Adjust Exterior Door Strike Plate

The strike plate is the piece of door hardware that attaches to the door jamb and receives the latch.

Adjust exterior door strike plate.

To snug the door up you would move the strike plate toward the center of the door jamb. Have a door out of alignment due to settling. 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. From inside the room begin closing the door while keeping an eye on the latch bolt and the strike plate.

Adjust strike plates to close doors securely. Insert either a triangular file or a flat file that s small enough to fit inside the strike plate. Bend the strike plate s latch pocket tab straight with the pliers. 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.

Move it away from the center if the strike will not seat when the door is closed. Tighten the top hinge to make the latch hit higher on the strike plate or the bottom hinge to make it hit lower. Latches that don t fit properly into these plates will allow doors to rattle or prevent them from closing. Tighten the screws on the hinge plate that holds the door onto the frame.

Thankfully the door latches and knobs don t have to be moved to correct these problems. The strike plate may need to move in or out slightly to allow the strike to seat correctly. The stripped hole repair kit from king s original ha. If your filing action is shaking the strike plate remove the plate and secure it in a vise for your repair.

For an exterior door you want the door to snug up against the weatherstripping. 4 score the outline. Then reinstall the plate with longer screws. You should be able to get an idea without the door being closed fully if the strike plate.

What you didn t know you could adjust a door strike. File off enough metal to allow the latch to catch inside the plate and secure the door.