You’ll have the best experience installing a Level lock if, before installing, you make sure your door latch engages properly and holds your door in a single closed position. You’ll do this in two parts:
- get your latch working correctly, and
- get your bolt working correctly (we’ll cover this in a separate article).
Tip: Before you make any adjustments to your door’s deadbolt, make sure your door latch engages properly.
First, let’s take a look at your door.
Do you have to push, pull, or lift your door to get the latch to engage properly?
Does your door:
- fit well in the frame?
- drag against the bottom doorjamb?
- rub on the inside of the frame?
- stand a consistent distance from the frame, top to bottom, on right and left, and along the top?
- sag?
- have more than one resting spot?
- wiggle when closed?
- have two different positions for the latch to drop into?
Also check whether:
- the door corners are flush against the frame.
- the screws fastening the upper hinge are right.
- the hinges are in good condition (not worn out or bent).
- all the hinge pins are fully seated.
Now that you have a sense of the problem areas, you’ll need to use your best judgment on how to fix each problem area. Try these suggestions:
- use rubber bumpers to create a single resting spot.
- remove some material from the latch strike plate opening.
- tighten the hinge screws, or replace them with longer ones so they bite better into the doorjamb.
- re-chisel the doorjamb cutout, drill new holes, and move the strike plate.
- insert shims in the hinges to counteract a sag.
