Reinforce the Strike Plate

Before you start

• Take out one existing screw and measure it. That tells you how far the current fixing reaches and what you are replacing it with.
• Look for a gap between the jamb and the framing behind it. If there is one, driving a long screw home will pull the jamb out of line unless the gap is packed first.
• If you rent, swapping the screws in the existing holes leaves no new marks, which is the version of this job to do. Fitting a different plate makes new holes and needs permission.

The job

1. Open the door and remove one screw at a timeWorking one screw at a time keeps the plate aligned so you never have to find the position again. Take the old screw out, put the new one in, then move to the next. If the plate has more than two holes, do the diagonal pairs.
2. Pack the gap if there is oneWhere the jamb sits proud of the framing, a shim in the gap stops the frame bowing inward as the screw tightens. A thin piece of hardwood or a purpose-made shim works; a folded business card does not. A bowed jamb makes the door bind and undoes any benefit.
3. Drive the long screws straight, not fastAngle matters more than force. A screw driven at a slant misses the framing entirely and ends up in the cavity, where it holds nothing and you cannot tell from the outside. Go slowly, keep the driver square to the plate, and stop as soon as the head seats.
4. Repeat on the hinge sideThe hinges carry the door and they are usually fixed with the same short screws as the strike was. Replacing one screw per hinge with a long one anchors the hinge side into framing too. This half of the job gets skipped constantly and it is the same fifteen minutes.
5. Check the door still closes cleanlyClose and latch the door several times. If it now catches, a screw has pulled the jamb out of line and needs backing off a turn. A door that does not latch properly is worse off than it was before you started.

Stop and call somebody if

• The jamb is split or crumbling around the existing holes. Longer screws into damaged timber achieve nothing; the frame needs repairing first.
• The screw spins without tightening and keeps doing so in a fresh position. There is nothing behind the jamb at that point and this needs a look from somebody who can see the structure.
• The door is fire-rated. Changing the strike hardware on a rated assembly is not a Saturday job — ask the building manager.

What goes wrong

• Replacing the plate but keeping the original short screws, which changes the look and nothing else.
• Driving screws at an angle so they miss the framing and sit in the cavity behind the jamb.
• Doing the strike side and leaving the hinges on their original screws.

Where this applies

• The Front Door — The jamb, not the lock: on most homes the strike plate is held by screws that stop inside a thin board nailed to the framing behind it.
• The Back Door — Privacy: a back door is usually the only approach to the house where somebody can work unobserved for as long as they like.
• The Garage Side Door — Specification: the side door is almost always the cheapest door on the property, with the cheapest lock, and on an attached garage it opens into the house.

Hardware this job may need

• Deadbolts & Keypad Locks — controlling who has a key, and what happens when the battery dies
• Door Reinforcement Locks & Bars — buying time at the door, without blocking the way out

Sources

• Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association — standards for builders hardware
• International Code Council — model building codes and adoption