Door help please

Not the right way to do it I’m sure, but when the same thing happened to me, I just ground back the latch.

 

Is this an internal door ? One of ours that is heavily used does a similar thing. It tends to be the barrel that contains the latch.

I'd remove the latch and check that there is no swarf / broken bits of metal. We had total failure and couldn't open the door with the handle

 

Ah yes, it’s coming back to me now. I started off grinding back the latch, and it was fine, for a while. It then started catching again, so I looked closer. It turned out that there was quite a bit of ‘play’ caused by wear where the connecting bar passes through. It needed a new mechanism to put it right.

 

It needs some lube & a good rub! I could probably assist !!!


Joking aside I have no idea but I hope you soon get it sorted! Xx

 

A few squirts of WD 40, allow to dry and then a couple of squirts of silicon lubricant. Same treatmenfor sticky window fittings, and squeaky doors.

 

If the WD40 treatment does not work . You may need a new tubular latch ( not expensive ). You need to check total case depth and the backset depth - diagram below shows these. It could also be excessive play in the spindle or the actual handles.
As this covers everything on a door handle it's not very specific ! My bet is your handles have got worn , with a lot of play in them.

 

I think that's one of the issues with new door latches (is that what they are called ?)

The mechanism doesn't come lubricated. That and the materials that are now used are of poor quality (they don't make 'em like they used to). Unfortunately mine had started to physically break down and was beyond WD or duct tape

 

Had that too on the same door - usually the return spring breaking but sometimes the metal face of the door plate and the handle sticking

 

If the door locks shut but catches when the handle is fully turned then I think any adjustments will be a temporary fix (they were in my case). The 'monkey metal' that the square spindle fits through totally collapsed on mine meaning that I couldn't open the door with the handle.

Well worth removing the latch and checking its condition. Gives you a chance to lube it up if nothing else.

 

Does it do it when on both sides of the door, may be the square bar that joins the two handles togeter have play and not turning the lock fully

Play where square bar goes into handles

 

Assuming it's a tubular latch (as image below), remove one of the handles and square spindle, then stick the blade of a large screwdriver into the square hole in the mechanism and check whether the latch will fully retract flush with the latch plate.

N.B. Stuff like this is best done with the door OPEN to avoid the possibility of being stuck one side of the door.

If it doesn't retract, the latch is knackered, but if it does the problem is with the handle(s) or spindle.