Whack It With A Hammer

The tried-and-truest solution to so many home problems chalks up annother win! We'd been having a bit of trouble with the front door not latching properly. If you didn't hold and turn the handle a little bit when you pushed the door closed, the latch struck the strike plate in such a way that it didn't depress and allow the door to close; rather, it ricochetted off and the door bounced open again. This was particularly obnoxious if you had your hands and arms full of stuff coming through the door. It wasn't always like that, it developed gradually over the last year. I'm guessing that the doorframe has swollen just a teensy tiny bit with the wet weather. Or maybe the house has settled a tad to the left. Who knows? In any case, it finally got to the stage of annoyance where I starting thinking about trying to fix it.

At first I thought I would have to take the strike plate off, use a chisel or a file to remove a milimeter or so of the doorframe, and then replace the strike plate. Simple, but... the holiday season being what it is, still much too complicated of a project to complete. (I'd need, like, three tools! TNFW!) So I spent the last two months mentally pushing it back to the top of my to-do list every time I carried something in through the front door, and then immediately displacing it with the half-dozen Pacific Arts projects that I needed to do first.

Luckily, during the course of the lovely Christmas Eve dinner we enjoyed at my Grandma Joy's, I happened to ask my Uncle Fred what he thought I should do about it. "I'd try giving it a few good whacks with a hammer, before I did anything else," he said. "Right on the edge of the strike plate, where it bends out."

Now why didn't I think of that? Sure enough, when we got home I took the hammer, gave the strike plate a couple of solid whacks, and voila! The door now closes easily, smoothly, perfectly, and best if all, hands free. I alternatly feel like a hero for fixing the door and like an idiot for not doing it sooner. But mostly I'm just glad I had a good whacking hammer handy. :)