Door latch / seal problem

trswyo

I installed two doors earlier this week. The first steal door went perfect, you can hear a great "cha chunk" when you close it and it closes without effort.

The second door has been someone of a pain. The door is installed and squared near perfect. With the pre drilled holes for the lock, the door would close but not seal. I moved the stricker plate towards the exterior of the house, but the latch bolt does not completely sit inside the stricker plate. The latch bolt itself makes it, but the pin on the back side of the latch bolt doesn't glide in... give it a little muscle the latch bolt sits complete in the stricker plate and the door is sealed.

Again the door is squared, there seems to be proper gap around the frame and the hinges are tight.

Thanks,
Tim

jklingel

so what is the question?

trswyo

What are some other things to try to do to get the door latching correctly? There is obviously something wrong with how the door was installed, but doors are not really my thing.

jklingel

All I know to do at this pt is to tweak the seal a tad, or file the striker plate with a rat tail file so the pin falls in. Or, slam the door every time!

Ron6519

Was this a prehung door?
Were the latch plate mortises precut into the jamb or did you do it?
With a metal door the weatherstripping grips the door pretty easily if the jamb legs are plumb and parallel to one another.
When you close the door, does the door touch the stops at the same time or does one part of the door touch before the rest of the door?
Either the latch plate is not properly placed or the jamb legs are askew.

__________________
Ron
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
B. Franklin 1759