My old house had a door that would never stay shut in the winter

It was a solid wood door from the 1950s. Every time the heat kicked on, it would swing open about an inch. I tried new hinges and even planed the edge. Nothing worked. Then my neighbor, a retired carpenter, told me to check the strike plate. He said, 'Just move it over a quarter inch.' I was sure it wouldn't help. I took the plate off, filled the old screw holes with toothpicks and glue, and drilled new pilot holes a bit to the side. Reinstalled it. The door clicked shut and stayed. Perfect seal. I felt silly for overthinking it. Has anyone else fixed a drafty door with such a simple trick?

3 comments

3 Comments

markhall20d ago

My buddy had the same thing. He spent weeks adjusting the door itself. Turned out the latch just wasn't catching right. A little file work on the plate and it was done.

grant.sam20d ago

I used to think you had to mess with the hinges first, but markhall's right about checking the latch. It's crazy how often the strike plate is just a tiny bit off. A five minute fix beats hours of door adjustments.

ray_wilson15d ago

Tell you what, I spent a whole weekend once trying to shim a door frame because my door wouldn't latch. I was convinced the whole house had settled. Brought out the level and everything. My wife finally asked if the deadbolt worked, and when I tried it, the door locked solid. The regular latch was just worn down to a little nub. I'd been fixing a problem that didn't exist. Felt like a real genius that day. Sometimes the fix is so dumb and simple you just stare right past it.