How To Fix My Front Door Lock

1 loosen the setscrew on the knob s shank.

How to fix my front door lock.

Using gloves dry the key and insert it slowly into the lock. Don t call the locksmith just yet. Open the door wide and put on a pair of safety glasses to protect your eyes. Inspect the strike plate on the edge of the door frame.

3 if this does not help remove the knob. The basics of how to fix a door lock that is jammed in this way comes down to heat. Warm the key by placing it on top of a radiator or in a bowl of hot water. Equip a rotary tool with a carbide tip bit.

If the weather is very cold don t discount the possibility that the lock might have frozen. A latch bolt that sticks in the strike often leave tell tale marks or scrapes on the. The best way to thaw out a lock is to insert a heated key into it. If it is loose or has slipped out of the mortise place it back in the mortise and tighten the screws with a phillips screwdriver.

In some cases you will have to use a de icer on your locks to resolve the problem. Watch this video and l w. 2 hold the knob on the other side of the door and turn the loose knob clockwise until it fits snugly. You can tighten a simple interior mortise lockset like the one shown at left as follows.