How To Fix A Door That Won't Latch
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- Опубликовано: 20 мар 2020
- Hinge Screws: amzn.to/2WfBhMQ
Hand File Set: amzn.to/2PA2Zjk
I will walk you through 3 different fixes for a very common issue of a door that won't stay closed because the latch is misaligned. There are a number of different reasons for this issue and this video will walk you through the 3 most common fixes.
Fix 1 - Check / tighten hinges
This is by far the most common issue and most interior door hinges only have 3/4 inch wood screws which are secured into the door jamb. These screws can strip the wood holes and become loose over time from normal wear and tear. I will demonstrate a few different tricks to get your screws back to a secure hold and your hinges flush and secure.
Fix 2 - Find Interference and file the latch plate
If your hinges are secure I would move on to the latch and latch plate. First you will want to assess the amount of interference and I will show you an easy method for identifying exactly where the latch is hitting the latch plate. If the interference is small a little filing might be all that is needed to get your door back to latching without issues.
Fix 3 - Adjust hinges with shims
If fix 1 or 2 don't work then we will move back to the hinge side and figure out how much adjustment is needed and in which hinges. This fix will take longer but with some patience you will quickly identify what is needed and start the adjustment with shimming the hinges.
The fixes are demonstrated in the order of complexity and should be approachable for all weekend warriors.
Additional Links
#10 3 inch screws (with T25 Drill Bit) - homedepot.sjv.io/eWo7z
Box of Washers - amzn.to/33Cdvw9 
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This whole time my door latch and the latch plate were misaligned. So I took the plate off, raised it a cm and drilled another hole. Thanks for the video
Scott, Grandpa here. I watched as you did a very good job to adjust the door angle. Sometimes though, brick is on the far side of the hinge, which means, longer screws wont work. Most door frames are from soft pine, and that is why the screw for the hinge failed.
I always carry a few toothpicks (flat type). With a touch of white wood glue, I jam two or three toothpicks into the screw hole and just restore the screw.
Agree with that gramps!! Also tell him just to tap those hinges back in line and drop the pin in. Enough with the washers and those extra steps
My father taught me the toothpick method...And a cheap set of die grinders will beat the file any day.
Yup, me too. I also add a drop of woodworker's glue to help further hold it together.
Drill out the hole to accept a wood dowel of the next size up. Put wood glue in, tap the dowel in, cut flush. Wait for the glue to set, then reinstall the hinge. Good as new.
Exactly how my dad taught me to move hinges and fill holes
I had a 38 year career as a locksmith at a university that had well over 20000 doors and over those years I had thousands of calls for doors not latching especially at dorm room doors. Great video and I did the exact same process diagnosing and repairing the doors at our university over the years! There is one more tool called changing the swag of the hinge and you can use a tool called the hinge doctor to do this. Great video!
Wow , 38 years and over 20.000 doors!!
That's a lotta doors !!
Bet your favourite band isn't the " DOORS !" LOL
Big deal. I had a 74 year career as a locksmith at a university that had well over 500,000 doors
@@sg8345 let me guess,the university was JUST doors ?
if you are still in that career in repair, there is another common issue I'm sure you have seen where when the door latch or dead bolt screws have stripped out the wood and just spin. There is a new hardware solution that sits inside the door along the latch that is threaded, called Resecure Latch. They have a channel here that shows how it works. Its a awesome handyman/DYI product that is a permeant solution.
I, as a finishing carpenter do not approve of this video and the fact that you do as a locksmith raises questions regarding your qualifications & experience. DIY videos like this keep the calls rolling in, which results replacing the unit opposed to a simple service call.
I go down to the big box store and buy one of those extra long strike plates (about 3" long). The extra length puts the screw holes away from the original screw holes. With a wood chisel I quickly chisel out where the new plate will have to sit. Then with a Dremel I grind out the wood in the latch hole and I am done. Got to love a Dremel. I do not know how you get through life without one. Big Box store also has a strike plate with an extra long hole for the latch. I put one of those on the porch screen door. It is very humid in my area. The humidity causes that screen door to lift then sag then lift, sag, etc. That plate with the extra long latch hole gives the latch room to move. All I have to do is grind the latch hole, in the jam, to fit the hole on the plate. Now any time of the year the porch screen door stays latched. In my area it is always the humidity that messes with the doors.
Was about to start messing about with the latch itself before seeing this vid. Tightened the hinges and straight away the door closes. Genius. Thank you so much!
Hey Roisin, yeah that is the most common fix by far. Glad it was an easy fix for ya 👍
I know that you posted this a while ago but I was going crazy for 20 minutes trying to fix the latch plate. Your video helped me finally fix the latch. It was the hinges. Thank you.
Thanks so much! with your video I was able fix my non-latching door in 5 minutes! Just needed to tighten the hinges. That door has been irritating me for years - who knew it was so easy to fix!
I am a professional Locksmith and your fix is the first one I try, before adjusting the hinge knuckles, shimming the lower hinge, and lastly, realigning the strike plate! All in that order! I am sending your video to my Aunt who is thousands of miles away!
Good job!
Thanks appreciate the kind words and glad the video helped.
Hinge bending: ruclips.net/video/48fFtKTGTEw/видео.html
A simple fix if your ok with your current door gaps.
Regarding the problem seen in this video there is an option to fix the door which wasnt mentioned.
Remove the striker plate and insert an appropriately sized wooden dowel rod (or wooden golf tee) with wood glue into the screw holes. Once the glue has been given time to cure, replace your striker at a lower position and reattach it with your choice of screws. You may still need to file the striker/wood should there be a large offset, but this tip will limit such to a minimal amount.
That's what I was expecting him to finish with. I was watching to see the cosmetic fix for the space left when the latch plate was moved.
thats what i was thinking he basically moved the entire door when he coulda just moved the latch unless he didnt want to wait for a couple things to dry
My doors that are out of whack like this never seem to have enough reveal to kick out the bottom even a 1/16" . It's like the door is not latching and the reveal is even all over. Sometimes I've wondered whether the finish carpenter was sleeping when they drilled out the latch hole.
Agree, done that 👍
Just move the latch plate up or down. I just fixed mine after watching Bill (second video on this same issue). This fix is way overkill! Reminds me of a handyman who wants to milk it for more money.
Dude! You are the man! I just tightened my hinges ever so slightly and it fixed it!! Like 2 or three screws 1/8 of a turn!! Thanks a million!!!
Our front door has been sticking for at LEAST 15 years. It was so bad, I had to move the strike plate so it would close. Hallelujah, now that it's fixed, it now closes smoothly!
Dude the tightening of hinges is so obvious but holy crap it saved me and my door to my bedroom thank you!
Omg! Tightening the screws worked for my bedroom door! Thank you for this video!
I have done many doors over the years yet, you taught me an excellent trick with your shim/washer trick at the end of your video. Very well done! I only wish that I knew of this in my earlier years (now 72) lol. Thank you, it is never too late to learn something new. Excellent presentation!
I had several of these issues over the years. Easiest and quickest fix for me was to move the strike plates down. Thanks for sharing this for people that like to DIY.
If the door is sagging, swap the top and bottom hinges or replace them. It worked well for me.
If the striker plate needs to slide up or down 1/16 or 1/8 inch, moving it will not work because the screw holes do not line up and if you plan on making new holes, that doesn't work because you'll just make a larger screw hole
@@richopper6391 wood glue and thick tooth picks fix this issue.
@@richopper6391 just dowel the original screw holes and drill new ones
@@moobox yes dowel works great with some glue. Like a charm!
Our bedroom door had this issue. Was so loud to open and close. Annoying. Put the washers behind the hinge. Works perfect! Seriously, my wife gave me a big hug. Thank you!
Wood shims behind the hinges works great. You can also remove the hinges and bend them on a vice to make it work. Thanks for sharing!
For 2 years the door hasn't shut properly! Turns out tradies failed to put back the other 3 screws in each hinge...all fixed, closes perfectly. Cannot express gratitude for this!
Dude, you saved my sanity after 9 years of doors that don't latch. Thank you!
I lived in an older home and had some doors misaligned. Tightening the screws is definitely a fix a good number of times. If I could add that if you find a stripped screw and you don't have a longer one on hand, you can jam as many toothpicks necessary to fill the hole right through the plate and the snap them off at the same time. The original screw will go back in tight and hold you can add the longer screw later if you want. I also invested in something called a Hinge Tweaker. It helps alot.
Nice, I have seen the modified crescent wrenches made for the hinges but haven't pulled the trigger just yet. Definitely looks handy.
The tooth picks also remove any random particles of food stuck deep inside your door
I keep the bamboo chopsticks from Chinese food orders just for this purpose. Push in the hole them break off. They work GREAT.
@@axjohn golf tees work too
@@axjohn bamboo sticks (dollar store for skewers) swell nicely with glue
Awesome video. I have fought doors in every house I have ever owned. This is great!
Good concepts. Door specialist for the last 25 years I've always tried to get 1/8 inch gap on all sides of door ideally. I use pasteboard instead of washers to shim hinges placing strips carefully to tilt the hinge as needed. A 1/4" strip near the door stop shrinks the gap and vice versa. Remove the strike from the door to allow for longer file strokes. They screw right back on. I use rotary carbide burrs to grind them but I have to do this regularly. Good info bro
Depends the framer if installed centererd
Hi! I know this is an old comment, but I can’t find where to buy board, or what is a more common or modern word for what you mean. Home Depot sells hardboard. Is that what it might also be called? Thanks for your great comment!
I can't believe tightening the hinges on the door actually worked! I was skeptical but as soon as they were all tightened I had no issue and didn't even need to try the other suggestions! Thank you!
Step 2 worked for me. Filing the bottom of the metal plate. Used a Dremel tool instead of a file though. Took seconds. Thank you.
It’s making me nervous that he looks just over my left shoulder in most of this video. WHAT DOES HE SEE
No worries....he's just talking to the escaped lunatic with the knife who's standing behind you.
your toilet door that won't latch
LMAO 🤣
I used the washer method on a heavy door from our garage. I installed longer screws as well. Thank you for your concise description. Excellent
Great video -- thanks so much. After watching it I hoped that method #1 (tighten the screws) would fix things, but the screws were all tight. So I moved on to method #2 (take a file to enlarge the strike plate hole) and it worked like a charm. I removed very little material and it only took a few strokes of the file. Method #3 for me would have turned into "call a carpenter," but I didn't to go there. So thanks!
Nice Walter, glad you were able to get the misalignment fixed without too much hassle. Cheers!
I fixed two doors in my house and never bothered with the hinges. I took the metal plates off the door jams and reemed out the holes with a Dremel mototool. The doors worked beautifully afterwards. You got to know how to be ingenious.
Great job on Video....Instead of washers i used cardboard. Traced the plate, and cut 3 forms. Layered them and taped them to plate, inserted screws and then attached to wall. Worked like a charm.
Get a rotary tool or a drill with a burr. It will take for ever with a hand file. Just did one today. A minute with vacuum sucking up the metal that would land on the floor. Customer said man you did that fast.
I think the washer thing is my issue! Thank you in advance. I put a solid wood 70 year old door into my pre hung hollow core door frame (doors the same size). Its been a riot (completely novice, no clue what I'm doing). Our latch is a bit too high but I think the biggest issue is the door is too far to the right (towards the hinges). The washers should fix it. I'm so excited to have real hardwood doors that have a STORY with them (they survived Hurricane Hugo..amongst the normal daily life they saw for the past 70 years).
Outstanding! Thank you! Have a new home and the only door that wouldn't latch was to master suite. Step one wasn't an issue, but after spending a good 20 minutes on step two filing down the strike plate and chiseling out a tiny bit of wood on the inside, it now works like a charm! Got it to partially latch soon enough, but wanted that striker to fully extend into the door frame/strike plate, so the final tweaking took much longer than the the initial success, but now I'm confident of the latch's security and my wife is much happier. Happy wife = Happy life. Thank you again! So helpful.
Great video! Thank you. I followed along step by step. I decided to grab my dremel to sand down the door jamb and strike plate just a little and voila my door latched.
I had one where they had already used the longer screw, and it was still spinning freely. Got a 1/2" dowel and drilled a 1/2" hole. Glued that dowel in, trimmed flush with the jam, then predrilled and screwed the same screw back in place. Worked like a charm.
Two flat toothpicks, break in half and shove the four ends into the hole. You could roll them in wood glue if they won't stay in. Costs less than a nickel and you don't need to go to the home center or lumber yard.
Golf tee. Sand the edge as it’s typically slightly wider in diameter than the existing screw. Roll in glue and tap in. Cut flush and let dry. Boom. Solid wood connection to then drill into once bonded
Plastic masonry anchors work pretty well. Drill as needed, usually 1/4 or 5/16, and push in the anchor. They’re designed to expand and hold tight.
nice!
@@lesg9604 waaay cool!
Thank you! I was able to fix the problem by tightening the hinge screws!
Good video! A cousins’ son actually always installed new doors and frames with the middle screw always being 3” long. This took care of future problems. Every door I have installed this way, I never had any latching problems later. Thanks…Jim
Hinge bending works better than shims (washers) in the hinges. There are special tools specifically for hinge bending, or a 10" Cresent wrench (adjustable spanner if your in the UK) works great also. Like you pointed out, as long as your screws are anchored well the hinge will bend without any problems.
The problem I've had trying to bend hinges is that the screws often begin pulling out of the door or wood as you begin trying to bend the hinge. Anyone else experienced this?
@@drbarchitect keep the door closed? There will be some resistance against the outward movement at that point. May not help though.
@@drbarchitect Never had a problem and did quite a few doors.
Thanks to this video, especially the washer and the hand file, I could successfully fix my door!! I love the easy instruction + the detailed reasoning + the hands on illustration.
Hey my friend! Long time no see. Hope all is well with you and your family and thanks for the kind words 👍
My door needs to be realigned just a little bit, but filing worked pretty well. Fixed it real quick. Thanks.
1.5x speed... you’re welcome. And great content!
Life Hack 👍
Try 2x
Thanks
Very useful info -- thanks so much! I fixed two doors: one with method #1 (tighten the screws/changing screws), the second one with method #2 (take a file to enlarge the strike plate hole). They both work like a charm. Method #3 will be the backup, but I don't think it will go there. Again, thanks a lot!
Wow! Impressive! Much better than other RUclips videos!
I would have just used a chisel and moved down the strike plate and then fill the area with some wood putty and touchup paint
Epoxy and sawdust makes a great filler material that's tough, sandable, and bonds extremely well.
That's what I was thinking this whole video.
That would have made more sense and a hell of a lot less work
I just quickly fixed two doors using various techniques demonstrated in this video. One needed a little longer screws and some washers in the bottom two hinges. (With the help of my son, I did not need to use any tape.) The other door needed the strike plated to be filed for a couple minutes using a very old file. For the second one I also used a chisel to enlarge the hole in the wood by about 1/8".
Before I resort to that, if it's not that bad a misalignment I use a dremel or a rotary file bit for a cordless drill and file out the plate. It usually fixes it in minutes.
I'm grateful for youtubers like you, my dad didn't have the opportunity to be there in my life and teach me some basic men skills like in your video due to divorce. Keep up the great work educating others who may need it and it happens my bathroom door had the same issues, I'll go step by step with your video 😎🫡🍻
2:25 on exterior doors I drive a #8 by 4" in each hinge and the striker plate. That way it goes into the studs and makes the door much more resistant to break-ins. It also holds the hinges and striker more securely.
this is a gem in the comments
Good informative video. They make a product that’s plastic shims called EZ Shim. I’ve used those to square doors to the frame and use longer screws like you suggested in the video.
Very helpful thank you. And another thing i do sometimes for a stripped out screw hole is tap a plastic anchor in it and reuse the original screw. only of i wanted to use the same leingth, i tried it and it held strong. I appricciate the video.😀
Why not taking a 1/2 inch sanding cylinder that comes with your Dremel tool and grind down the latch down slightly. It takes one minute, and an since it's a non locking inside door it won't affect the security. Keep up the good work. Bob
I went with the washer trick. It works perfectly and only took a minute! Thanks!
You helped me fix that annoying door latch that wouldn't close. Saved me from hiring a handyman. Thanks !
Your technique is awesome and your video was the best I watched for door repairs; I watched a dozen of them and you were #1 in my book. I have an issue with our house settling; it is affecting several doors...each one differently (my luck). The first one I tackled was an inside door to our hot water heater closet, which was binding at the top. I tried hinges, with no luck and I finally resorted to sanding some from the top of the door. It now closes but the latch and the strike plate are misaligned. I am taking on that project next... QUESTION: if the latch is hitting high, do I adjust the top hinge with washers?
Nice info.
I am in North Texas, and we have serious foundation fluctuations in this area. it is common to see doors with as much as a 1/2 to 3/4 inch sag and alignment issues. My garage door was so extreme, I had to remove the latch plate, enlarge the hole in the jamb, then install the plate higher.
I will try your tip using the washers behind the hinge on a few of the other doors though. - Thanks.
I found a latch plate with a larger vertical opening, 2" vs 1". It gives extra room to allow for doors that keep moving up and down a little.
I do alot of doors and great tip. I take old hinges and cut off the ears and use them the same way that you use the washers. Again good job.
This worked perfectly for my door. Thanks!
You bet!
Option 2 longer two worked. If the holes are stripped, long screws don’t grip. Take a couple of toothpicks with some glue and shove them in the hole. Let set a few minutes and then redrill. Should help.
Golf tees work well also
Cheap lipstick is great for marking latch & dead bolt spots. Coat whole surface & it leaves exact spot & shape!
This is amazing info. I don’t know how this video popped, but I am having a problem with my front door due to taking it off the hinges and change the sweeper. I hated it when I installed it and and it wasn’t latching properly. I will try your method and hopefully I will be in luck. Thank you for sharing
Thanks dude! Didn't even have to get past minute 3:41 to fix a door that hasn't shut in over a year. Simplest fix ever...
Moving the plate down did the trick for the new lock install! Thanks for the help!
SHIMS!!!! There are specific shims for both common hinge sizes. I'll add 2 to the bottom hinge, one to the middle, and none to the top (or more on the bottom with an appropriate taper top to bottom)
works splendidly (almost) every time.
Thank you for the helpful tips, both tips one and two combine worked for me. 👍🏾
Thanks! Tightened the hinges and my door is latching just fine now
One of the doors in my apartment doesn’t close and maintenance takes forever (and always only halfway does the job anyway) so I wanted to see if there was something I could do about it. Thank you for this video!! I couldn’t have figured it out without the tutorial and turns out it was super simple 😊 shockingly, the apartment screwed the latch plate in crooked, which is why it wasn’t closing…. I wonder what the world would be like if everyone half-did their jobs the way apartment complexes do 😅 if you do things correctly the first time, there’s less issues down the line! I’m just glad it was so easy with the help of this video!! Thanks 🙏🏻
you saved me with the hinge intro mate. Was about to do way too much to the latch
This is a very common problem in my town. On Exterior door hinges I use 4" Exterior screws in the back holes to drive them into the Stud. This helps with security as well. I also use them on the Deadbolt strike plate for the same reason. On lighter interior doors I place white drywall anchors in the holes and reuse hinge screws. Some use toothpicks and glue but that just takes longer.
I had tried a couple of different things and thought I would have to do something more drastic, but the washer trick ended up working great for me! Thank you so much!
Great Video. More often than not, words just aren't enough, as I have read the steps countless times, yet seeing it done helped it all sink in. Thank you, sir!
10/10 my door is fixed! Well done mate!
One more scenario for you: my door was hitting the door frame at the top of the door, which forced the latch downward. The fix was to sand 1/8” off the top of the door, relieving downward pressure and allowing the latch to align.
great video, same exact issue, i thought it was a weak spring or something initially, easy fix afterall
realizing this video is 2 years old, I like to fill the old holes with a wood glue and saw dust mixture followed buy taking a shim custom ripped from another piece of wood to help make up the difference for the gap. A little sanding and some paint and you can reinstall all the Hardware like before and the gap is gone. leaves a great finish appearance in my opinion as well.
This is such a helpful video and you are incredibly knowledgeable. Now that I understand what I'm dealing with I know I'll have a big task ahead of me with numerous doors with these kinds of issues, but have the info needed to do it. You're a life saver!
You made the road map to fix such situation very nice and easy. Great video.
Thank you for the tutorial. I'm a widow and would like to try fixing things like this if I'm able.
Hey Rebecca, happy to help and let me know if you have any questions as you tackle projects around the house.
@Rebecca Dees - good for you! Nothing like depending on yourself whenever possible! :)
Very Good Information. I would just get a dremel and grind the plate down, cuz I'm lazy that way, but doing it right...by using washers on the hinges is spot on. Thanks for the tip!
Thank you! Excellent video! I'll give your suggestions a try! Really appreciate your expertise and clear instructions.
Damn I love youtube! My issue was with my front door. I had to use my dremel to grind the strike plate down just a tiny bit and BOOM! Fixed! Thank You!
Great video. Extremely helpful with the misaligned doors in my home. Thanks
Amazing video, thank you. By working through my door issue I discovered that the latch was in too short of a position and once I extended it the issue was resolved. The door can latch shut now.
No-one else showed how to use caulking to determine where the latch hits the strike plate. Thanks so much!
Glad it helped!
Great job talking through all the various ways to fix this problem!
Thanks! 👍
I used your washer trick to get my mom's door to latch. Thank you!
Just applied this technique to my own door. Thanks for the instruction!
That was really excellent. Now I will tackle my 3 doors that don't latch and see if I can solve the problem.
Best of luck on the troubleshooting! 👍
Thank you for posting
best description on how to adjust the door by removing the pins. it is a one time fix. nicely done ✅
Don't know if anyone mentioned it but Instead of a file, I use a Dremel to remove a little metal from the strike plate. Works like a charm.
I gave up cause I couldn’t find a rasp but now I just wiggle the door upwards to shut it so thanks I understand doors better now :)
Tightened up the screws on the hinges; works great. Thanks for sharing.
Always nice when step 1 fixes the problem. 👍
Thank you!! The longer screw did it! I didn't think it would be so easy!
This is actually a very common problem. After tightening the hinges and using longer screws and it still won't latch, I use a high speed rotary tool like a dremel and file out the catch plate. They also sell a rotary file bit if you want to you use a cordless drill it works the same but a bit slower. That usually fixes the problem in minutes. If it's really off, I move the whole catch. It takes some chiselwork and wood putty but it comes out nice, just don't forget to pilot drill the new screw holes first to prevent the jam from splitting. I never had to resort to spacing out or bending the hinges because it might cause the doors to stick or stick later when the weather changes. It's just a can of worms I would rather avoid.
Thank you very much for this video. The adjustment you made with the washers was very helpful. I have to try this when I get home.
Stripped screw hole: 1) fill hole with Plasticwood and let cure; 2) reinstall screw. Done. I've repaired broken molding with Plasticwood; it's amazing stuff
You can use any type of clear plastic. juice container or a soda bottle works great as shims. Just need to cut it in the shape of the hinge free cheap and easy.
You skipped "move the latch plate" solution. I think that's easier than shimming the door hinges. Just loosening the screws on it and pushing it down or up a little bit so that you can still use the same screw holes works. In extreme cases I have had to drill new holes but that's the exception.
I've found sometimes the issue is that the door latch was just never installed correctly to begin with. As with most contractor work, it was done by someone in a hurry who didn't really care whether it worked or not as long as it would pass inspection.
Thanks for the video!🥰🥰🥰
My door hinges got flex and the retractable is a bit below the hole; very hard to close.
Thank you so much. Tightening the screws did the trick.
My hands hurt and my back aches but my door closes. Thanks sir! filing was the answer...or at least an answer and i'll take it :)
You can use super glue to secure the washers, instead of using painters tape.
Don’t risk “marking up” your door jamb, with your utility knife blade, because you need to remove tape.
Nice/helpful video btw! Thank you!
Not a bad idea 🤔, thanks for the tip. 👍
Or weld them in place
Great video as always. Thanks just one very minor correction- that file you used was a convex file not concave :)