Internal door - jammed shut - handle not operating latch

[paulfoel]

Tried taking door handle off and turning with pliars etc but it just
seem to turn enough to open the latch.

What are my options? All I can see at the moment is kick the door
in....

[harry]

Prise off the bead on the door frame and cut the tongue of the lock
with a hacksaw blade.
Or push it back into the door if possible.

[bm]

"paulfoel" <bertieb...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:dd220fa8-3520-464a...@ot10g2000pbb.googlegroups.com...

Not that it'll help you but I had this happen years back. The diecast
operating thingumybob had broken into pieces. Now, if I see a possibility of
it happening on any door I drill a small hole from outside such that a small
screwdriver jiggled into the hole will spring the latch back.

[stuart noble]

Credit card or paint scraper?

[Martin Brown]

Or palette knife & push. Garden wire from the opposite side and pull.

If I had to damage anything it would be a 1" strip of the door jam.

Regards,
Martin Brown

[Frank Erskine]

If the hinges work loose the door may hang too far into the latch.
Try pushing the door toward the hinges and see if it'll open then.
IYSWIM.

--
Frank Erskine

[The Medway Handyman]

On 24/04/2013 16:43, paulfoel wrote:

This is a very common problem, I carry 2 of each length & finish of
mortice latch in the van. Probably do up to a dozen a year.

I've never managed to get one to retract via the handle aperture.

Prise the door jamb strip off, they are usually nailed on. It's going
to do a bit of paint damage.

Then get a pry bar into the gap between door & jamb, force it open as
much as possible, which won't be much, then use a hacksaw blade to force
the latch back.

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

[Cash]

1 - If there are no other unmentioned complications and all that's happened
is that the latch innards have collapsed:

2 - Take the doorstop off and lever the latch bolt back with a screwdriver
or suitable tool.

3 - If that fails. with the doorstop off, use a hacksaw blade and cut
through the latch bolt itself between the door and the frame.

4 - If the doorstops are machined into the frame and cannot be removed, then
file off the end peening of the hinge pins and knock the pins out with a
drift.

5 - Or, you could simply use a sharp wood chisel and a hammer (or mallet for
the purists) and cut the stop away from around the latch bolt and cut it off
as 3 above.

If there are any other complications then please let is know.

Cash

[The Medway Handyman]

I've only come across one where the doorstop was machined into the frame
& the Bosch PMF180 multi tool worked a treat. Very thin kerf, little
bit of filler afterwards, job done.

[Frank Erskine]

An angle grinder would be better.
More fun, at least...

--
Frank Erskine

[John Benn]

"paulfoel" <bertieb...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:dd220fa8-3520-464a...@ot10g2000pbb.googlegroups.com...

Happened to me recently. I have to chisel out the door frame around the
latch. Got the door opened, repaired the frame with wood filler and
repainted. And a new door latch!

[GMM]

On 24/04/2013 22:06, The Medway Handyman wrote:
> On 24/04/2013 16:43, paulfoel wrote:
>> Tried taking door handle off and turning with pliars etc but it just
>> seem to turn enough to open the latch.
>>
>> What are my options? All I can see at the moment is kick the door
>> in....
>>
> This is a very common problem, I carry 2 of each length & finish of
> mortice latch in the van. Probably do up to a dozen a year.
>
> I've never managed to get one to retract via the handle aperture.

As in taking off the handle and turning the bar? I suspect I would have
managed a couple of weeks ago when I went out into the garden and the
door slammed behind me, disconnecting the handle from the bar in the
sashlock. Only problem was that my tools were inside and I was outside!

Had to climb over the hedge and get teh neighbour to let me through to
the front.

It turned out that the bar had cut off short so had had dropped away
from one handle and had disappeared into the other, so easy to open from
the other side. Decided it was time for a whole new handle.

[Jim K]

On Apr 25, 2:41 pm, GMM <GlMiMa-AT-yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> On 24/04/2013 22:06, The Medway Handyman wrote:
>
> > On 24/04/2013 16:43, paulfoel wrote:
> >> Tried taking door handle off and turning with pliars etc but it just
> >> seem to turn enough to open the latch.
>
> >> What are my options? All I can see at the moment is kick the door
> >> in....
>
> > This is a very common problem, I carry 2 of each length & finish of
> > mortice latch in the van. Probably do up to a dozen a year.
>
> > I've never managed to get one to retract via the handle aperture.
>
> As in taking off the handle and turning the bar?  I suspect I would have
> managed a couple of weeks ago when I went out into the garden and the
> door slammed behind me, disconnecting the handle from the bar in the
> sashlock.  Only problem was that my tools were inside and I was outside!
>
> Had to climb over the hedge and get teh neighbour to let me through to
> the front.
>
> It turned out that the bar had cut off short so had had dropped away
> from one handle and had disappeared into the other, so easy to open from
> the other side.  Decided it was time for a whole new handle.

when a new bar would have done ;>)

Jim K

[The Medway Handyman]

On 25/04/2013 14:41, GMM wrote:
> On 24/04/2013 22:06, The Medway Handyman wrote:
>> On 24/04/2013 16:43, paulfoel wrote:
>>> Tried taking door handle off and turning with pliars etc but it just
>>> seem to turn enough to open the latch.
>>>
>>> What are my options? All I can see at the moment is kick the door
>>> in....
>>>
>> This is a very common problem, I carry 2 of each length & finish of
>> mortice latch in the van. Probably do up to a dozen a year.
>>
>> I've never managed to get one to retract via the handle aperture.
>
> As in taking off the handle and turning the bar? I suspect I would have
> managed a couple of weeks ago when I went out into the garden and the
> door slammed behind me, disconnecting the handle from the bar in the
> sashlock. Only problem was that my tools were inside and I was outside!

You didn't have a Swiss Army Knife on you? :-)

No, I meant when the latch is broken. I've often tried taking the
handle off, removing the bar, then trying to retract the latch. Hasn't
worked.

>
> Had to climb over the hedge and get teh neighbour to let me through to
> the front.
>
> It turned out that the bar had cut off short so had had dropped away
> from one handle and had disappeared into the other, so easy to open from
> the other side. Decided it was time for a whole new handle.
>
>>
>> Prise the door jamb strip off, they are usually nailed on. It's going
>> to do a bit of paint damage.
>>
>> Then get a pry bar into the gap between door & jamb, force it open as
>> much as possible, which won't be much, then use a hacksaw blade to force
>> the latch back.
>>
>

[junofi...@gmail.com]

One of those cards that sim cards come in???

[Chris J Dixon]

Did you not bother to look at the date?

I reckon that he will have put the boot in by now. ;-)

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK
ch...@cdixon.me.uk

Plant amazing Acers.

[meow...@care2.com]

On Saturday, November 15, 2014 11:28:55 AM UTC, Chris J Dixon wrote:
> junofi...@gmail.com wrote:
> >On Wednesday, 24 April 2013 16:43:59 UTC+1, paulfoel wrote:

> >> Tried taking door handle off and turning with pliars etc but it just
> >> seem to turn enough to open the latch.
> >> What are my options? All I can see at the moment is kick the door
> >> in....

> >One of those cards that sim cards come in???

> Did you not bother to look at the date?
> I reckon that he will have put the boot in by now. ;-)

:) A pair of kitchen knives works, to push the tongue back


NT

[Brian Gaff]

Has this person been locked in the room for 18 months?
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
<junofi...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3a01837f-150e-414a...@googlegroups.com...

[armandova...@gmail.com]

The kitchen knives worked, I just opened my jammed ass door with that method. Man I was surprised.

[Graham.]

On Mon, 7 Mar 2016 21:20:07 -0800 (PST), armandova...@gmail.com
wrote:

>The kitchen knives worked, I just opened my jammed ass door with that method. Man I was surprised.

Has your missus been locked in there for three years?

--

Graham.

%Profound_observation%

[memam...@gmail.com]

My internal door to garage and where all the tools are at has broken and the garage door has a slide bolt from inside it so I can't go from the other side. However, I saw the post about kitchen knives and being that over the years of being a broke single mum, kitchen knives have come to the rescue for various things, hah, it appealed to me. And yep, it worked! Well it got it unlocked. Now I can't force it open because the paint has dried (garage side) and it's stuck. I've 'knived' it (new word) but still can't get the force to pull it open. Remember the lock and handle is in pieces so I can't get the grip on it to pull it open. Anyway, I think tomorrow I will work it out, get a little person to go in between the door and slide bolt gap and try and push from other side. Some things are best left to sleep on and it's a garage so nothing in there of urgency (not even a car at the moment). Anyway, thanks for the good ol' kitchen knife advice!

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, 15 March 2016 10:02:23 UTC, memam...@gmail.com wrote:
> My internal door to garage and where all the tools are at has broken and the garage door has a slide bolt from inside it so I can't go from the other side. However, I saw the post about kitchen knives and being that over the years of being a broke single mum, kitchen knives have come to the rescue for various things, hah, it appealed to me. And yep, it worked! Well it got it unlocked. Now I can't force it open because the paint has dried (garage side) and it's stuck. I've 'knived' it (new word) but still can't get the force to pull it open. Remember the lock and handle is in pieces so I can't get the grip on it to pull it open. Anyway, I think tomorrow I will work it out, get a little person to go in between the door and slide bolt gap and try and push from other side. Some things are best left to sleep on and it's a garage so nothing in there of urgency (not even a car at the moment). Anyway, thanks for the good ol' kitchen knife advice!

a thin enough blade can often be run round to break the paint that's gluing it. Something more like a wallpaper knife.


NT

[Stuart Noble]

A paint scraper tapped from above with a hammer usually does it. May
have to put a screw in the door (or a cup hook or similar) to give you
something to get hold of

[Muddymike]

You missed the fact that all the DIY tools are locked in the garage.

Mike

[Stuart Noble]

Off to the Pound Shop then

[Rod Speed]

"Muddymike" <ne...@mattishall.org.uk> wrote in message
news:pZidnWtjFeKT2nTL...@brightview.co.uk...

Doesn’t cost much to buy another paint scraper to get access to the garage.

[tonyde...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, 24 April 2013 16:43:59 UTC+1, paulfoel wrote:
> Tried taking door handle off and turning with pliars etc but it just
> seem to turn enough to open the latch.
>
> What are my options? All I can see at the moment is kick the door
> in....

A bit after the fact but I had a similar problem and can hopefully help anyone else like myself that stumbled across this thread. My internal door wouldn't open and was stuck. Unfortunately because of the way the door met the door frame I was unable to squeeze a credit card, kitchen knife, etc in between the door to push the lock back. So I removed the door handle I could see broken pieces of metal in the mechanism. I removed the loose bits of metal and tried using pliers with the metal bar that was part of the door handle/lock mechanism to turn to retract the lock with no success.

What worked for me was using an Allen key. Due to the shape of the Allen Key I was able to push it into the barrel and push the bolt back into the door so I could open the door.

Good luck,

Tony

[rugra...@gmail.com]

We have got an y tools, advice?

[Tim+]

<rugra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> We have got an y tools, advice?
>

Here’s some advice. http://bfy.tw/BIk5

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Friday, 16 February 2018 20:58:29 UTC, rugra...@gmail.com wrote:
> We have got an y tools, advice?

With table knives it's often possible to get one inbetween latch tongue & frame and thus push the tongue back.

I'm assuming the handle isn't just turning freely, if it is then remove it & operate the spindle.


NT

[Brian Gaff]

Now this is interesting, we have a post which says re: which makes it a
reply to an original that we cannot see. Then we have a bundle of words
apparently in a random order, though the sig line is making sense.
The question is, why??
Brian

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Blind user, so no pictures please!
<rugra...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3601d1af-6ff9-41ec...@googlegroups.com...

[Martin Brown]

The way the cheap and nasty ones fail these days is that the crude metal
casting that the square shaft goes through disintegrates so that turning
the door handle no longer moves the tongue far enough.

You basically have to remove the handles to gain access and put the
biggest most brutal screwdriver or oversized square bar you can find
into the broken part and twist it out of the way maintaining some
pressure on the door so that when the tongue does clear it opens.

I had it happen to me on an internal door quite recently. The shoddy
quality of the casting it was surprising it lasted as long as it did.

Thinking back there was a warning in that the door had become a bit
harder to open over some period of time but I put it down to winter damp
making the wood swell (not imminent catch failure).

The other way is feed stout wire behind the catch against the sloping
side and pull hard with pliers to move t out of the way. Depends a bit
which side of the door your tools happen to be when if fails.


--
Regards,
Martin Brown

[Rob Morley]

On Sat, 17 Feb 2018 09:55:09 -0000
"Brian Gaff" <bri...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:


It's a Google Groups user, using Google Groups, so as expected really.

[Brian Gaff]

Glasshoppa he say, Manuy questions have no answer because te question is
wrong.

Brian

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Blind user, so no pictures please!

"Rob Morley" <nos...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:20180219204755.3ee1cd64@Mars...

[caroly...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 4:43:59 PM UTC+1, paulfoel wrote:
> Tried taking door handle off and turning with pliars etc but it just
> seem to turn enough to open the latch.
>
> What are my options? All I can see at the moment is kick the door
> in....

Slide a piece of wire into the space above the latch and and wiggle it down until it comes out below the latch. If you curve the wire slightly before you start it will pop out below the latch. Twist the 2 ends of the wire together using pliers. As you keep twisting and applying more pressure the latch will pop open like magic!

[Graeme]

In message <ac5617db-4e1d-4de6...@googlegroups.com>,
caroly...@gmail.com writes

>On Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 4:43:59 PM UTC+1, paulfoel wrote:
>>
>> What are my options? All I can see at the moment is kick the door
>> in....
>
>Slide a piece of wire into the space above the latch and and wiggle it
>down until it comes out below the latch. If you curve the wire slightly

I wonder whether that door is still stuck, five years later?

--
Graeme

[Brian Gaff]

If he has been locked out since 2013, then I'd suggest he watches out for
the killer spiders inside.

Brian

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<caroly...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ac5617db-4e1d-4de6...@googlegroups.com...

[tabb...@gmail.com]

Maybe that's how HOHers live.

I also can't see how her suggestion would work.


NT

[suet...@yahoo.co.uk]

But there are other people with handles that don’t work!

[rmla...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, 24 April 2013 16:43:59 UTC+1, paulfoel wrote:
> Tried taking door handle off and turning with pliars etc but it just
> seem to turn enough to open the latch.
>

> What are my options? All I can see at the moment is kick the door
> in....

Use a punch and knock out the rod from the hinges.

[Brian Gaff]

Yes something weird is afoot in the archive department. Is it Home owners
club again?
Brian

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Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Chris Hogg" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:uqnjie1jj79vssu8n...@4ax.com...

> Do you really think he hasn't fixed it after six years?
>
> --
>
> Chris