Bought & installed new outswing MH door. Lockset issue....

[mh_doni49]

I installed my new outswing door today. I bought a lockset at Menards (Dexter brand, aged bronze lever handset and deadbolt) because I like how this lockset looks.

They both installed fine and the handset DOES latch. But the deadbolt won't go in the deadbolt hole in the frame. It's not simply a matter of being out of square. I even tried putting the deadbolt in the frame hole (without putting it in in the door). It wouldn't go in -- the hole is a narrow rectangle and the deadbolt is more of a square with rounded corners.

And I'm not sure that the handset is actually latched properly either -- I was dead tired and decided that since it did let the door latch, I'd leave it for the night. Anyway the handset latch has two sliding parts in the door, one is the curved piece that moves when you close the door -- if you move this with your hand, it causes the other straight piece to move too. The other straight piece moves independently -- if you move it by hand, it moves by itself and the curved piece does NOT move.

I suspect that when the door latches, the curved piece enters the hole in the frame but the straight piece stays in the door.

So do I need a special lock set? If so, can I buy just the latches for the deadbolt and handset and use them with the set I bought? I like the look of this set more than any others I've seen.

TIA!

[Greg]

That lock set should work fine, you don't need a special set.

Try googling installing a lock set, there are lots of videos & articles on the subject.

Greg

[HouseMedic]

First thing is that "Straight Piece" is suppose to stay pushed in when the "Curved Piece" comes out in the hole when the door is shut. With the straight piece pushed in you can not push the curved piece back into the door. This is a for security so someone can't push the latch back with a credit card.

Second is that a lot of times you might have to drill a bigger hole for the deadbolt latch. I use a 3/4" bit. It should be just a hair smaller then the with of the plate that came with the new deadbolt. Also some of the old deadbolt holes are not deep enough so make sure if you drill a new hole that it is at least 1 1/2" deep so the latch can come all the way out. If the latch does not go all the way out into the jam you might not be able to get the key out unless you unlock it again. I hope I am not confusing you more.
Here is a video that may help you. http://bcove.me/14i7jwgc

Ron

[mh_doni49]

Thanks Ron. I always wondered what purpose that straight piece served.

But as far as drilling for the deadbolt, the door and door frame were drilled for handset and deadbolt.

This is one of those out swing doors designed for mobile homes.

[HouseMedic]

Should not make a difference. It might be pre-drilled for a smaller bar on the deadbolt. Did the door come with a lock set?

Ron

[JeffInFL]

the deadbolt won't go in the deadbolt hole in the frame. It's not simply a matter of being out of square. I even tried putting the deadbolt in the frame hole (without putting it in in the door). It wouldn't go in -- the hole is a narrow rectangle and the deadbolt is more of a square with rounded corners.

I had the same issue .. the door was about as square as I could get it without tearing everything out and reframing, and it shut nicely and the door knob latched. However, the deadbolt wouldn't latch unless I lifted on the door handle a bit as I was turning the deadbolt knob.

My solution was to take a small wood chisel and make the opening for the deadbolt latch just a wee bit bigger. Now it latches just fine!

[ponch37300]

Pictures really help in questions like this. It would show exactly what isn't matching up right.

Did the new dead bolt come with a new strike plate for it? Since you say the dead bolt won't go in even when it's not in the door it sounds like your new dead bolt is bigger then the strike plate hole or the hole drilled in the door frame. The new dead bolt should have a new metal strike plate that you need to install in place of where the old one is. Unscrew the old one. Drill the right sized hole so the dead bolt will fit if needed. Then screw the new strike plate on to the door frame using some 3" long screw so it will go into the actual framing and be a lot stronger then just the short screws into the door frame.

[mh_doni49]

I took a picture of the deadbolt strike plate (on the frame). How am I supposed to make it larger?

DoorFramePic.png

[HouseMedic]

Does it hit on the top or bottom? If so loosen the screws and see if it moves up and down a little. How far off is it? While the door is open lock the deadbolt and when the door hits up against the jam mark the top and bottom of the deadbolt latch so you can see where it is in relation to the strike plate. If it is hitting the top or bottom and loosening the screws does not help you have to file the plate a little. Or if you have a Dremel tool you could use that.

Ron

[mh_doni49]

I'm going to take the deadbolt off the door and try putting the bolt through the hole again -- and I'll take a pic of it this time too.

[JeffInFL]

If the deadbolt just doesn't fit into the strike plate, just run up to Home Depot and look for a 'universal' strike plate. Something like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Prime-Line-B ... jhOWtK-ozI

[ponch37300]

Looks like that is a MH specific strike plate. If I'm understanding you right the deadbolt is bigger then the hole in the strike plate and won't fit, right? Or is it just not lined up? Take the deadbolt out and stick the actual deadbolt out and try and fit it in the strike plate and see exactly why it's not fitting. I'm guessing the deadbolt is too wide to fit in the strike plate? Looks to be plenty of room up and down. The new deadbolt should have came with a new strike plate. Is there anyway to fit the new strike plate to the door jamb?

I'm not real familiar with the out swing MH strike plates you show in your picture so don't know if they come in different sizes or if you just have to modify them with a dremel or something? Hopefully one of the other guys that has more experience with these type of strike plates has run into this and will chime in.

[1987Commodore]

Remove the deadbolt strike plate by removing the screws you see above and below the opening. Be careful not to drop it down inside the door frame. See if the deadbolt will now engage. If it does, you know you need to make the opening wider. I have a suspicion that the opening may also not be deep enough for the bolt to fully extend, in which case you will have to make it deeper. Now, be careful you don't go all the way through the wooden door frame. You may want to remove the interior wall panel to sister a 2x with the door frame to reinforce it, if need be.
You can put lipstick on the end of the deadbolt. Then, when you try to lock it, a mark will be left where there is interference.

[Steve-WA]

I am *NOT* going to start carrying a lipstick in my toolbox!

[Greg]

I am *NOT* going to start carrying a lipstick in my toolbox!

Chalk line chalk works also.

Greg