I have an interior door that sticks at the top.It sticks close to the jamb.I went ahead and used a plane to remove some of the material. Now the door wont latch. The sticking problem is gone, however, I seem to have created a new problem.The stricker wont catch in the stricker plate. I tried unscrewing the striker and moving its position, but no luck.Any advise? anyone?

 

You need to figure out WHY it won't latch.

Push the door ALMOST closed, so you can see where the latch is about to hit the strike plate. It should be right in the middle, not to the top or bottom. If you have to move the strike plate up or down to get that, use a chisle and adjust the mortise, then fill the existing screw holes with wood (toothpicks or match stikes work well), THEN install teh strike plate in its new location.

Once you have the height of the strike plate, you need its DEPTH. If it's too deep into the door jamb, the door will hit the stops before the latch catches in the strike plate. Move the strike plate away from the door stop.

Once you have the plate in a spot where the door latches, check it. If the door moves back and forth, most strike plates have a tab that you can adjust (by bending with a screwdriver) to eliminate the movement.

Before you planed the door, did you check and make sure the hinges screws were tight?? Might check that before you go messing with the strike plate.

 

I did not check the hinges before I planed, but I did after I read your post.They were all tight.I did look and see where the sriker hit on the plate, and its not centered.I will have to do as you said, and chissle out some the existing strike plate notch, and redrill for the screws.The whole plate needs to be moved up a quarter inch or so.It must have never latched properly , and we couldnt tell do to the sticking, since that always kept the door shut tight.I also need to apply some paint where I removed material as to keep it from warping.Thanks for your help!!