Oppo - Handyman-related question!

"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike) 10/12/2016 at 08:28 • Filed to: Handyman

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Hi all! Excuse this novel, but curious if any of you folks might be able to help!

This isn’t car-related, but hoping somebody has a suggestion! :)

Our basement door closes and latches OK, but the gaps around the edge are massive enough for drafts that you can see light coming around the right edge and the bottom-right corner of the door. As you may know, this is a bad thing in a Canadian winter and the basement hallway and rec room can be freezing as the cold air comes in for fun.

Now....it’s not that the seal is gone, it’s still there and other than a few nicks and scratches, it’s fine. The bottom door seal I can just replace by putting a new one on, but the right edge (where the latches are) is different - as I said, it’s not that the seal is gone, it’s that the door doesn’t close far enough to MEET the seal, as weird as that sounds. I could move the latch plate for the lock and the door handle forward, which would solve the issue 100% as it would then latch closer against the seal. The issue is, there are already holes drilled there for the handle latch plate and lock latch plate and they are too near the edge of the door jamb to drill entirely new holes to re-mount the plates (as I wouldn’t have to move the plates far enough forward for whole new holes anyway).

Is there something I could squirt into the drill holes that will harden and stay in place as strong as the original wood to re-drill the holes slightly farther up? The way that corner of the door is (and with my lack of carpentry skills), there’s no easy way at all to replace that piece of wood without taking a lot of other things apart.

Picture to explain what I mean...

As you can see, somebody moved the door handle latch (bottom) farther forward already (before we lived there) for the same problem, but not far enough to correct it. As you can see, the seal is pretty much fine other than where the lock / handle latch passes through it from opening and closing. The rest of the door jamb is fine, contrary to that crack (somebody - estranged divorced husband from the prior occupants 9_9 - had tried to force their way in through this door at some point before we moved here), the rest of the door jamb is solid,

I would only have to move the door latch forward about 30-40mm. Thanks for any suggestions! :D

asenna > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 08:35

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you can stick the end of a wooden matchstick into the screw hole and break it off, then you should be able to move the hole slightly.

random001 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 08:37

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What’s a mm?

OPPOsaurus WRX > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 08:40

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you could mix a good wood glue with sawdust. i would add another gasket/seal to the door which would probably be easier

Roundbadge > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 08:41

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Honestly, it might be better to replace the door jamb itself. You can try to fill the screw holes with epoxy and then redrill, but I wouldn’t count on that holding up well.

edit: better, not necessarily easier

jguttes > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 08:43

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I’ve done this exact thing. Drill a clean hole with, say, a 1/2" drill bit, then with a little wood glue stick in a short piece of 1/2" dowel rod. sand smooth and viola, a clean slate!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Roundbadge 10/12/2016 at 08:44

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In our case, we almost never use that door, so it would probably last awhile. My issue is, I don’t really have the time, or the tools to replace the jamb and the local carpenters charge an arm and a leg....and then another arm. :(

jguttes > jguttes 10/12/2016 at 08:44

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I guess you’ll need bigger than a 1/2" to fill the big hole, but same principle.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > random001 10/12/2016 at 08:46

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Millimetre? Not sure if this was sarcasm and you are from the States or not :P

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > OPPOsaurus WRX 10/12/2016 at 08:46

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I’ve looked for replacement seals and none are thicker than the one that is already there that I can find in any of the local stores.

OPPOsaurus WRX > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 08:47

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just add an additional one to the door, not replace whats there

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 08:49

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The right fix is to replace the door jamb.

The easy fix is to add some stick-on insulation to the door itself. Use the white foam stick on style for a tight seal.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 08:49

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Seconding jguttes and others, for a short term fix you’ll drill out and glue in a dowel plug. You don’t want to try screws directly into glue, and you don’t want to split it any worse. Long term, you kind of ought to replace the jamb. However - its current position should already be enough to get things closed as is if there isn’t another problem. How much is the latch flexing? It’s very possible the latch itself is bent, sprung, or worn out enough that it’s not holding as tight as it ought.

Party-vi > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 08:54

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You could elongate the holes on your strike plates to move them in without re-drilling the door jamb.

Bigjohn428 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 09:05

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I you play golf, or not, You can put wood glue in the holes and then put the golf tees in the holes. let glue dry for a little while and cut flush.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > OPPOsaurus WRX 10/12/2016 at 09:09

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Door opens inwards...even if I were to put a new additional seal on the outside, I’d run into the same issue I’d think, where the door isn’t latching far enough forward to meet the seal?

BunkyTheMelon > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 09:09

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Fill the holes with wood glue and toothpicks. Cut off excess toothpicks, and voila!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 10/12/2016 at 09:11

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I had tried the stick on stuff before, but I guess I got stuff that was crap because it didn’t stick worth a damn and I gave up on it :(

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/12/2016 at 09:13

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The latch itself on the door seems solid and doesn’t look bent, as does the strike plate/latch plate, but I can physically move the door forwards and back even when it’s closed and locked by probably a half-inch....courtesy of our friend estranged door forcing husband, I imagine...

If I could get the latch and lock plates ever so slightly forward, things would be hunky dory...

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Party-vi 10/12/2016 at 09:16

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Well, the issue is that I would have to theoretically ADD material to the hole on the bottom plate.
—(__)- - Say this is the plate as it stands.
-(_)- - I would have to move the back edge of the plate forward to have the door close farther forward so the door latch would have something to back up against, if that makes sense. The door will CLOSE far enough forward as it currently sits, the issue is that LATCHES won’t HOLD it far enough forward....if that makes sense?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 09:29

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I’m telling you, though - something’s not right. Take this picture I snagged off the internets:

The distance from the catching edge of the latch to the face of the door is no less than what you have in your picture - actually more. With your current gasket position and striker position, I find it nearly impossible to believe that you have a half inch of movement unless there’s something wrong with the latch. Which, believe it or not, would not be surprising. It’s not uncommon if one’s been forced for the catch to have some ability to flex back and forth or rotate a couple of degrees when extended. Look into this before you start trying to make things work as they’re not supposed to. If you can see the latch slide - the catch - with the door closed, it is most likely doing weird things when you push the door in and out.

OPPOsaurus WRX > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 09:31

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it wouldn;t fix your problem but with two seals on there, the two seals should meet and at least kill the air leak

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 09:58

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Depending on what you’re up against, you may be able to pop the trim around the door off and add shims to pull the jamb closer to the door. The problem with that though is if you have wooden doors and wild humidity swings (like we do) the door will shrink in winter and swell in summer, meaning that if you hang your doors in February they won’t close in July.

Alternatively, if you rarely or never use the door, shove some insulation in the gap and a strip of duct tape (or other) to prevent air from moving through. Or if you’re renting complain about it to the landlord.

Rykilla303 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 11:39

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buy and install a Pre-hung door. expensive, but easy and no regrets.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/12/2016 at 12:21

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I’ll check the latch tonight - possible the deadbolt is really bent from the guy trying to force his way in?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 12:26

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The proportions of the setup are just very weird for you to be having any kind of closing problem - mostly, it’s that something has got to be not right for you to have that much movement in the door and the plate locations are *not* the prime suspect. Either through wear or damage, to my way of thinking. I don’t think he’s gotten the whole door frame askew, but who knows.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/12/2016 at 21:53

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I haven’t measured it, so a 1/2 inch of movement may NOT be true, probably a bit less, but it’s visibly moving even when shut and locked when I pull on it. The door was pryed on with something by aforementioned sketchy guy, so there’s a chance that did something. I did check the latch on the deadbolt and the bolt, itself, is very wobbly, so that may e a big culprit. Going to take it apart when I get time to look closer.

shop-teacher > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/12/2016 at 23:11

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Durhams rock hard putty. It’s a power you mix with water, and it’s just for stuff like this. Really great product.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > shop-teacher 10/13/2016 at 07:35

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Thanks - I’ll look into it!

shop-teacher > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/13/2016 at 09:14

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No problem!

If they don’t have that particular brand in your parts, the stuff is called water putty. It’s strong enough for door hinges, so this application is a piece of cake for it. Very easy to work with too.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/22/2016 at 23:45

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Late reply - sorry about that, but looked at the latch for the deadbolt a few days ago - sure enough, it was very wobbly when extended to lock the door (probably from the ex husband of the previous owners trying to pry on the door to get in that one time I mentioned above).

Went and bought a new Weiser deadbolt that let you rekey it yourself to match existing keys as the old lock was a Weiser as well. Get home, install latch and door closes much better now with minimal wobble when shut and locked with the knob and deadbolt. Also, the gap around the close door is minimal to none now except for a little missing bit of weather stripping on the bottom edge, so seemingly MUCH less draft getting ni now! :D I can no longer see light around the door edge in the evenings when the door is shut and locked now! :P

On the downside - tried to rekey it to find out the old lock was an older style of key (WR3 I think?) that the new Weiser lock can’t work with (it only works with newer WR6 keys, which it says NOWHERE on the box exterior...really wish it had mentioned this on the box...). So, had to go and get extra keys for the new lock cut for the family so everybody can use the existing key that fits every other exterior lock in the house and then that one new key for the basement deadbolt to get in through that door if they ever have to.

Long story short, all seems well now and I will see what I can do to replace the stripping at the bottom edge of the door.