Moving Screw Hole in Door Jamb
#1
11-21-11, 08:25 PM
Moving Screw Hole in Door Jamb
Hi all--
We're in the middle of replacing all of the door slabs in our house with six panel ones (see post from other day when you were all so helpful--we've had success so far, thanks to the advice I got here!).
On our bathroom door, we installed it and it looks pretty good, but it doesn't close perfectly. After observing and opening the door 100 times, we've concluded the problem is with the position of the door catch. When you swing the door closed, the latch doesn't go all of the way into the catch unless you press the door firmly. Therefore, the catch needs to come out a little ways.
On the door jamb, there were two small washers over the existing screw holes for the catch, and when I took them off, it revealed another set of old screw holes. Naturally, I re-installed the catch using those old screw holes to see if it would fix the problem. It did--the door closes (and the latch catches) very easily now. However, now the catch is "too loose"--in other words, the door "rattles" when it's closed because the catch is now too far forward.
(I hope I'm making sense with all of this.)
Here is a photo of what we're dealing with on the jamb:
Basically, in order for our door to close properly, we need to put a screw hole right in between those existing holes. Is there any way to do this? Obviously, I'm concerned that if we do so, we'll end up with giant holes (the three holes combined!) instead of the one we need.
This is probably a dumb question, but we're beginners, and any help is appreciated.
We're in the middle of replacing all of the door slabs in our house with six panel ones (see post from other day when you were all so helpful--we've had success so far, thanks to the advice I got here!).
On our bathroom door, we installed it and it looks pretty good, but it doesn't close perfectly. After observing and opening the door 100 times, we've concluded the problem is with the position of the door catch. When you swing the door closed, the latch doesn't go all of the way into the catch unless you press the door firmly. Therefore, the catch needs to come out a little ways.
On the door jamb, there were two small washers over the existing screw holes for the catch, and when I took them off, it revealed another set of old screw holes. Naturally, I re-installed the catch using those old screw holes to see if it would fix the problem. It did--the door closes (and the latch catches) very easily now. However, now the catch is "too loose"--in other words, the door "rattles" when it's closed because the catch is now too far forward.
(I hope I'm making sense with all of this.)
Here is a photo of what we're dealing with on the jamb:
Basically, in order for our door to close properly, we need to put a screw hole right in between those existing holes. Is there any way to do this? Obviously, I'm concerned that if we do so, we'll end up with giant holes (the three holes combined!) instead of the one we need.
This is probably a dumb question, but we're beginners, and any help is appreciated.
#2
11-21-11, 08:37 PM
Group Moderator
Good explanation. Probably the EASIEST thing to do would be to grab yourself a pack of clear rubber cabinet bumpers (they are round and self-adhesive), and put 3 or 4 of them on your (latch side) door stop so that the door doesn't rattle around when you have the strike plate positioned in the outer holes. I usually cut each round bumper in half so that it's a semi-circle... fits better against the jamb that way. The nice thing about those rubber bumpers is that they really quiet your doors down when you shut them.
If you wanted to try a new location between those existing holes you would need to drill the jamb out to accept a dowel. If you use a 3/8" dowel, you would drill a 3/8" hole and then glue a short piece of dowel into that hole, creating a "plug" for your new hole location. It would be very important for you to wait about 2 hours until the wood glue sets up around the new piece of dowel. Once the glue has dried, you would drill pilot holes for your new strike plate location using a drill bit that is slightly smaller than the shank of the screw. Good luck!
If you wanted to try a new location between those existing holes you would need to drill the jamb out to accept a dowel. If you use a 3/8" dowel, you would drill a 3/8" hole and then glue a short piece of dowel into that hole, creating a "plug" for your new hole location. It would be very important for you to wait about 2 hours until the wood glue sets up around the new piece of dowel. Once the glue has dried, you would drill pilot holes for your new strike plate location using a drill bit that is slightly smaller than the shank of the screw. Good luck!
#3
11-22-11, 05:02 AM
Group Moderator
Check at your local home center (Lowes, Home Depot, Menards...) for an adjustable strike plate. It should be $3 or $4. When installed it allows you to adjust the strike plate's position without drilling new holes. With the screws loose you just slide the plate to where you want it and then tighten the screws.
#4
11-22-11, 05:31 AM
Super Moderator
If these are newer plates, you might be able to just bend the small tab in the hole slightly, using a small screwdriver. Thats if the are just the flat stamped metal ones. If the are the cup type they don't have the tab.
