Front door won't close.

[Rudders11]

Hi guys,

I'm new to this. But I'm in need of help.

My upvc front door won't close. It catches on the top lock of the door onto the frame. If I put a key in and turn it, it will close. But take the key out, the mechanism falls a little bit, which causes it to catch.

Hope some one can help. I think it needs adjustment, but, being a Sunday, and the front door. I don't want to start taking it apart blind. So, any help would be grateful.

Cheers,
J

 

[Diyisfun]

How old is it?
Is under warranty still?
Also, they like pictures on here, so if you can post one, preferably of the door.lol

 

[God]

Sounds like toe and heal, for now if it has adjustable hinges wind the top one over a bit

 

[crank39]

Sounds like a worn mechanism to me, claw hooks(if thats what it has) are heavy and on worn mechanisms have a tendancy to flop back down just a bit but enough to catch the frame, some pics would help though

 

[Rudders11]

I'll try and get a photo up now.

 

[Rudders11]

I've uploaded a photo into an album. Don't know if you can see it or not.

'God' I've tweaked the grub screws in the hinges already. I'm thinking it might need a new barrel. When the key is in the door, on the inside it works fine. The claw stays back. When you take the key out it drops a little bit, we're talking mm. So it just catches.

 

[Rudders11]

Door

• Rudders11
• 5 Jan 2014
• 1

Door claw

 

[crank39]

Sloppy claw, i bet if you push it back it just flops back out to that position?

 

[Rudders11]

Correct.

 

[crank39]

Worn mechanism unfortunately, best case scenario is you can just replace the main gearbox in the centre of the door IF the type of mechanism you have allows the seperation of the gearbox from the long strip of metal (the strap), if not then you'll need the whole job lot. This is where it can become tricky, you need to id what make of lock you have, look for any makers name or logo along the long strip, here are some pointers or names to look for...

http://www.dgsupplyline.co.uk/door-hardware/multipoint-door-locks/

 

[pinenot]

Whilst wear and tear do seem likely, the manufacturers provided adjustment points for just this situation. In each hinges in the form of a grub style screw (normally at the bottom of the barrel) these may be under plug covers, also the hook keepers in the frame stile are also normally adjustable. Sometimes there's also a provision to slew the door (not toe & heel) within the frame, lifting the upper hook marginally more than the lower one. Failing all of this the door may be hung on lift off hinges allowing for shims to be inserted to raise the door to the frame, thereby raising the hooks, you just need to check the lock strike will still have clearance to proceed...pinenot

 

[God]

Try this it has worked on a few locks I have looked at, leave the handle on and undo the screws to the top half of the mechanism, once undone pull the multipoint out so it bends in the middle, then screw it back in, like I say this has solved this problem about 3 times for me.