Repair of door latch insertion area in entry door


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Old 01-07-16, 12:26 PM
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Repair of door latch insertion area in entry door

My wife's cousin, who is prone to letting things go until it's a crisis, called the other night. He said that the latch of the entry lockset to his wooden door has been loose for months. The upshot is that the continuous wear from the loose screws has destroyed the wood between the two screw holes and the hole that the latch sits in. He said you can actually see through from what is left of the screw holes to the latch hole. Any way to repair this short of replacing the door?
 
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Old 01-07-16, 01:13 PM
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This is on the door, not the door frame right? Although either way it can fixed. A common fix is to drill out the screw holes with a larger, say 1/4" drill, glue in a piece of 1/4" dowel rod, and then drill new pilot holes for the screws.

If the area is too badly damaged for that method, a larger section can be removed using a router or chisels and a new piece of hardwood fitted. This is then drilled for the lockset. Any decent carpenter can fix this.
 
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Old 01-07-16, 01:40 PM
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Thanks. A dowel was my first thought, but I don't know if it's too damaged for that, as I haven't seen it yet. If it is too damaged, I learned that you can get a wrap-around sleeve that has threaded holes and machine screws for mounting the latch. Not pretty, but will do the job.
 
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Old 01-10-16, 07:16 PM
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If it's really bad, the sleeve is your answer, but most of the time what you describe can be fixed by drilling 2 new 1/8" pilot holes at diverging angles (away from the latch hole) at about a 30 degree angle, then use 1-1/2 to 2" drywall screws. Drywall screws are skinny and will tolerate the angle thru the latch-plate holes.
 
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Old 01-11-16, 03:25 AM
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The problem with using drywall screws is they can snap fairly easy Dowels would be my first choice.
 
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Old 01-11-16, 04:18 AM
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If your talking about the holes in the jamb for the latch plate then just replace them with the same sized but longer brass screws, in a predrilled for the pilot size so the screw reaches the rough framing.
2-1/2 or 3" should work.
It does not matter if the hole goes all the way through the jamb where the latch engages.
I agree, drywall screws would be the wrong choice.
 
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Old 01-11-16, 07:54 AM
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The way I fix holes unless they are really bad is get stick matches and wood glue. Put glue on match and put it in hole keep doing that till you can't force any more in. Give glue time to dry and cut ends of matches off. last match I usually drive in with a hammer.
 
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Old 01-11-16, 08:25 AM
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It's all based on the size of the hole but I've used toothpicks, matches and dowels to fill them - they all work.
 
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Old 01-11-16, 09:45 AM
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Or if it is really bad move the lock. They make dummy plates for 2-1/8" main hole and Bondo can fill the rest of the holes.
 
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Old 04-18-16, 02:31 PM
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I use a product called Plast-Aid. It can be used to waterproof, repair, cast, glue etc.
make up some, stick it in the stripped screwholes, let it dry (about 15 minutes) then you can redrill new holes.
Plast-aid® multi-purpose repair plastic for your repair solutions.
 
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Old 04-22-16, 08:32 PM
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@marksr, joecaption et al: I agree, a drywall head will break off, esp. in hardwood, if you neglect a proper pilot hole, and have to use excessive force to screw it in. But I'll submit that, once installed, the SHEAR force required to break it, (as in a kick-in attempt) is not significantly less than that of the typical screws supplied for the purpose.

Also, since the latch usually sits snugly in it's mortise, a kick-in force is resisted mostly along the edge of the mortise itself.
 
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Old 04-22-16, 08:44 PM
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The second-weakest link in a typical residential wood door & frame (after the jamb/strike plate) is the tendency of the door itself to split open along it's mid-thickness in line with the latch hole & latch screws centerline. Having had to repair a number of kick-ins over the years, I've never seen the latch/bolt screws
drywall or otherwise, break, they just travel with the split that develops as the door peels open.

I will agree that the "textbook" fix is with dowel & glue, as described, and is fine
for the DIY'er who has the time to wait for glue to dry, etc., but in the trades, time is money, and I feel this is an acceptable compromise. Hey, it all works!
 
 

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