MY 6-year-old Larson storm dooor latch mechanism died today. I went out to get the newspaper and the storm door wouldn't open when I tried to get back in the house. I had to ring the doorbell to get my wife to open the garage door so I could get back in. Fotunately, the weather was good.
After considerable prying weith knives and putty knives, I was aboe to get the door open. WHat happened was that the latch mechanism had disconneted itself from the bars that retract it from the outward position where it rests against the striker plate. There is one spot where the metal cross-section is only about 1/8" square, and that is where the mechanism broke.
Went to the Larson web site, they would sell a complete new latch assembly for $45 or so. Called their hotline phone, after the web site said it was open Monday thru Saturday (today is Saturday in the Chicago area), only to get the message that they are only open Mon - Friday. Their wab site needs fixing.
Went to our local Menards where the door was purchased 6 years ago. They had a replacement door latch kit for only $35. Bought it and came home to install. I discovered that the latch assembly would not work on my Larson door because the handle assembly sould not reach the outside lever/doorknob. Also, the replacement was a totally different locking schemeee, with a key and turn the center of the knob like in residential interior doors.
I was able to remove the handle from one side of the replacement assembly and use it and the new latching mechanism to restore the door. The only difference is there is now no way to lock the storm door, but we haven't used that feature of the door more than 4 times in six years, so that is ok. The new "brass" color is different from the old doorr, but that is only visible when you look at both the inside and outside knobs/levers at the same time, which is also pretty infrequently.
So, I ended up spending $39.50 including tax, to replace the latching assembly because Larson used such a cheap piece of potting metal on a strategic piece of their door. I never buy Larson again!!!!!