When holes are placed too closely together, they can compromise the screw strength as a thin splinter of wood separating two holes makes the strike plate very insecure. However, if you are only moving the strike up, down, or to the side slightly, then you may not be able to simply re-screw it into the frame. From there you can either widen the hole both of the wood and metal, or you can unscrew the strike and re-secure it in the proper position. By shutting your door, you can mark the point on the door frame that latch is coming in contact with. The Fix: A short term fix is to move the strike plate to align better with the stuck door latch. This is likely to come along with a door latch stuck in as it cannot extend into the hole it is meant for. This can lead to scrapping that requires excess force to have the latch retract against the friction of metal sliding against metal. What is happening on a physical level is that when you are trying to retract or extend the latch into the bored hole of the strike plate, the metal latch is not falling into the hole perfectly. In either case, this type of issue is bound to recur with annual or semi-annual frequency. The reason the strike plate has become misaligned might have something to do with moisture expanding the wood of your door, or perhaps even an issue with the foundation of your home not being secure. The Issue: With the door latch stuck only when you are attempting to open a closed door, but not when the door is open, you might have a misaligned strike plate. These are not the only possible reasons a door latch is stuck, but they are the most likely to be the issues you are facing. Below are some of the issues you may be experiencing along with the possible fixes that you can seek to do yourself or with the help of a professional. You can now use your observations to make an informed possible diagnosis on the reason the door latch is stuck. With the information you have gathered from dealing with the door latch stuck or unstuck in the different scenarios, you should have better insight into what may be going wrong with the lock.
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