Hi all. Our patio door lock has developed a fault. It now requires several dozen randomised manouverings of the handle in conjunction with frenzied twisting of the key to accomplish a locked or unlocked door status. Does the whole thing need to be replaced or just the lock or gear box? Its brand name is Saracen and has a plain square dead bolt shape.
Arthur
Firslty, try to lock it with the door wide open. If it works easily, then you know the lock is fine. The fault will probably lie with the door/lock adjustments. I have fitted a number of patio door locks, to both old and new doors, and have never come up with a fail proof way of getting them aligned first time. The doors will have sagged slightly over time,and this has caused the lock to become stiff. It isnt the lock that is stiff, just the poor alignement of the 2 doors.
If however it does not lock properly with door open, then you have either a fault with the lock itself, or a fault with the internal door mechanism. It is more likely to be the lock that mechanism, if it is a euro lock, they are quite cheap to buy, and even cheaper to make. Only 3 screw to replace it, check the length of your current lock, they are sold in different lengths. Alan.
Is it one where you have to lift the handle before locking? I have one and the door had sagged very slightly meaning that the mechanism wasn't travelling the full distance and not allowing the key to turn. Is it free to operate with the door open? Have the various bits been lubricated (other than the lock barrel)
Thanks, A.L. and John. I did try the lock with the door open and I think the lock did work ok while open. If the door is sagging is it possible to adjust it?
Thanks.
Arthur
John.
"Is it one where you have to lift the handle before locking? " Yes, it is.
Arthur
In that case, with the door open, observe carefully what happens when you lift the handle. There may be some shoot-bolts which come out of the top and bottom of the door, and engage with holes in the frame and/or there may be some little rollers on the lock edge of the door, which slide up and down and engage with U-shaped bits on the frame.
If the door sags a bit, these moving bits may not align properly with the bits of the frame with which they are supposed to engage - stopping the handle from lifting properly, and - in turn - stopping the door from locking.
There may be some adjustment on the door hinges (look for places where an Allen key may fit) - enabling you to take out the 'sag' - or the bits on the frame with which the moving bits engage may be adjustable for position. If they're easily removeable, remove one at a time until the door locks properly - then you'll know which is the culprit.
A friend had a problerm with a UPVC door that suddenly refuse to lock properly. It had about 4 sliding catches along the narrow edge of the door that all needed to engage properly for the door to successfully lock, and some of these were fouling. Even using the adjustor screw it would not work properly. I removed a couple of catches, and the door would then lock - but I remained puzzled by the problem.
Some weeks later, I noticed that the topmost pin in the 3 hinge system was half way out of its hinge. This almost certainly caused a minor twist in the door alignment within the frame.
I tapped the offending pin back into place, and now the door locks perfectly with all its catches back in place.
DJ
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