How free up door lock stuck in locked position?

boardtc

We have a door in the house that the lock was sticking, looking at the key it was twisted a little. I straightened it up and tested the lock with the door open. It went to the lock position with the key bending more, it came out, but will not twist back. It won't with the perfect spare either.


I off the cover on the side but I was not able to get the plate off, circled. Any ideas on how I can free this up?

dodzy

boardtc wrote: »

We have a door in the house that the lock was sticking, looking at the key it was twisted a little. I straightened it up and tested the lock with the door open. It went to the lock position with the key bending more, it came out, but will not twist back. It won't with the perfect spare either.


I off the cover on the side but I was not able to get the plate off, circled. Any ideas on how I can free this up?

Unscrew outer ring on door handle (one side only) . These can be a little tricky to remove - use pliers / wrench taking care not to damage the finish.
Remove exposed handle retaining screws and then pull out spindle (square bar connecting both handles)
You will then be able to remove the sash lock (red outline in your pic)
You might have to lightly pry it out with a flat blade (screwdriver)

mickdw

Yep remove handle on one side. Outer cover ring around handle should screw off.
Remove screws from lock plate in face of door. Pull out bar and wriggle lock out or leave bar in and use it to move lock out a few mm by pulling on bar or gently hitting with hammer.
Buy new lock of same size and replace then put original handle back.

boardtc

So I went at it there and removed the spindle bar out. Removing one of the outer rings was hard, I needed one of those tools to open jars in the end. I was not able to get the plate off, it's bending around the lock. @mickdw I think you are right, when I get it out I need to replace it. It's tricky to get off though, I already put one dent in the door. Any other tips?

mickdw

boardtc wrote: »

So I went at it there a and removed the spindle bar out. Removing one of the outer rings was hard, I needed one of those tools to open jars in the end. I was not able to get the plate off, it's bending around the lock. @mickdw I think you are right, when I get it out I need to replace it. It's tricky to get off though, I already put one dent in the door. Any other tips?

Firstly you only needed to remove handle on one side and none of the key hole rings unless you plan to fit a different set of handles.
You pretty much have it out now. Keep it even top and bottom would be my advice as if you pull out the top only, you will jam it in the door.
Id tap the top back in slightly and then pull out straight - if you had a good pliers or a vise grip, you coupd pull it out easily id say.
The whole idea is that you replace the entire lock that goes into door so you are not worried whether you bend anything removing it.

boardtc

Got it replaced. I learnt that the plate I was pulling on was the lock mechanism which all slides out as one unit:

Once out it confirmed that it was jammed and the only solution was to replace. Of course, the replacement was slightly bigger side plate and I had to chisel a bit more of the door for it to fit snug.