House Locks Are Not Locking Into the Jamb Properly

You should always test your doors in order to make sure that your lock latches and bolts are lining up with the strike plates in the door jamb. The reason for this is because 1) houses settle and move over time and 2) the weather will cause wood to shrink and expand. Here is how you check your latches and bolts.

1. Standing on the inside, close you your door and notice where the knob latch hits the plate on the door jamb. It should be dead center. If it hits off center and still locks, then you are still okay for the moment. You may need a flashlight.
2. Throw your deadbolt and verify that it is entering the plate dead center.
3. If everything looks okay, try this next test. Close the door gently. Look and listen to determine that the knob latch has clicked into place. Operate the deadbolt. If you have to close your door with a slam to get the latches to line up properly, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Over time, however, it may become an issue.
4. Check your hinge screws and make sure they are snug. If they are loose, they can cause the door to sag and the locks to lose their alignment. If your screws are stripped, get 3 inch long sheet rock screws and replace two in each hinge on the jamb. This will often pull the door up and realign the latches. If this doesn't help, proceed to the next section. But, by all means, tighten the hinge screws!

How to realign your strike plate. (Tools needed: Phillips screwdriver, wooden golf tees, pencil, hammer, and 1 inch wood chisel from Lowe's).

1. Using the above instructions, determine whether or not you need to raise, lower, set back, or move forward the knob strike plate.
2. Remove the strike plate.
3. Reposition the strike plate where needed and outline the place with a pencil.
4. Using your wood chisel and hammer, chisel out the wood by first outlining the marks you made with the pencil, and then chiseling out the wood itself.
5. Use golf tees to fill in the old screw holes. Just gently hammer them in until they are snug and then snap them off flush with the jamb.
6. Replace the strike plate and fasten with screws.
7. Follow the same procedure with the dead bolt strike plate.