Adjust Exterior Door Strike Plate

Have a door out of alignment due to settling.

Adjust exterior door strike plate.

For an exterior door you want the door to snug up against the weatherstripping. From inside the room begin closing the door while keeping an eye on the latch bolt and the strike plate. You should be able to get an idea without the door being closed fully if the strike plate. If your filing action is shaking the strike plate remove the plate and secure it in a vise for your repair.

Insert either a triangular file or a flat file that s small enough to fit inside the strike plate. Latches that don t fit properly into these plates will allow doors to rattle or prevent them from closing. If it only misses by 1 8 inch or less the problem can likely be solved by tapping the plate in the right direction with a hammer. Place the strike plate against the door jamb its the new location then trace around the plate with a pencil.

Tighten the top hinge to make the latch hit higher on the strike plate or the bottom hinge to make it hit lower. Bend the strike plate s latch pocket tab straight with the pliers. Step 4 add cardboard shims between the hinges and the frame on either the top or the bottom depending on whether you need to raise or lower the door. The stripped hole repair kit from king s original ha.

4 score the outline. What you didn t know you could adjust a door strike. The strike plate is the piece of door hardware that attaches to the door jamb and receives the latch. Adjust strike plates to close doors securely.

First shut the door and take a look at how far off the strike plate is in order for the latch barrel to align with the plate hole. File off enough metal to allow the latch to catch inside the plate and secure the door. The strike plate may need to move in or out slightly to allow the strike to seat correctly. Thankfully the door latches and knobs don t have to be moved to correct these problems.

Move it away from the center if the strike will not seat when the door is closed. Tighten the screws on the hinge plate that holds the door onto the frame.