Close the door tightly and let go of the knob.
Move door latch plate.
Move it away from the center if the strike will not seat when the door is closed.
Draw along the vertical edge of the latch bolt adjacent to the flat side of the bolt with a pencil.
Remove the strike plate and change its location on the door jamb if the misalignment is too severe to correct otherwise.
When i am hanging doors or adjusting doors the strike plate occasionally isn t ideally located causing the door latch to have play at the strike or if too tight making it difficult to latch without slamming or pushing hard.
One of the easiest types of wood door repair but one that can make a big change in your home is moving the strike plate.
Hold it in place and tighten the screws.
The bolt will make a pencil mark on the doorjamb.
Use a block of wood and a hammer to tap the strike plate in the right direction.
Draw pencil marks around the outside perimeter of the plate the latch hole and the screw holes.
This kit can be used to easily repair a door that fails to latch when it is closed.
Need to drill a new hole really close to the original one.
First shut the door and take a look at how far off the strike plate is in order for the latch barrel to align with the plate hole.
For minor adjustments you may be able to loosen the plate and tap it in the direction you need.
Over time or due to.
Move the plate up down forward or to the inside as necessary to accommodate the latch.
Turn the knob and hold it to keep the bolt retracted.
Have a door out of alignment due to settling.
To snug the door up you would move the strike plate toward the center of the door jamb.
A door strike plate attaches to the latch side door jamb.
It has a round or square hole that the door latch bolt fits into when you turn the knob and close the door.
If it only misses by 1 8 inch or less the problem can likely be solved by tapping the plate in the right direction with a hammer.
The strike plate is the small piece of metal on the door frame where the latch from the key rests when the door is closed.
Here s an easy way to mark the side to side position of a strike plate for a standard lockset.