How to Fix a Door That Won't Latch: The Real Story Behind Your Stubborn Door
I've been staring at this door for twenty minutes now. It's mocking me, I swear. Every time I try to close it, the latch slides past the strike plate like they're strangers at a party who refuse to make eye contact. Sound familiar?
The thing about doors that won't latch properly is that they're rarely just being difficult for the sake of it. There's always a story there – maybe the house has settled, maybe someone slammed it one too many times, or maybe it's just tired after decades of faithful service. Whatever the reason, I'm going to walk you through not just the quick fixes, but the actual understanding of what's happening with your door. Because once you really get what's going on, fixing it becomes less of a guessing game and more of a conversation with your house.
The Dance Between Door and Frame
Let me paint you a picture of what's supposed to happen when a door closes properly. The latch bolt – that's the angled piece that pops out from the edge of your door – should glide smoothly into the strike plate hole. It's a bit like a key sliding into a lock, except the latch has that clever angled edge that lets it retract automatically when it hits the strike plate, then spring back out once it finds the hole.
When this dance gets disrupted, you end up with a door that bounces back open, requires a shoulder check to close, or needs that annoying lift-and-push maneuver that makes you look like you're wrestling with your own home.
The first time I encountered this problem was in my grandmother's house. She'd been lifting her bathroom door to close it for so long that she'd worn a groove in the floor with her foot. "It's always been that way," she said, as if doors came from the factory requiring special closing techniques. They don't, of course. That door had simply shifted over the years, and nobody had ever told her it could be fixed in about ten minutes.
Reading the Signs Your Door Is Trying to Tell You
Before you grab any tools, spend a minute actually looking at what's happening. Close the door slowly and watch where the latch meets the strike plate. Is it hitting too high? Too low? Missing entirely to one side? Each misalignment tells a different story.
If the latch is hitting above the strike plate hole, your door has likely sagged. This happens more often than you'd think, especially with solid wood doors that have some weight to them. The top hinge starts to pull away from the frame just a tiny bit – we're talking millimeters here – but that's enough to throw everything off at the latch level.
When the latch hits below the hole, you might be dealing with the opposite problem. Sometimes the bottom hinge loosens, or more commonly, the house itself has shifted. I once worked on a door in a 1920s bungalow where the entire door frame had tilted because the foundation had settled unevenly. The homeowner had been forcing that door closed for years, slowly destroying both the latch mechanism and the strike plate in the process.
Side-to-side misalignment usually means the door has warped or the hinges have shifted laterally. This is particularly common in exterior doors that face temperature extremes or in bathrooms where humidity works its magic on wood fibers.
The Thirty-Second Fix That Works More Often Than You'd Think
Here's something that might save you a lot of trouble: check the screws. I know it sounds too simple, but I'd estimate that half the doors I've fixed just needed their hinge screws tightened. Over time, the constant swinging motion works these screws loose, especially if they're just biting into wood without any kind of anchor.
Start with the top hinge. Open the door wide and have someone hold it (or use a doorstop wedge). Try tightening each screw. If they just spin without grabbing, you've found your culprit. The screw holes have become enlarged, and those screws aren't holding anything anymore.
For this, you'll want to remove the loose screw completely and pack the hole. Some people swear by toothpicks and wood glue, others use golf tees. I'm partial to wooden matches myself – the soft wood compresses nicely and the wood glue makes them swell, creating a solid fill. Break off a few match heads (safety first), dip the wooden ends in wood glue, and tap them into the hole until it's full. Let it dry for an hour, then drill a pilot hole and reinstall the screw. It'll bite like new.
When the Strike Plate Needs to Move
Sometimes the door is hanging perfectly fine, but the strike plate is in the wrong spot. This often happens after new flooring is installed or when seasonal humidity causes the door frame to shift slightly.
You've got two options here, and which one you choose depends on how far off the alignment is. For minor misalignments – say, an eighth of an inch or less – you can often file the strike plate hole larger. A small round file works wonders here. File in the direction you need the latch to go, testing frequently. This is delicate work; you can always remove more metal, but you can't put it back.
For larger misalignments, you'll need to relocate the strike plate entirely. This isn't as daunting as it sounds. Unscrew the strike plate, fill the old screw holes with wood putty, and mark where the new position should be. Use the latch itself as your guide – close the door gently and let the latch mark where it wants to go. That's your new strike plate center.
The tricky part is chiseling out the new mortise for the strike plate. You want it to sit flush with the door jamb, not proud of it. Score the outline with a utility knife first, then use a sharp chisel to remove the wood in thin layers. Take your time here. A rushed chisel job looks terrible and can splinter the jamb.
The Subtle Art of Hinge Adjustment
If tightening screws didn't solve your problem and the strike plate is where it should be, it's time to look at hinge adjustment. This is where things get interesting, because hinges can be adjusted in ways most people never consider.
The cardboard shim trick is my favorite non-invasive fix. If your door is sagging (latch hitting too low), you need to push the top of the door back toward the hinge side. Remove the top hinge from the door frame side only – leave it attached to the door. Cut a piece of cardboard (a business card works perfectly) to match the hinge leaf shape and place it behind the hinge before screwing it back in. This tiny shim angles the door just enough to lift the latch side.
For the opposite problem, shim the bottom hinge. It's geometry in action, and it's surprisingly satisfying when you get it right.
Some older doors have adjustable hinges with set screws that let you move the door in and out, up and down. If you've got these, count yourself lucky. A few turns of an Allen wrench can solve your problem without any shimming or filing.
When Nothing Else Works: The Nuclear Options
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, the door still won't cooperate. Maybe it's warped beyond simple fixes, or perhaps the house has shifted so much that minor adjustments won't cut it. This is when you need to consider more dramatic measures.
Planing the door is one option, though it should be your last resort. Once you remove wood from a door, you can't put it back. If you must plane, do it on the hinge side rather than the latch side whenever possible. The hinge side is less visible and doesn't affect the latch mechanism.
In extreme cases, you might need to rehang the door entirely. This means removing it, checking that the frame is square (it probably isn't), and potentially shimming the entire frame back to true. It's a bigger job, but sometimes it's the only way to get a door working properly again.
The Latch Itself: The Forgotten Component
We've talked a lot about alignment, but sometimes the problem is the latch mechanism itself. These can wear out, especially in older doors or cheap hardware. The springs lose their tension, the latch bolt gets sticky, or the whole mechanism just gives up.
Before you replace the entire lockset, try some graphite lubricant. Not WD-40 – that attracts dirt and makes things worse in the long run. Graphite powder or a silicone-based lubricant works much better for lock mechanisms. Work the latch back and forth while applying the lubricant. Sometimes that's all it needs.
If the latch bolt doesn't extend fully anymore, the spring inside is probably shot. At this point, replacement is your best bet. The good news is that most residential locksets are fairly standardized, so finding a replacement shouldn't be difficult.
A Final Thought on Door Psychology
After all these years of fixing doors, I've come to appreciate them as more than just barriers or passageways. A door that closes properly has a satisfying click that says "all is well." A door that won't latch properly is like a sentence that won't end – it leaves you unsettled.
The next time you're fighting with a door that won't latch, remember that it's not trying to annoy you. It's just out of alignment with its frame, like a relationship that needs a little adjustment to get back in sync. With patience and the right approach, you can restore that satisfying click and the peace of mind that comes with it.
And please, don't be like my grandmother. Don't accept a door that requires special techniques to close. Your house should work with you, not against you. Every door in your home can close properly with just a gentle push. It's not too much to ask, and now you know how to make it happen.
Authoritative Sources:
Ching, Francis D.K., and Cassandra Adams. Building Construction Illustrated. 5th ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Editors of Fine Homebuilding. Doors and Windows: Expert Advice from Start to Finish. Taunton Press, 2013.
Nash, George. Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes. 4th ed., Taunton Press, 2003.
Richter, H. P., and W. Creighton Schwan. Wiring: Complete Projects for the Home. 7th ed., Creative Homeowner, 2014.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "Residential Rehabilitation Inspection Guide." HUD USER, 2000, www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/destech/resrehab.html.