Residential & Commercial Security - Locks, Keys & Dead Bolts - ...problem with a doorknob...it stopped working.

Well this may provide to be a doozy of a question which either shows my absolute lack of understanding with what I am doing, or that I'm in a pickle.

Please forgive my lack of proper terminology. "Thingy" with a description is probably the best that I can muster short of what information I have gleamed while trying to research this on my own.

The short story is, the knob turns, the door does not open. This is an "inside" door (and I am 99.9% sure it was not one that could be locked).

These are old knobs. OLD. The paint or finish has worn off of them. (It's a rental place so I can't get super gung-ho about getting into this room on my own.) While I am sure the easy thing to do would be to call the landlords, it's Christmas... so I know I'm on my own for awhile due to the holidays.

Fortunately, this knob is an exposed mounting screw type style, so removing it was a cinch. Here comes the non-technical stuff. So, with the knob off, I am looking into the hole left. The other knob is still held up by a metal u shaped rod that goes through the metal rectangle (with u shaped lever receptor like thing) which is embedded in the door. Seems simple enough, turn the rod (or knob when it's assembled) and the u shape pushes the u shape receptor thing which should retract the latching part. Except that the door does not open. The lever deal seems to turn just fine, makes a clicking noise, yet the door is FIRMLY held shut right at that spot. (I pushed along the whole edge, and everything else gives a little except for there.)

Also, got a whopper of a surprise today as my dad drove cross country to surprise me for the holidays... and I made him take a look at it (as he is far more mechanically inclined than I) and he saw NO reason for it to not open either.

So, would this mean the latching mechanism broke? I think I am going to get stuck calling my landlords which isn't so bad.... I just like to take care of my own problems. If for some reason it would be helpful, I have pictures of it with the knob on my end removed... Thanks for any insight... even if it ends up being "call your landlords." :)

I'd suggest pushing the other knob out of the door with a screw driver first.
Then with a slotted screw driver, try working the linkage back.
Give it a spray with lubricant first.
Often with one knob removed, there is too much unwanted movement in the latch for the second knob to work properly.

Regards

Well, for what it is worth, there was enough space once I started to turn the lever, that I could slip a flat screw driver head in and push the lever in manually as hard as I could and as far as it would go... it achieved the same results as turning the knob or the lever by hand. I am hesitant to shove the other knob through as if something is going to break with this, I rather my landlord is the one to bust it.

Well, for what it is worth, there was enough space once I started to turn the lever, that I could slip a flat screw driver head in and push the lever in manually as hard as I could and as far as it would go... it achieved the same results as turning the knob or the lever by hand. I am hesitant to shove the other knob through as if something is going to break with this, I rather my landlord is the one to bust it.

Good Morning Hopeless,

Sounds like Christmas could have been a bit more merrier? In your first post you were talking about a "u" shaped piece. This tells me you either have disconnected the latch from the lock body, or it tells me the brand of lock. Either way, there is hope. If it has become disconnected, the idea of pushing the know through the door as suggested earlier is best. Don't worry about anything breaking, it's probably best to replace it anyway. Go ahead and push it through, and then use a flatblade screwdriver to activate the latch. one little trick you may use is try and sort of wiggle the door while you do this, as it may be under pressure from the door sagging a bit.

Now, if you have one of the type of latches the little "u" shaped piece fits through, you are probably dealing with what I know to be similar to a "Kwikset" lock. (Brand) If this is what you have, you probably will have to destroy it to get your door open. It takes a bit of effort, but the latch can be disassembled through the hole in the door. Just be carefull not to damage any wood as you pry out the pieces. Once the latch is out, and the door is open, remove the faceplate part, and now a new lock can be installed. If it is an inside door, it will be simple to do.

Let us know how this turns out. (It's our living)

cuedude

Well, ironic luck, my landlord and I ran into each other in my yard... and I told him about the doorknob.

He shoved the other knob through (as everyone suggested) and tried to work the lever. No luck. He tried to cut the piece in the door in half with a reciprocating saw (and managed to gouge the door all over), but it didn't work. So he stood up, turned around, and rammed his rump into the door over and over until the molding gave and the whole thing crashed open. Once it was on the floor he discovered that the plunger had broken and stuck in place (which was why the whole thing was not working) due to the age. So he will be coming to fix everything he busted up...

Out of curiousity, was there a way he could have done it? He tried to pull it with pliars, and did a bunch of stuff but clearly... brute force won the day. Thanks though everyone for the help...

Hi Hopeless,

To answer your question, there is a way. Not an easy one, but one that works. First of all, it destroyes the latch. (Which you say was already broken.) The way I do it is I carefully pry the latch out piece by piece. If I can get a grip on something with a pair of pliers, I use them. It takes a while, and like I say, you have to be carefull not to destroy/dent the wood around the large hole in the door. Usually, you can remove enough to get the door open. Sorry you are having the trouble you are. But sometimes, not often, brute force is the only way. I've never had to use the method described.

cuedude :wall:

Ah well... at least I am not the one having to replace the molding... and he seems to have no problem with what he did...

Thanks for letting me know how to try and get the latch part out on the odd chance I ever have to do that... do hope to someday own (hopefully sooner than later) than rent, and I hate having to completely rely on getting other people to do things that I could probably learn how to do. I've managed to reassemble one doorknob unit (twice) that keeps dropping one side of the doorknob to the floor so at least I'm mildly handy.

Thank you again, everyone, for all of the help... it was greatly appreciated :-)