Just recently our Anderson wood sliding patio door has become very difficult to lock. We literally have to grab hold of the door handle and pull the door toward us in order to get the lock to engage. Is there any way to fix this problem? All other aspects of the door seem fine. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

Welcome to the forums! Not sure of your lock mechanism, but there may be an adjustment to the striker so you can move it outward to capture the lock. Being winter, and moist, it is possible, too the door has swollen to where the lock doesn't match up. Was the door finished on top, bottom and all sides prior to installation?

 

Do you mean you have to pull the door tighter to the frame, or actually pull the door towards the inside of the home?

If you have to pull tight to the frame....
There is an adjustment on the strike in the frame. If the door is contacting the seal well, and the only issue is the reachout latch not catching the strike, you can turn the small screw on the strike to move it out slightly.

Normally the issue is just the opposite, it loosens with time, and needs to be turned into the frame slightly to get tighter.

If you have to pull towards the interior of the home....
One of the 2 componants (reach-out latch, or strike) may have become mis-aligned or bent. Not sure of the cause, but if they have been working for a number of years, I would think you should be able to eyeball the alignment and adjust as required. Flip the lever to extend the latch (may have to depress a catch in the mechanism) and see where the problem is. If it has a small probe on the strike that depresses the catch, it could be that a part has worn and is not allowing the latch to flip out and engage the strike without the addition force.

If I was at my old house I could tell you better, but we have Andersen Frenchwood swing doors here, not gliders.

 

Thank you for the warm welcome! In answer to your questions: We have to pull the door toward the interior to get it to latch. We found the adjustment on the latch and turned the adjustment screw, first out and then in. It does not seem to make a difference in the locking. We still have to pull the door inward to do so. I'm not sure about the bent part. It doesn't appear to be bent, but then the door has been in place since 1990. I guess I shouldn't complain about it huh? Not everything works for that many years.

 

Did you extend the latch and see if it will go into the strike pocket? You don't flip the lever all the way over as that will cause the latch to rotate down and back. Just enough to extend the latch straight out.

If this is an all wood door (which I missed in the first post) some warping could be the cause, easily measured with most any 3ft (or preferably longer) level or straightedge.

The strike has a good amount of leeway but not much adjustment from int to ext.

What about the little post or probe on the strike to release the latch. Not sure if your's has that.

 

Just looked at the latch and pocket as you suggested. As you are looking at the pocket the latch strikes high and to the left. Could this have something to do with the entire door being too high? As for the post or probe to release the latch, I'm not sure what to look for on that one. I had to pick the coldest day to do this. It's only 8 degrees with a wind chill of -10 degrees. I do appreciate your help, so wind chill or no, I will keep trying.

 

Yes the door could be a little high and I guess its possible that wear on the rollers (or some bowing) could cause it to move some to the left. I'll take a look at some parts for your door and see what else I could recommend.

The Andersen site is loading really slowly, so may be a while before I can look at anything. This door is vinyl exterior wood interior? Is it the Frenchwood style (large thick wood members around the glass)?

 

Yes, it is the Frenchwood style, and it is vinyl on the outside. Meanwhile, I'll check for warpage.

 

Ok, the newer locks have a little "button" that is pushed in by a small stud at the bottom of the strike. Your's may not have that due to the age. Doesn't really matter, since you are able to extend the latch.

My method of adjusting the height is to just raise the door far enuf so that it rolls smoothly and doesn't rub. It's pretty easy to do. Pull the plugs on the interior of the door and I think it takes a phillips screwdriver. Take a little weight off the door by lifting up slightly and turn the internal mechanism. Its a ratchet action I believe, I'll check, if I can get it to load.


EDIT...hmmm doesn't say, just insert screwdriver, turn CW to raise, CCW to lower.

 

Let me see if I can help. The Andersen Frenchwood Glider has a few areas for adjustment. For the height there is anadjustment on the rollers located at the bottom of the door. You will see 2 slotted plugs on the face of the panel, remove them with a slotted srewdriver. Then insert the screwdriver into the holes, there is a slot, may need at least a 1/2" screwdriver, rotate clockwise to raise door slab. The other adjusment are in the locking mecanism located in the slab of the active door and the reciever in the jamb. You will have an adjustment screw that will adjust the reciever and how tight the door will lock, rotate either clockwise or counter clockwise to make adjustments. If the alignement for the "button" that allows the reachout lock is out of alignment you can also make adjustments on the jamb reciever by loosening the screws and sliding up or down. Your installer may have put a 3" screw into the jamb and this would need to removed prior to making this adjustment.
Now, if the reachout lock is no longer working you may need to replace it. Andersen has changed the operation for the reachout lock and reciever, just reversed it so the alignment button is on the slab, so when you order new parts you need both pieces. Takes about 10 minutes to change. You can call Andersen and they will send the parts if needed right to you. Some local dealers may also have them in stock.

 

Just wanted to let all of you know that the door has been fixed. We followed all of your suggestions, which directed us to the to the "cause" of the problem. While lowering the rollers in an attempt to adjust the door, we noticed that the set of rollers closest to the opening of the door, was off the roller track causing the lock striker to be to the left of the lock opening, and also causing the casing to warp slightly in toward the living room. After much lifting and moving of the door we ended up having to grind a small amount of the striker plate off to get the lock to engage correctly. It is now working like a charm. Thank you all for your advice and suggestions, they were greatly appreciated!