Locking mechanism on Anderson French Door

[sket]

We had Anderson Frenchwood 2-panel Hinged Patio doors installed when our home was built in 1992 (only one panel swings open to the inside). Both came with a 3-point "Active Lock Mechanism". (To lock these doors, you must lift up the handle and either turn the knob on the inside or the key on the outside.) One of the doors can no longer be locked -- when the handle is lifted, the top and bottom "points" extend fully, but the middle "bolt" only extends about 1/4 inch, and the knob will not turn the full quarter turn as it's supposed to. After contacting the Anderson WindowCare Service and explaining my problem, they said I needed a new locking mechanism (for $150 :eek: !) Is there anything else I could do to repair this problem that won't cost so much?? We've even considered just switching the downstairs broken locking mechanism with the upstairs working one just to have some security! Thanks in advance for your help.

[schiejr]

I am not familiar with that lock so I cannot give you much specific advice. I assume you tried to lubricate it? Are parts available from Anderson? Does not sound like it from tech support but that is probably their answer for everything. If not, then your cheapest option would be to remove the lock and bring it to a locksmith to see if they can determine what the problem is. If after you remove the lock the bolt extends, then there may be some other problem such as binding.

Hopefully some of the other folks on the forum have worked on this type before and can shed some more light on this.

[cuedude]

Hi,

I'm not familiar with the doors either, however, I have a few thoughts. First of all, I agree with the lubrication angle first. Because it probably won't be too accessable, try removing any plates from the edge of the door. Once they have been removed, check to see if there is an allen type set screw holding the handle on. If there is, remove the handle from one side only. (There is probably a spindle connecting the handle to the body of the lock. Here's where caution is needed. Take a rag, and some liquid wrench, wd-40, crc, or what ever you have, and spray into the body of the lock. Don't spray the lock cylinder, just the part it goes into. The rag? that's for overspray, and drips. Spray everything you can, and exercise the handle while you do it. It just might free it up. It can't do any harm.

Now to maybe give you another avenue, as stated, there may be some binding. This could be the lock body parts, or the lock rods. You said they were fine, so I suspect the body mechanism first.

As far as the cost of the lock, please keep in mind the locks you have were probably made specifically for Anderson. They may be the only people to get them from. I know that's not good news, but is highly likely. I've run into that before.

There is another company that makes medium grade locks for patios, and aluminium doors, called Omnia. They are good retrofit locks for out of production locks. (Not saying yours is out of production, I don't know). However, they are expensive. As an average here in south florida, they are around $275, labor not included.

I hope all this gives you place to at least start fighting this problem. Drop back and let us know how it is going.

cuedude

[cuedude]

Hi, it's been a while since I've reviewed this thread, but it's time to get back to it. I'm in the middle of working on an Anderson Door right now. What I've found is on the passive door, (the door that has no lock), in the bottom hardware, there is what is called a bolt stop. These are plastic, and as time goes by, these can break. (That's what I found with the ones I'm working on now). Go to the big orange box store, and order the lower bolt stop. This should get you on the right track.

cuedude