Q: My door knob often “sticks,” or feels like it’s locked, even when I know the door is unlocked. What causes this and how can it be fixed?
Let us examine the symptoms, explain the cause, and supply simple do-it-yourself solutions that will save you an unnecessary visit from a professional locksmith.
In most office and industrial settings, steel and wood doors are set into a steel frame. Some of these frames are narrow, with a pre-baked on finish, which has made them vastly more popular than industrial ready-to-paint heavy-duty frames that once were the standard. Often, the door is intended to have silencers but they were either never installed, or wore away over time. If the door should have silencers, you will notice three small holes along the door frame. Such door silencers perform two jobs:
First, as their name implies, they muffle the closing of a door by preventing the surface of the door from directly hitting the obvious contact point of the door frame, called the stop. This function is practically a necessity in office settings, but it makes for a much less dramatic effect when exiting an argument. :)
Second, and more importantly, the silencer provides a “filler” to make the door align with the frame at just the right point for the lock to work correctly. The door knob or lever has a latch that protrudes from the edge of the door. Imagine a line down the center of the door edge, and a similar line on the door frame, centered vertically between the two screws that hold the strike plate to the jamb. These two lines must be almost exactly aligned when door is closed for the latch to properly engage. The vertical center line on the frame is generally measured from the silencer, not the stop!
Where it all goes wrong:
If you look at a latch from a keyed lock, you will notice a large beveled part, and a narrow blunt piece. The blunt piece is called the deadlatch trigger. When the door is closed, the trigger stays retracted (which prevents “credit card entry”) and only the larger beveled piece of the latch enters the strike plate cavity on the door frame. Should the door close in too far, the deadlatch trigger may drop into the strike plate cavity with the beveled latch causing the door to jam or stick.
Fixing the Problem on Commercial Doors:
I recommend getting replacement silencers or, as a very good substitute, pick up an assortment of cork in different thicknesses, 3/16”, 1/4” and 5/16”. Glue the cork piece in the thickness that fits best to three spots along the frame: top and bottom and middle. Use an adhesive such as Household Goop (TM) to secure the cork silencers to the frame.
Residential Doors suffer a similar symptom, but for a host of different causes. We will address this issue soon!
We hope this saves you some money and aggravation! If you have any questions about locks, door issues, or other such troublesome devices, please don’t hesitate to email us at info@citylockusa.com, or call us at 303-444-4407.
