cases, the weather stripping (if its an exterior door) or the door stop will prevent the door from moving enough to actually latch. By moving the strike plate away from the door stop it will be able to latch.

Once you have figured out which way the strike needs to be moved, remove the screws and install it where it needs to be. Use a chisel and remove enough wood so that the strike plate sits flush. You may need to fill it the old screw holes with wooden toothpicks and glue if the adjustment is small, otherwise the screws will tend to wander into the old holes.