Adjusting Your Door Strike Plate

Is your door not closing properly? One of the things that may be causing it is a misaligned door strike plate. Now, you’re saying, what is a door strike plate? Well, that is the metal piece that is in the door frame that your door handle or deadbolt aligns with to close the door. Other problems can occur if this plate is out of place like weakening the door frame or affecting the effectiveness of the door lock. So, now that we have that covered, let’s talk about making some adjustments to the strike plate. 

One of the easiest things to do is to tighten the screws on the strike plate. Over time, it’s possible that these can loosen just from regular usage and you can try tightening them to fix your door closing issues.

If your deadbolt isn’t aligning in the strike plate properly anymore, you can move the whole strike plate. If the misalignment is severe, you can unscrew the plate and move it for proper alignment.Though, in this case, you may want to look at other issues (are your hinges secure?), as to why the door is so misaligned and address that problem too. Those other door fixes may put your door strike plate back into its proper place with the deadbolt. If it’s just a little off or the deadbolt doesn’t seem to be closing fully, you can also trim the wood where the hole is for the deadbolt.

You could also look into installing adjustable strike plates that come with ovular screw holes so you can make adjustments without having to install new pilot holes for the screws.
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If all else fails, it might just be that you need a new strike plate. If you are having troubles, don’t hesitate to contact a locksmith, to ensure you have a secure lock in place. Give us a call at Minnesota Locks for any questions and help that you may need! 

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