Doors are essential to every home, as well as keeping the warm air in our homes and the cold air out our doors help protect our homes from burglars. Most external doors have integrated security, from basic rim cylinder type locks to the more secure multi point locks. Despite the protection our doors provide our homes we often take them for granted until something happens and they need repairing.
Sadly door repairs are a very common problem and at some point you will experience some sort of fault with one of your doors that requires the services of a professional to fix. Before you experience a fault with one of your door why not learn about some of the most common door fault and how you could prevent them from happening and what do when something does go wrong.
Although doors are pretty resilient even the most secure doors will develop some sort of problem over time here are some of the most common types:
Alignment problems – It is common for a door to become loose at its hinges which causes problems when trying to open and close the door. At first this shouldn’t affect the door handle or lock however over time misaligned doors can put extra stress on locking mechanisms which can make to door difficult to lock and unlock.
This problem is more common with uPVC doors as they are heavy and need to be aligned with a combination of spacers and screws.
When this problem occurs it is best to call out a locksmith that specialises in uPVC door repairs to re align the door. If you continue to use the door without geting the door repaired then it could cause problems with the locking mechanism and you may require an new lock as well.
Door Swelling – This problem affects untreated wooden doors in humid conditions which allows them to absorb moisture and swell. A swollen door will stick but with a bit of force it will open however it is possible that forcing the door open will cause some damage to the door frame and once it is open it will be almost impossible to close again.
To fix this problem the open edge of the door will need to be sanded down to allow it to close and it is possible that the door handles and locks may need to be realigned or replaced to make the door repair effective. To avoid this issue make sure the door have been treated and painted correctly.
Hardware Failure – Door handles and locks are probably the most common door failure. This is because they are the most used part of the door putting more stress on these points causing them to wear out over time and need replacing.
Door handles can fail internally or fall off revealing the spindle, this means the handle in no longer engaging the spindle when the handle is turned, either one of this problems requires the handle to be completely replaced. The best way to deal with this is call in a professional such as a locksmith or handyman.
Door locks have many ways in which they can fail. They may seize up, snap in the lock, parts of the locking mechanism break internal and many more. Lock failures require the help of a professional locksmith as it often involves removing the old lock and replacing it with a new one.
This is just a few of the problems you may come across with your doors and locks if you have one of these problems then give Easy Pickings Locksmiths a call to see how we can help.