Exterior Door Latch Stuck

On the kwikset locks this looks like two little teeth that the cylinder pushes back.

Exterior door latch stuck.

With the door latch stuck you want to know how to fix the issue but in order to do that you must find out the reason it is stuck. There can be a door latch stuck open or a door latch stuck closed but the reasons for each can vary quite a bit. Door lock doesn t latch properly. Of course if it s on an exterior door you ll want to do this when the weather is nice and when it s safe to leave the door unlocked.

Depending on the material the door is made of metal wood etc a wooden door can be removed and planed in the area that is causing the sticking. Sometimes the lock button being stuck is endemic of the latch bolt freezing so you might not be able to take advantage of spring loaded latch through the gap between the door and the frame. You should first test the door latch to ensure the latch is sticking inside the door and not due to a misaligned strike plate. At least it s not a stuck latch that won t let you open the door.

A handful of things can cause a door latch to get stuck in the open position. If it is a metal door and the jamb is wood you will have to address the jamb. How can i unstick the bottom of an exterior door that got stuck due to weather. Tighten the hinge screws and then try adjusting.

There s one piece of good news if you have a stuck latch that won t let you shut the door. A sticking door latch might require some lubrication or it might be jamming against the strike plate on the door jamb. There are several different ways a door latch can be stuck. You can see where the cylinder entered the dead latch mechanism and pulled the latch back.

When a door latch doesn t click into position it usually means the latch and the strike plate are out of alignment. Taking the lock of the door is often simpler than it would be to take a deadbolt or exterior door knob lock of the door.