Exterior Door Latch Stuck

There can be a door latch stuck open or a door latch stuck closed but the reasons for each can vary quite a bit.

Exterior door latch stuck. Pulled tight in winter it s a stalwart guardian against chills and drafts. The first step is to troubleshoot the issue and get a sense of what the symptoms are with the door latch stuck in its position. Troubleshooting a stuck door latch try to open the door while it is shut. Once you have the door handle off you can now try to open the latch manually with either a large flathead screwdriver or pair of needle nose pliers.

Take the latch and knob off of the door and clean them. Each time you open it there is a little grab before it releases. In other cases it may be the wood door edge itself scuffing on the door frame. In some instances you have a door that sticks along the strike area the metal part of the door frame where it meets the outermost edge of the door.

This old house general contractor tom silva confronts a stubborn summertime door with a jack plane and a little restraint. Move to the edge of the door. You should first test the door latch to ensure the latch is sticking inside the door and not due to a misaligned strike plate. Turn the knob to open the door and release the knob slowly.

On the kwikset locks this looks like two little teeth that the cylinder pushes back. First off if you can see and interact with the stuck lock button you will be able to address the set screws or twist off rose. You can see where the cylinder entered the dead latch mechanism and pulled the latch back. Taking the lock of the door is often simpler than it would be to take a deadbolt or exterior door knob lock of the door.

If it won t come out this is sometimes the case with stuck latches insert your screwdriver into the latch at the point where the door knobs intersected with it. Pull the door latch out of the door. Many door knob and lockset problems can be corrected before they become so serious that the lockset does not work at all. Grasp the doorknob with one hand and turn it to retract the latch.

A sticking door latch might require some lubrication or it might be jamming against the strike plate on the door jamb. Use the screwdriver to lever the latch out of the door. Insert the tip of your powdered graphite tube into the opening around the latch and inject a few.