How to fix a door that won't latch

If you have a door that won't latch properly, there's three ways you can fix it, depending on the problem!

Ever have one of those problems when you move into your house that isn't a priority and five years later you realize it never got fixed?

The door to the porch off our primary bedroom hasn't latched properly since before we moved into the house and we never did anything about it. Overall, it usually doesn't matter, but this winter the wood expansion from the weather took it to a new level.

The door latch wouldn't catch in the strike plate but would stayed closed if the deadbolt is in. But the deadbolt didn't latch properly either.

So we finally decided to fix it.

How to fix a door that won't catch

There's four options for fixing a door that won't catch properly, depending on what your specific issue is. Start with the easiest option and work down if that doesn't work.

When you're examining your door, you will need to first figure out what the problem is and then use that information to figure out how to fix it.

Let's take a look at how to do that!

Tools you might need

Here's the tools you might need to fix your door that won't latch:

• 3" screws
• Metal file
• Chisel
• Cordless drill

Figure out the problem

First you need to figure out if your door is sagging or pulled up too high. It could also be that your door frame is out of alignment or the strike plates are misaligned.

Start by putting some painter's tape over the strike plate and painting some finger nail polish, lipstick or wet paint on the latch. Then close the door so you can see where it's hitting the painter's tape.

If the paint is hitting above the hole on the strike plate, your door is pulled up too high. If the paint is hitting below the hole on the strike plate, your door is sagging.

You also need to look at the alignment of the door by looking at the gaps all the way around. It could be that your door is pulled all the way in but there is a gap in a corner by the door, meaning your door frame isn't square.

Once you know whether you need to move the door up or down, time to figure out which way to fix it.

Tighten the hinge

The easiest way to fix a door that won't latch is to tighten a hinge to the door frame. If you door is sagging, you want to tighten the top hinge. If the door is too high, you want to tighten the bottom hinge.

To do this, remove a couple of the standard ¾" screws from the hinge for your problem. Then, replace them with a 3" long screw.

The idea here is that the long screw can better grab the wood of the door frame and pull the hinge and the door a little bit.

Chisel out the hinge notch

Similar to the first option, your hinge notch might not be deep enough on that side. You might need to chisel out a little bit of the hinge notch to help set the hinge deepter.

Just like if you need to cut out a hinge notch from scratch, you just need to shave off a small amount from the hinge notch here with a chisel. Don't go too deep, just an ⅛" at first.

Then, follow up with the long screws to draw the hinge into the deeper hole. This will pull that end of the door further in.

File down the strike plate

If the door isn't the issue, it could be just that the strike plate wasn't installed in the right spot.

If your door latch is just barely missing the hole in the strike plate (⅛" or less), try filing down the inside of the strike plate first.

Remove the strike plate from the door, then use a metal file to file the side of the strike plate that you need to remove. File it until you've removed enough that the latch will fit into the hole.

If you do this option, you may have to use a chisel to clear out the wood behind the strike plate that now shows from where you filed it down.

Move the strike plate

If the door latch is missing by more than ⅛", you probably won't be able to file the strike plate down. Instead, you'll have to move the strike plate.

This isn't ideal because you likely don't have a lot of room to move it without the screws going in the previous holes or into the latch hole.

But, you can move it and use longer screws to attach the strike plate where you need to. Then you'll have to chisel out the hole to fit the new space for the latch.

Fixing a door that won't latch

If you have a door handle or dead bolt that won't latch because it's hitting the strike plate, there's a few ways to fix it. This is a great DIY project that won't take very long and you'll be ready to go with your fixed door soon!