Room door locks locking us in


  #1  
Old 01-19-19, 03:19 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: VA
Posts: 416
Received 1 Upvote on 1 Post
Room door locks locking us in

We just moved to this house and notice that while all of the door locks to the room doors are the same, several of them behave differently.

The if the door lock "part" is turned to lock people out from entering the room, it also locks the person inside of the room in.

I thought that it was usually either or.

Any ideas what is going wrong here?

Do I need to purchase new locks or is there something that can be done with the existing locks?

Thanks!




 
  #2  
Old 01-19-19, 03:35 PM
Norm201's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 10,956
Received 721 Upvotes on 640 Posts
Sounds like the back-set is not retracting all the back into the lock when you turn the handle. Are the striker plates mortised into the door frame ?
 
  #3  
Old 01-19-19, 03:41 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: VA
Posts: 416
Received 1 Upvote on 1 Post
I don't want to be one of those people who doesn't answer the questions being answered from those trying to help, but if I understand the lingo correctly It would have to do with the assembly itself since it happens even if the door is in this position. In other words, both sides of the handle won't move if the lock is put into the vertical position even if it's sitting like this. If the lock is left in the horizontal position, both sides of the handle move freely.

Could I take more pictures or provide more information? Thanks.

 
  #4  
Old 01-19-19, 03:58 PM
Norm201's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 10,956
Received 721 Upvotes on 640 Posts
OK, I understand. The mechanism is not broken.

both sides of the handle won't move if the lock is put into the vertical position even if it's sitting like this. If the lock is left in the horizontal position, both sides of the handle move freely.
As it should be.

The locking mechanism should be on the inside of the room, preventing unwanted visitors from entering, but allowing the person inside to allow himself to get out. If the vertical lock mechanism is on the outside, then it's wrong and considered unsafe. You need to reverse the locks.
 
  #5  
Old 01-19-19, 04:13 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: VA
Posts: 416
Received 1 Upvote on 1 Post
...but both sides of the handle cannot move when the lock is placed in the vertical position. So even after reversing the lock both sides of the handle still will not move resulting in the same problem right?

The vertical lock (or at least the part that you move with your fingers is on the inside of the door).
 
  #6  
Old 01-19-19, 04:28 PM
Norm201's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 10,956
Received 721 Upvotes on 640 Posts
the part that you move with your fingers is on the inside of the door).
Correct!

Let's suppose you rent a room in this house. You want privacy. So you lock yourself in the room. People on the outside cannot just walk in. But you can release the lock anytime to let yourself out. And if there is fire or an emergency you can easily exit the lock room by unlocking it. And yes the handles do not move when locked. Most interior and exterior doors work that way.
 
  #7  
Old 01-19-19, 05:06 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: VA
Posts: 416
Received 1 Upvote on 1 Post
Thanks. I think I got this. Is it difficult to reverse? Seems like it wouldn't be terribly hard.
 
  #8  
Old 01-19-19, 05:30 PM
S
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: WI/MN
Posts: 19,119
Received 1,262 Upvotes on 1,203 Posts
Levers like that may not reverse - they can be side-specific for the door, unlike a knob.

That said, I haven't convinced myself yet that's what needs to happen. In your first post. you show two pics - is the top one outside the room and the bottom one inside? If so, that's the correct installation. The idea is that the door locks both handles so you don't accidentally leave the room and close the door with it locked because you get warned it's locked and have to unlock it to get out. It's a preference thing, some people like this feature and some do not and it can be the reason you buy one brand of lock over another.
 
  #9  
Old 01-19-19, 09:21 PM
R
Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 1,378
Received 45 Upvotes on 42 Posts
Most inexpensive privacy function locks work this way; others have a push button inside that pops out when you turn the inside knob or lever. In commercial applications, you have to have the latter type where a single motion allows egress. Do you have other locks in the house that function like this? I think that with some brands, if the inner spindle is installed incorrectly, it may result in locking both sides, whereas when correctly assembled, rotating the inside lever retracts the latch and turns the locking button into the unlocked position. If the brand you have is the ever-popular Kwikset, at least on the older versions that I'm familiar with, the operation is as you describe; you have to unlock the turn button before operating the lever.

These type levers are handed, though just for aesthetic purposes; it works fine but looks odd when reversed.
 
  #10  
Old 01-20-19, 04:35 AM
pugsl's Avatar
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 8,161
Received 77 Upvotes on 70 Posts
Also the big screw in handle with the button if you put a coin in and turn the lock will unlock.
 
  #11  
Old 01-20-19, 06:03 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: VA
Posts: 416
Received 1 Upvote on 1 Post
Thanks everyone. Top picture is outside the room and bottom picture is inside the room. Yep, aware of the coin or butter knife trick.

No, not all of the handles like this in the house act like this and they are all the same.

I am not completely convinced that reversing the lock is the correct course of action.

With the locks that are failing, you can't quite turn the lock to the vertical position it will almost make it to about 1 am but go no further. This happens whether the door is shut or open.

The house is only about 5 years old, so the locks aren't ancient.

It almost seems like there is some binding not allowing the lock to turn 100% to vertical which is causing this.

Tempted to take the assembly off completely and lube it up but I don't know what I am doing.
 
  #12  
Old 01-20-19, 06:12 PM
XSleeper's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 27,045
Received 1,905 Upvotes on 1,711 Posts
Tempted to take the assembly off completely and lube it up but I don't know what I am doing.
Well, it's only 2 screws so I doubt it would be too hard to screw up. If you lube, get some "WD-40 Dry lube".
 
  #13  
Old 01-20-19, 06:37 PM
Norm201's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 10,956
Received 721 Upvotes on 640 Posts
It almost seems like there is some binding not allowing the lock to turn 100% to vertical which is causing this.
This is not totally uncommon. Lubricated it. Save yourself frustration and use the locks as they are. They are doing their job as installed.
 
  #14  
Old 01-20-19, 06:41 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: VA
Posts: 416
Received 1 Upvote on 1 Post
Thanks! I have Kroil, Regular WD-40, and Liquid Wrench. Any of these ok?

I will just pull it apart and take my chances. You are right.
 
  #15  
Old 01-20-19, 06:47 PM
Norm201's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 10,956
Received 721 Upvotes on 640 Posts
None of those are particularly good for that use, but go ahead and use a little WD-40.
 
  #16  
Old 01-20-19, 07:46 PM
S
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: WI/MN
Posts: 19,119
Received 1,262 Upvotes on 1,203 Posts
Personally, I would use Kroil out of that group, it's at least an actual oil.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description: