My recent battle with finicky door locks showed a simple fix

Sandra Martin · 2026-03-04T23:30:45.794579+00:00

I was called for a recurring door lock fault on an older model. The diagnostic kept pointing to the lock itself. After fiddling, I realized the alignment was off by just a hair. Adjusting the striker plate cleared it right up. Passing this along because it's an easy thing to miss.

morgan.joseph7mo ago

I once spent a whole afternoon taking a lock completely apart, only to find the deadbolt was just hitting the frame. Felt like a real genius after buying all new parts for a problem fixed with two screws. My toolbox mocked me for a week. Should have just looked at the scratch marks first.

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patel.keith7mo ago

But sometimes you just need new parts.

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tessahall7mo ago

Honestly, scratch marks don't always show up if the misalignment is really small. I've seen bolts just barely grazing the striker plate without leaving any visible wear. Tbh, you gotta check the gap with a feeler gauge or even a business card first. It saves you from swapping parts for a simple alignment fix.

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