French door jamming at bottom when opened?

Draeger

Draeger

Draeger

Soldato
Joined
4 Feb 2004
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Location
Écosse
We've got French doors going from the kitchen into the garden and the main/master door always seems to jam/catch at the bottom which I presume is one of the deadlocks? It's ok once the deadlock is released if you shut the door again without pushing the handle up to deadlock it but as soon as you try opening it again after that it catches at the bottom again. Usually have to give the bottom of the door a kick whilst pushing on it to open it.

Is this likely to just need a bit of lubrication or something? I'm wary of unscrewing lock components etc from the door unless something goes *ping* and I can't get it back together again. Or something else I was thinking - if its catching because it isn't fully retracting (it seems to sit a few mm proud once the deadlocks are released and can be pushed up with your finger to where it needs to be) can I just grind a few mm off the bottom edge of it so its trimmed but still catches the bottom latch when deadlocked?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice. :)
 
Assuming it's a PVC door? The door sash could have dropped slightly if it hasn't been braced properly. There are some videos on Youtube that explain about bracing (toe and healing) PVC doors.

On the ones we fit the shoot bolts at the top and bottom are joined to the main lock by little zigzag notches. You just take the lock strip off and move the bolt up by a notch or two, so that it is not catching. It's a pretty common problem for them to drop a bit over time. You could file a bit off if it'll be easier, just be sure not to file too much. If it's catching because the door isnt braced you could find it starts to catch again.
 
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Cheers. :) The lock strip - is that the gold coloured metal strip part running the entire length/height of the door or just the part at the bottom where the screw head is in this picture?

R6KUYpr.jpg
 
Yes the strip that runs the entire length is the lock strip, with shoot bolts at the top and bottom. The shoot bolt can be removed by removing the screw in the picture and another screw under the door. You might get away with just removing that screw in the picture and moving that cover plate to the side.

If the door hasn't dropped and there is the same clearance between the door and keepers at the top and bottom, the only other thing it could be is the lock is on its way out. You could try squirting some white grease inside to see if it helps. But moving/filing the bolt could solve it.
 
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