Christian

Hi all,

We have a couple of different interior doors in the house that don't close properly.

The edges on all sides of the door don't hit the frame, so the doors work great in that respect.

However, the "depth" of the door is the problem. The doors I'm talking about have to be pushed in very hard for the knob to actually click and "lock" in place to hold the door shut.

They are ancient knobs that are going to be replaced also, and the doors will be painted.

Is there a good way to give them some extra "depth" when closing so that (even after I add another coat of paint and the new knobs) they will shut properly?

Thanks.

dakuda

You could remove the strike plate and knock out some more of the frame to move the plate towards the swing of the door. That would give you a little bit more room.

Christian

Could you describe this in a bit more detail? Is the strike plate the curved piece (excuse my technical jargon) that bolts to the door jam?

That would make sense...remove that piece and make the "hole" in the door jam bigger (closer to the door side), and then screw it in so it sits closer to the door, right?

dakuda

Yup. It is not the 'best' way to fix it, but if you plan on replacing the doors and frame someday anyway it will hold you over for quite a while.

handyguys

I would suggest another, better in my opinion, way to fix them.

Take a look at the stops on the door. This is the wood that the door presses against when closed. Its just a little strip, maybe 1/2" thick by 1.25" long. I'll bet when you press the door closed its hitting at the top, or the bottom, but not both and its not even.

Since you are repainting - I would remove this trim. Close the door so it latches properly and then re-install while the door is closed. This will give you a nice even look and no more binding. A small brad air nailer works great for easily re-installing this trim.

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Christian

That seems like a better way to fix the problem.

My only issue is...there are so many layers of old paint over this area I'm not so sure it will be very easy to get the trim off. Plus...I hadn't planned on painting inside the door jam...just the door itself. I suppose I could do it this way still, but it will be a lot of extra work...even if it is the correct way to do it.

Do you think the above mentioned way could suffice also? I don't want to 'hack' it, but they are very old doors and will possibly be replaced eventually so if it will hold up I may go the quicker/easier route on this one...

dakuda

Handyguys' way is better. My offering was the 'quick and dirty' method.

handyguys

quick & dirty may be fine for your situation. Biggest issue may be the screw holes are too close to he old ones making it a little awkward to re-attach the strike plate.

With my technique I would probably just put on new stop material rather than trying to save the old.

Then remember - "a little caulk, a little paint, makes a carpenter what he aint" Caulk will probably be required where the old meets the new to hide the transition from the old to he new.

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Christian

I actually got this done last week...finally.

The new strike plates that came with the new knobs worked great. I backed them slightly and there was actually room for new screw holes. Worked like a charm.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!