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Doors and Windows Door Lock Q's & A's Can't find a solution to your problem? Post a question in our Forums. Enlarging holes to install new door lock Outside of purchasing a new door, how does one best enlarge an existing hole in order to instal a new lock? I ran across this problem just the other day, I had a dremel tool and bought a high speed cutting bit for it and reamed it out a little... The Dremel comes through again... Interior door lock set We recently moved into a house in which one of the bathroom doors has a "reversed lock set", I believe. The latch normally stays recessed inside the door. When you turn the doorknob, the latch comes out. Also, you cannot lock the door using the button. I want to fix the latch, so it operates like all the other doors in the house. I believe all you need to do is take off the two knobs.. One should have an allen screw then other will be attached to the shaft that runs through the door. Once apart.. look at the mechanism and turn it 90 degrees.... so the latch is now out. Then reattach the knobs. Sticky Deadbolt Lock I was wondering what to do to loosen up a dead bolt that just doesn't want to turn. WD-40? Or something else? Another good alternative that I often use instead of oil or WD-40 is graphite shavings. You can buy it in a tube at your hardware store. Graphite is like a very slippery dust and therefore will not become gunky like oil or WD-40. Dead bolt I am trying to install a dead bolt lock and I got the kit to do it, but I have one question. Should I drill the hole first or should I drill it from the side? I normally drill the 2 1/8 in hole first, then the side hole. No particular reason to do it either way. It IS important, for both steel and wood doors to drill the large hole just deep enough so that the pilot bit comes through the other side, then go to the other side and drill the rest of the hole out from there. Otherwise you risk chipping the wood or bending the metal.

Door lock won't hold

When you shut the bedroom door tight, you can still push it open...even if it is locked. It's like the lock doesn't hold in the frame. We have a 3 year old coming to visit and want to keep him out of that room but know that he can just push on the door and it'll open, even when it is shut tight. HELP!!

It sounds like the frame is a little too wide for the door. Take a look.. you can try a simple fix like this...
Unscrew the strike plate, and put paper behind it (a match book maybe just the right thickness) and screw it back in. With the plate out that much further it may catch.You can try the same thing with the hinges on the door. Put equal thickness of paper behind each hinge and reattach them.


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The other thing you may want to look at is where the latch is in relation to where the strike plate is.
If the plunger doesn't match up with the hole in the plate, it won't latch. Sometimes when houses settle, the door frames get a little out of whack. You may have to move the strike plate up or down a little.




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