Problem with back door.

[HeXen]

So I know weather causes wood to expand or contract but my back door will latch one day, then not the next even if the weather is the same. So it was fine all summer long, it is still 95F nut sagging degrees out and the latch is a good half inch off from the strike plate. I have to force the door upwards to get it to latch.
It's done this for the last couple of years at seemingly random times for a random amount of time. I tried moving the strike plate and dremeled the hole out a bit to get me by, but I have moved it back n forth too many times that I don't think it'll hold if I do it again.

Obviously I need a new door, but I just had to get a new water heater so I want to hold off till next spring. Not due to price so much since doors are cheap really but let's just say I'm too lazy and call it a day. So is it just pure humidity that's causing it? Any other work around until I get it replaced to prevent it from moving so much or am I just SOL...I have seen the strike plate be off by as much as an inch or so before. I'm surprised it has that much room to expand. It's actually the wood where the strike plate goes that is moving I believe.

 

[marvdmartian]

Don't know about where you live, but here, in Texas, the hot, dry conditions in the summertime can cause the ground the dry up so badly that it will crack and shift. If it gets bad enough, and you have a slab foundation for your house, you're forced to use soaker hoses around the slab, to keep the ground shifting minimized, for fear it will cause your slab to crack.

Oh, and your thread title has epic double meaning!

 

[Vdubchaos]

So I know weather causes wood to expand or contract but my back door will latch one day, then not the next even if the weather is the same. So it was fine all summer long, it is still 95F nut sagging degrees out and the latch is a good half inch off from the strike plate. I have to force the door upwards to get it to latch.
It's done this for the last couple of years at seemingly random times for a random amount of time. I tried moving the strike plate and dremeled the hole out a bit to get me by, but I have moved it back n forth too many times that I don't think it'll hold if I do it again.

Solution, fill in blanks with JB Weld

Ready to screw/drill again.

Obviously I need a new door, but I just had to get a new water heater so I want to hold off till next spring. Not due to price so much since doors are cheap really but let's just say I'm too lazy and call it a day. So is it just pure humidity that's causing it? Any other work around until I get it replaced to prevent it from moving so much or am I just SOL...I have seen the strike plate be off by as much as an inch or so before. I'm surprised it has that much room to expand. It's actually the wood where the strike plate goes that is moving I believe.

Is your door wood or vinyl.

If you can post a picture of the issue it would really help us assess the situation.

 

[lxskllr]

Oh, and your thread title has epic double meaning!

Don't run Windows :^P

Sounds like humidity to me. I'm not sure I understand the striker plate. Sounds like it's misaligned, and needs to be dropped. I'd get everything nice and painted, oiled, or whatever, then align the hardware.

 

[Greenman]

Pull out one or two screws on the top hinge on the jamb side and replace them with 3" screws. Tighten them until the strike is aligned with the latch.

 

[JulesMaximus]

My wood is expanding just reading this thread.

 

[HeXen]

Don't know about where you live, but here, in Texas, the hot, dry conditions in the summertime can cause the ground the dry up so badly that it will crack and shift. If it gets bad enough, and you have a slab foundation for your house, you're forced to use soaker hoses around the slab, to keep the ground shifting minimized, for fear it will cause your slab to crack.

Oh, and your thread title has epic double meaning!

That makes sense but my house isn't a slab. But it could be doing the same thing as we are very, very dry right now. Never really thought about that. My house was built in 1947, so it's pretty old.

Pull out one or two screws on the top hinge on the jamb side and replace them with 3" screws. Tighten them until the strike is aligned with the latch.

It's not the door that isn't aligned. Actually the back part of the house has sunken a bit and isn't level. You can see the entire door frame is a little cocked. I even tried putting a shim at the bottom hinge to raise the door slightly but then it won't close right as it's too tight at the top. The hinge plate is tight up against the frame, however I'll try longer screws anyway just to see.

Don't run Windows :^P

Sounds like humidity to me. I'm not sure I understand the striker plate. Sounds like it's misaligned, and needs to be dropped. I'd get everything nice and painted, oiled, or whatever, then align the hardware.

Oh I have lowered and raised it several times each time it changes. So much so that now I can't move the striker plate anymore as the wood behind it is too messed up. That's why I was looking for suggestions. If I JB Weld it as Vdubchaos suggested, I fear it would raise back up and I'd be screwed.

To me it appears it's the door jamb on the latching side that is actually moving up and down. How or why I'm not for sure but I think it's getting worse but was fine up until a couple years back.

Basically I need a new door and frame, just want to get one more season out of it. First next spring I'll definitely change it out. Hope it's not too hard as I never did it before but nothing a good hammer can't fix I'm sure.

 

[SlickSnake]

Oh, and your thread title has epic double meaning!

Epic triple meaning... I'm disapoint.

This thread is now about rear ends...

 

[lxskllr]

This thread is now about rear ends...

I like the afterburner tail lights that were popular in the early 60s.

 

[SlickSnake]

I like the afterburner tail lights that were popular in the early 60s.

I like all the chrome rim jobs on that rear end.