We've got a front door which would break your back to lock!!! It'll open and close okay and securely. The key goes in and out of the lock okay. But pulling the handle UP won't go the full way... you must ram it and really throw all your spine has got at it and if you hit it enough it'll eventually rise that last little bit and you can turn the key fully to engage the locks. It's not so bad when the door is opened and you lift the handle but it still doesn't work well. I don't see any issue with the three hinges on the door.

I've inspected it and the little round pins that 'move' when the handle is lifted, they all move freely by the looks of it but some have wore off to one side 'scoring' it..

I've looked at screwfix, Homebase etc and Yale's site. But before I can shop for replacement parts I need to work out what's necessary to be replaced. At the minute, I think doing it ALL as that'll inevitably fix the situation.. but it can be costly and I'd rather fix small issues on my Panda if I was going to spend a 'lot' more than needed.

There's a gearbox / handle bit...
There's the barrel lock bit...
There's the long running mechanism which I think is faulty...

Which does it sound like to any of you experienced DIY-ers?

It's probably dropped on the hinges, just needs adjusting.

scout said:

It's probably dropped on the hinges, just needs adjusting.

Click to expand...

Possible..

But in my experience.. there will be a 'chain' of wear..

Tiny amounts to each part of the 'espag' mechanism .. it all adds up to the LARGE amount needed to be input at the SOURCE your hand..

Simplest.

Undo the few screws holding on the inner handle plate.

Carefully remove it.. have you got a square rod poking out?

Look along it.. nice sharp sq. Corners

Apart from the bit that 'drives' the lock.

You can attempt to pack out that free play..
Just to see the difference in locking.

IF it makes a good difference.. just buy a handle set
( its the distance between the 3 x holes that is important

Another quick test:
Open door to 90' grab the 'end'of the door

Can you LIFT it at all?..
Any noticable play isnt great.. so.. check the pins in the door hinges are down properly.. they can twist upwards over time.

Charlie

Thanks guys. Going to video exactly what’s happening and upload it to show you as then you’ll know what I mean better than I can describe. I’ll also make the the right measurements on it to order the right part.

This is all very reminiscent of Car Fixing!

UPVC windows use various brands of locking mechanisms and it's important to buy exactly the right part if you plan on replacing anything. Most, though not all, can still be bought from somewhere.

Start by looking for a makers name on the hardware fitted to the door; after that, google is your friend.

If what you're looking at is the cumulative effect of a lot of slightly worn parts, then replacing the latching mechanism complete may be the easiest and simplest solution.

You can buy adjustible generic multipoint latching sets that, with a little fettling, will likely fit about 90% of the doors out there - this is one example.

Had to replace all 3 hinges on our door recently due to the pin having worn down approx 3 mm making any adjustments impossible do to the ammount of wear

Doornis around 13 year old

chris3234 said:

Had to replace all 3 hinges on our door recently due to the pin having worn down approx 3 mm making any adjustments impossible do to the ammount of wear

Doornis around 13 year old

Click to expand...

Blimey..

My main entrance door was 27 years old when we sold.up

Had me patching up the drive §quare after @ 20.

Hinge pins would climb by 10mm periodically..

But tapped back down they were still fine.

It was a good quality German door @1990.

varesecrazy said:

Blimey..

My main entrance door was 27 years old when we sold.up

Had me patching up the drive §quare after @ 20.

Hinge pins would climb by 10mm periodically..

But tapped back down they were still fine.

It was a good quality German door @1990.

Click to expand...

Cheep plastic pin in the hinges that the hinges swiveled on

[ame="https://youtu.be/JS1yxS_e8nk"]https://youtu.be/JS1yxS_e8nk[/ame]

Here's the issue folks.....

Nothing super obvious from here..

I will watch properly later.

But.. our current front door is similar(dark wood finish) got so HOT in last summers sunshine it expanded..and caused problems.

Maybe some part of the mechanism got put out of adjustment?

When the door is open, look on the side plate where the lock is thrown out. Partway up & down, there's tabs which locate in keeps on the frame, plus there's also the keep for the lock itself. All these parts (on the frame) are adjustable, often, using a hex key. The UPVC/Aluminium frame combi is very susceptible to temperature (heck, the bimetallic strip is what gives us the various dials & yet they build doors and windows using the same method!) & this might be what requires adjustment.

Seems to be a few people here who know more about these units than me (and I know next to knowt). So, thought I'd bounce this off you all and see what comes back.

Quite a number of years ago we employed a local builder to build a small conservatory for us. He had just completed a large extension (1/3 of the size of the house) for a neighbour at the end of our street and she couldn't praise him enough. He quoted us £4000 less than the big companies and he was a very affable easy going chap whom we got on well with. The work went quickly and the end result was very pleasing. subsequently I've noticed a number of minor poorly fitted trim items which niggles me but have no effect on the structure. The one thing that really does annoy me though is that the outside door latches have never lined up properly. I got him back to look at it and he adjusted the hinges but it's never been "right". Unfortunately his business has collapsed and I hear he now drinks heavily and has been in and out of hospital with it. I'm very sorry to hear this as he was a likeable "rogue" but this doesn't help me.

I found a label with the suppliers/manufacturer's name and as it's only about 15 miles away I went to see them. Very nice helpful people. The system used on my conservatory has evolved so parts are different but he told me how to do the adjustment. I spent some time trying but just couldn't get it right. This frustrates me a lot! how can I have the skill to rebuild engines, strip and rebuild a gearbox, set up wheel alignment, etc, etc but not manage to do a simple hinge adjustment? Anyway I got it as good as possible and left it - but the interlocking catches still "crash" against the frame sockets!

Then, trying to avoid watching another episode of "people pretending to buy houses they don't want so they can appear on TV" Which, for some reason I can't understand, seems to fascinate Mrs Jock and her sister (yes sister is still here, but threatening to return home on Sunday!!) I went to do a bit of tidying up in the garden. Taking a wee break, sitting on my wee wall, I was looking at the conservatory door and thinking I really should have another go at it when I noticed that the door doesn't look quite square to the frame. Hello? so got out my big framing square and tape measure. The door is absolutely square but the frame is not! it's "lozenged" slightly - not by much though, about 1/2" maybe. The reason the catches don't line up now is obvious - I just can't believe it's taken me all this time to notice it! I just rang the makers and described the problem (in fact they were closed but the boss himself answered the phone) What a nice helpful chap! He agreed that trying to straighten the frame would be a nightmare but I could intentionally "lozenge" the door itself to fit! Apparently you remove the glass retaining trim strips and there are wedging pieces between the edge of the glass and the frame which are used to "square" the frame. Playing around with these should allow me to lozenge the door until it fits the wonky frame he says.

I can imagine, I think, what he's talking about but have just tried to get a bit of the trim off and it seems very tight? I'm afraid of snapping it? So anyone know how to do this? Is it something I can reasonably expect to make a good job of? Should I just get hold of a fitter and pay him/her to do it?

All suggestions most gratefully received
Jock

I had windows all round last year..
All monor remedial stufg has invilved screwdrivers as prybars..
And plastic mallets all well and good on something moulded 12 months ago..

But I suspect yours will have aged with UV..

Have a chat with the boss.. find out if replacement parts are still stocked.

Charlie

Trip to your local DiY shed for a few double glazing packing pieces.

What you will be trying to do is "toe and heel" the unit by inserting or removing packers in order to redistribute the weight of all that glass. Have a look on youtube for a 'how to' video.

Removing the trim is supposed to be difficult - but not impossible. Start with the longest side and insert a wide-bladed object such as a stiff scraper, maybe progress to a wide blade chisel. The trim will have the most give in the centre. Sometimes, the trims need to be bowed quite a bit to get them inserted so be prepared for this when removing them. You can buy a glazing chisel - looks like a REALLY heavy duty ice scraper for your car window

Removing bead/trim

Toe and heel

Thanks for that Sludge. Looks like I've just got to be a bit more "bold"? with the hammer! I've really just been tickling it. Hopefully the packing operation will be obvious once I can see it?

I would check with the manufacturer but you probably have to hoik out (tech term) the rubber seals inside and outside then the beads should unclip easily.

I had a French door that misted over on one side. Got the installers back and they'd fitted the glass unit the wrong way around. They whipped out the seals and had the beads off in no time. Big sucker handles allowed them to lift and turn the glass.